This is a neat survivor. The dimensions, solid wood deck, steel trucks, and especially those metal wheels place it firmly in the very early era of commercial skateboards. The deck is a simple plank with rounded ends, before the kicktail era. The wheels are steel rather than clay or polyurethane. The “Sidewalk Surfer” graphic uses the exact marketing term that was commonly applied to skateboards when they were first becoming popular in America. The trucks appear factory-made rather than homemade, suggesting a commercial product rather than a garage-built board. The red painted deck with screened lettering is typical of inexpensive department store and sporting goods store skateboards from the period. Collectors like these because they represent skateboarding’s first boom. The progression generally went. Homemade crate scooters and roller-skate conversions (1940s-1950s). Steel-wheel “Sidewalk Surfer” boards like yours (late 1950s-early 1960s). Honest wear without restoration. Note one truck has mis-matched, replacement screws. Please note the small, round, dents on the nose of the board (see finger point pics). Measures approximately 18.75″ long x 4.25″ wide x 3.25 high and weighs 2.12 pounds. The name came from the fact that skateboarding was invented by surfers who wanted something to ride when the ocean was flat. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, manufacturers and magazines often described skateboards as. “Surfing on the sidewalk”. The rider stood sideways, shifted weight much like a surfer, and carved turns in a similar fashion. The idea was essentially a surfboard with wheels. In fact, many of the earliest skateboards weren’t even called skateboards at all. Advertisements used names such as. What’s particularly cool about your board is that the graphic doesn’t say “Skateboard” at all-it says Sidewalk Surfer. That strongly suggests it dates from the very earliest commercial era, before the industry had fully standardized the name. The phrase itself was so iconic that in 1965 the documentary-style skateboarding film. Was originally released under the title “Sidewalk Surfer” in some markets, and skateboarding magazines routinely referred to riders as sidewalk surfers. Your board is basically from the era when skateboarding was still considered an offshoot of surfing rather than its own sport. That’s a big part of its charm to collectors today.