WINGED INLINE " ROCKET SKATES" - ORIGINAL MID-CENTURY. L..A. SPORT - Two Pair

Description

These original ROCKET SKATES are designed with rare  RED WINGS and they are probably the first inline skates and made  for outside and indoor use.   They were manufactured about 1953 and are signed by the ROCKET SKATE CO. Burbank, California.       There is indication that they must have been popular in 1950s Southern California because there actually were Rocket Skate Clubs.
Price is for two pair of unisex skates, altho the smaller is closer to a woman's size.  Very rare to find the skates with the red-painted wings or flames that  resemble flames shooting from a Buck Rogers space ship.   "Flames" show tiny wear on some edges.
Skates are steel clamp-ons with two donut-shapes wheels. 2 1/2 inches tall by 5/8 inch thick, of plastic/rubber.  Bodies and wheels in excellent condition, no rust, bent parts, and complete.   One pair can be adjusted from 9 1/2 to 11 inches long; the other pair from 9 3/4 to 12 1/2 inches. Widths adjust  from 2 1/2 to 4 inches. One pair has original buckled leather straps; the other straps are replaced.   Originally, straps may have had a soft pad at the top.
1953 ad for these skates (without wings) reads: "NEW SPORT! QUIET. TWO WHEEL ROCKET SKATES!  All the thrills of ice skating but no ice needed  Rocket Skates glide by on sidewalks or floors on special plastic/rubber wheels ... allow more speed, faster pivots and stops.... "  Sold for .95 from Rocket Skate Co., 1121-27 Chestnut St., Burbank, 9, California.