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Jean-Marie Leduc can’t skate. But that hasn’t stopped the 78-year-old retired Ottawa public servant from assembling what may be the world’s most remarkable private collection of ice skates.
Over the past 34 years, Leduc has acquired 353 pairs of skates, a collection he describes as “unique in the world. I have skates going back 15,000 years.” And he knows the history of every one of them.
It’s impossible to estimate the value of his collection, he says, but it’s worth enough that he keeps it safely in an Ottawa bank vault.
Leduc’s collection includes what he calls “personality skates” — the long-track blades speedskater Gaétan Boucher wore when he won two gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, for example, and the first professional skates worn by Montreal Canadiens’ Hall of Fame defenceman Butch Bouchard.
Jean-Marie Leduc, 78, poses with a skates worn by Montreal Canadiens’ and NHL Hall of Fame player, Emile “Butch” Bouchard.
Some are truly historic, such as a pair from 1452 that feature the first metal blades mounted on a wood stock. There’s also a metre-long wooden clap skate — known as a “river skate” — made in 1871; a pair from 1843, believed to be the first skate in Canada featuring a leather shoe and permanently attached metal blade; and the prototype short-track speed skating skate, created in 1981.
A pair of bison bone skates. The bone dates back 15,000 years.
The skates that could be 15,000 years old are made of buffalo bone. Leduc bought them for $24 from an antique dealer, who thought they were just very old bones. But Leduc spotted two clogged holes on the sides front and back, and realized it had once been used as a skate, attached to feet by leather laces. The skates were found in the United States. The bones have been authenticated as being 15,000 years of age, but it’s not certain exactly when they were used as skates.
Leduc’s skates have been displayed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now called the Canadian Museum of History), in Montreal during the NHL’s 75th anniversary season in 1991-92, at the centenary celebrations of the Stanley Cup the following year and at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.
He has just started working with Sean Graham, a recent PhD graduate from the University of Ottawa who, with his project partner, Julie Léger, is writing a book about the history of skates.
Graham says Leduc is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on skates. As for his collection, “as far as I know, it’s the best personal collection in the world.”
One of the things Graham and Léger hope to do is create a written inventory of Leduc’s collection. Right now, “It’s all in his head,” Graham says.
Leduc, who worked as a printer for the federal government, started collecting skates in 1981, after his young son joined the Ottawa Pacers Speed Skating Club. Before long, Leduc was president of the club.
With the 100th anniversary of speed skating in Canada approaching in 1986, “I wanted to show people what type of skate they used back in the 1880s,” he says.
He spotted his first pair in a showcase at a furniture store in Gatineau and bought his second in a bar for $20. (They had been hanging from a beam in the bar.) Then the late Jack Barber, a speedskater and member of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, gave him four old pairs of skates. “I said to myself, ‘There’s got to be more around,'” Leduc says.
While still working for the public service, Leduc began moonlighting as a track announcer at speed skating events, travelling to weekend meets around North America and Europe. The pinnacle came at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where Leduc was the “French voice” for 52 television networks at the long-track events.
Whenever he went somewhere for a speedskating meet, Leduc checked out the local antique dealers, often finding something he could buy for a nominal amount.
His biggest purchase was from Butch Bouchard, who had a collection of 66 pairs of skates, including the 1871 clap skate that Leduc desperately coveted.
But Bouchard wouldn’t sell just that pair. “He said, ‘Mr. Leduc, it’s everything or nothing,'” Leduc recalls. Bouchard was asking “a huge amount,” far more than Leduc could afford. Six years later, though, he had the money and bought Bouchard’s full collection.
Leduc has a reputation as a skate expert. Officials from the Hockey Hall of Fame once called to ask if he could help identify 55 pairs of skates for which they had no information. Asking only for expenses, Leduc spent five days studying the mystery skates.
“When I left, the 55 pairs of skates had their histories attached to them,” he says. Now, when the Hall of Fame gets an inquiry about skates, they say, ‘Call Leduc in Ottawa.'”
Even so, he balks at being called “the expert” when it comes to skates, “because you never know who I could meet tomorrow, and maybe he knows more than I do.”
Perhaps. But Jean-Marie Leduc hasn’t met him yet. “I never heard of one, either,” he laughs.
An example of one of the the first skates featuring a metal blade on a wooden stock, dating back to 1452 and one of around 350 pairs of skates owned by Jean-Marie Leduc of Ottawa.
