In 1861, the Starr Manufacturing Company of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia began making high-class skates from quality steel for the world market. The company developed the Starr Hockey Skate, patented in 1866. This model had a rocker-shaped, wider blade with a rounded front and back for quick starts and stops as well as sudden turns that was ideal for ice hockey. Nova Scotians used these blades to play hockey for nine years before the game was played in Montreal. Starr skates revolutionized skating and ice hockey. They were world-famous and the choice of skaters and hockey players well into the next century. Indeed, Boston Bruins manager Art Ross and the entire Boston Bruins hockey team endorsed Starr skates annually until as recently as 1927.

The company won gold medals for its skate exhibits at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, the 1893 Chicago World's fair, and the 1911 Paris Exhibition. Starr also had the distinction of being proclaimed the official skate makers by King Alphonse XII for the Royal House of Spain.

I don't know exactly how old these skate blades are, but Starr stopped making skates in 1938 because of competition from foreign countries as well as from Canadian firms such as Bauer. So they are at least pre-1938. See the closeup pic of the blades below - the blades are showing signs of their age, but their manufacturer is still clear as day. I've also attached an old pic of a Starr advertisement from long ago - this pic is not included, it's just something that was found on the internet. Item #: ES-002. Price: $24.95. Shipping is estimated at $8.00 or less by Fedex Ground to US destinations.

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