Converse | Man

At some point in 1908, the Marquis Mills Converse decided to set up a rubber sneaker company that would mock the rubber monopoly that prevented most companies from negotiating directly with the stores that sold their products. Early catalogs boasted of how many trucks were leaving the Converse factory in Malden (Massachusetts) to deliver the product directly to Boston stores. Mr. Converse's idea had worked but more importantly, it survived.