An 1871 clap skate, also known as a river skate. (Photos by Darren Brown/Ottawa Citizen)
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
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Over the past 34 years, Leduc has acquired 353 pairs of skates, a collection he describes as “unique in the world. I have skates going back 15,000 years.” And he knows the history of every one of them.
It’s impossible to estimate the value of his collection, he says, but it’s worth enough that he keeps it safely in an Ottawa bank vault.
Leduc’s collection includes what he calls “personality skates” — the long-track blades speedskater Gaétan Boucher wore when he won two gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, for example, and the first professional skates worn by Montreal Canadiens’ Hall of Fame defenceman Butch Bouchard.
Jean-Marie Leduc, 78, poses with a skates worn by Montreal Canadiens’ and NHL Hall of Fame player, Emile “Butch” Bouchard.
Some are truly historic, such as a pair from 1452 that feature the first metal blades mounted on a wood stock. There’s also a metre-long wooden clap skate — known as a “river skate” — made in 1871; a pair from 1843, believed to be the first skate in Canada featuring a leather shoe and permanently attached metal blade; and the prototype short-track speed skating skate, created in 1981.
A pair of bison bone skates. The bone dates back 15,000 years.
The skates that could be 15,000 years old are made of buffalo bone. Leduc bought them for $24 from an antique dealer, who thought they were just very old bones. But Leduc spotted two clogged holes on the sides front and back, and realized it had once been used as a skate, attached to feet by leather laces. The skates were found in the United States. The bones have been authenticated as being 15,000 years of age, but it’s not certain exactly when they were used as skates.
Leduc’s skates have been displayed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now called the Canadian Museum of History), in Montreal during the NHL’s 75th anniversary season in 1991-92, at the centenary celebrations of the Stanley Cup the following year and at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.
He has just started working with Sean Graham, a recent PhD graduate from the University of Ottawa who, with his project partner, Julie Léger, is writing a book about the history of skates.
Graham says Leduc is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on skates. As for his collection, “as far as I know, it’s the best personal collection in the world.”
One of the things Graham and Léger hope to do is create a written inventory of Leduc’s collection. Right now, “It’s all in his head,” Graham says.
Leduc, who worked as a printer for the federal government, started collecting skates in 1981, after his young son joined the Ottawa Pacers Speed Skating Club. Before long, Leduc was president of the club.
With the 100th anniversary of speed skating in Canada approaching in 1986, “I wanted to show people what type of skate they used back in the 1880s,” he says.
He spotted his first pair in a showcase at a furniture store in Gatineau and bought his second in a bar for $20. (They had been hanging from a beam in the bar.) Then the late Jack Barber, a speedskater and member of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, gave him four old pairs of skates. “I said to myself, ‘There’s got to be more around,'” Leduc says.
While still working for the public service, Leduc began moonlighting as a track announcer at speed skating events, travelling to weekend meets around North America and Europe. The pinnacle came at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where Leduc was the “French voice” for 52 television networks at the long-track events.
Whenever he went somewhere for a speedskating meet, Leduc checked out the local antique dealers, often finding something he could buy for a nominal amount.
His biggest purchase was from Butch Bouchard, who had a collection of 66 pairs of skates, including the 1871 clap skate that Leduc desperately coveted.
But Bouchard wouldn’t sell just that pair. “He said, ‘Mr. Leduc, it’s everything or nothing,'” Leduc recalls. Bouchard was asking “a huge amount,” far more than Leduc could afford. Six years later, though, he had the money and bought Bouchard’s full collection.
Leduc has a reputation as a skate expert. Officials from the Hockey Hall of Fame once called to ask if he could help identify 55 pairs of skates for which they had no information. Asking only for expenses, Leduc spent five days studying the mystery skates.
“When I left, the 55 pairs of skates had their histories attached to them,” he says. Now, when the Hall of Fame gets an inquiry about skates, they say, ‘Call Leduc in Ottawa.'”
Even so, he balks at being called “the expert” when it comes to skates, “because you never know who I could meet tomorrow, and maybe he knows more than I do.”
Perhaps. But Jean-Marie Leduc hasn’t met him yet. “I never heard of one, either,” he laughs.
An example of one of the the first skates featuring a metal blade on a wooden stock, dating back to 1452 and one of around 350 pairs of skates owned by Jean-Marie Leduc of Ottawa.
An 1871 clap skate, also known as a river skate. (Photos by Darren Brown/Ottawa Citizen)
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
查看原文...
