Tony Lama Boots is a western boot brand and a division of

Justin Brands Justin Boots is an American western and equestrian footwear brand. It is a division of Justin Brands, Inc., itself owned by Berkshire Hathaway. History H.J. "Daddy Joe" Justin started repairing boots in Spanish Fort, Texas. After receiving a l ...

, a

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...

corporation.

History

Tony Lama was born to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrant parents in 1887. He first learned the leather and boot trade as an 11-year-old shoemaker's apprentice in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. In the early 20th century, Lama joined the U.S. Cavalry as a

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who repairs, and sometimes makes, shoes Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * ''The Cobbler'' (1923 film) ...

for the soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. After completing his service in 1911, he stayed in the border town of

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. While there, Lama met and married Esther Hernandez, a pianist and music teacher. Soon after, he opened a small shoe and boot repair shop. Repairs were initially the biggest part of his business, but the boots he made soon became popular. In the first year, together with his one employee at the time, Lama sold 20 pairs of handcrafted boots. By the 1930s,

Western wear Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garment ...

stores began asking for Tony Lama's boots. In response, he developed methods to produce greater quantities. Over the next two decades, Lama's six children became actively involved in the business. In 1946, his son, Joseph “Bert” Lama, presented a custom pair of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

inlaid boots to U.S. President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. In the 1950s, the company began marketing its boots nationally. In 1961, nearly 50 years after the first store opened, the company moved into larger quarters and began making 750 pairs of boots a day. By the late 1960s, the company moved to a new factory on El Paso's east side. In 1990, Tony Lama Boots was sold to Justin Industries.

References

External links

Tony Lama website
Shoe companies of the United States Companies based in El Paso, Texas 1911 establishments in Texas Berkshire Hathaway {{US-entertainment-company-stub