Brannock Device
Encyclopedia
Measuring instrument
In the physical sciences, quality assurance, and engineering, measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standard objects and events are used as units, and the process of measurement gives a number relating the item...
invented by Charles F. Brannock
Charles F. Brannock
Charles F. Brannock was the inventor and manufacturer of the familiar Brannock Device for measuring overall length, width, and heel-to-ball length of the foot. Brannock, proprietor of the successful Park-Brannock Shoe Store in Syracuse, New York, developed the device in 1925...
for measuring a person's shoe size
Shoe size
A shoe size is an alphanumerical indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. Often it just consists of a number indicating the length because many shoemakers only provide a standard width for economic reasons....
. The son of a shoe industry entrepreneur, Brannock attended Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, U.S.A.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he became a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Brannock spent two years developing a simple means of measuring the length, width and arc length of the human foot
Foot
The foot is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of one or more segments or bones, generally including claws...
. He eventually improved on the wooden RITZ Stick, the industry standard of the day, and patented his first prototype in 1926. The device has both left and right heel
Heel
In human anatomy, the heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.- Human anatomy :...
cups and is rotated through 180 degrees to measure the second foot. Brannock later formed the Brannock Device Company to manufacture and sell the product, and headed the company until 1992 when he died at age 89. Today, the Brannock Device is an international standard of the footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
industry, and the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
houses samples of some of the first Brannock Devices.
The Brannock Device Company was headquartered in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, until shortly after Charles Brannock's death. Salvatore Leonardi purchased the company from the Brannock Estate in 1993, and moved manufacturing to a small factory in Liverpool, New York
Liverpool, New York
Liverpool is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 2,505 at the 2000 census. The name was adopted from the city of Liverpool in the United Kingdom...
. The company continues to manufacture several models of the device for determining the shoe sizes of men, women, and children; they also produce specialized models for fitting other types of footwear.
Sources
- Craig, Berry. "Why the Shoe Fits." American Heritage of Invention & Technology 16, no. 1. (Summer 2000): 64.
- Davidson, Martha. "A Fitting Place for the Brannock Device Company Records." 2001.
- Lukas, Paul. Inconspicuous Consumption: An Obsessive Look at the Stuff We Take for Granted, from the Everyday to the Obscure. Three Rivers Press, 1997. ISBN 0-517-88668-5
- Brannock Device Company Records, 1925–1998
- Aeppel, Timothy, "Maker of Foot Measurer Tries to Stop Other Shoe From Dropping - On It". Wall Street Journal, Jan. 10, 2011.