I recently won a pair of antique iron clamp on skates at an auction because I liked the looks of them and the price was right. Stamped on the skates and covered with rust was Winslow's National Club.  The name it's self evokes vintage images of men in suits and women in long dresses skating on ponds.  It is nice to own them and I am definitely going to keep my eyes open for more like them. The history of skates itself is interesting.  In the 14th century the Dutch were using wood and iron skates on the canals.  John E. Strauss in 1914 invented the type of skates pictured below that became popular and lead to all the skates used today.