We bought these beautiful stockings two decades ago from a consignment of vintage hosiery shipped from the USA.

They are colour black, with all the features expected of elegant fully fashioned stockings: fine seams, classic 'keyhole' feature, two-tone welts, shaped legs and reciprocated heels. The stocking tops themselves are prettily finely scalloped.

The after-welts are unusual in that they have the legend 'N51' stitched into them, twice on each stocking (Note: some pairs only show '51': since we cannot open every pack before despatch we cannot guarantee that 'N51' or '51' will be shown on your pair, although 'N51' appears to be much the more common type).

They are 60 gauge (knitted on machines with 60 needles per 1.5 inches) and a very light and sheer 15 denier - a fine, voile construction that needs handling with care. (They predate the invention of Lycra by many decades so have no 'give' in the material - fit against the leg is achieved from their fully fashioned nature).

There is elegant shading underfoot, which runs round to the reinforced toe. The heel finish is Havana-style (with 'a flat top' rather than a point heel).

Heel-to-toe the stockings measure 8.5 inches (21.6cm). From welt-to-heel they measure 31 inches (79cm).

They are unopened (pics were taken of a separate pair) and unworn, supplied card-mounted in plain polythene wrapper as shown. The pack carries a simple sticker indicating size and colour (note that this may have detached due to age and may have been taped back on).