Looks like the leather on the vamp is cracking, can't quite tell. They do say Tocona Texas inside, and look at the price.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/65103044/vintage-1980s-mens-dark-brown-nocona?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=1970s nocona boots&ref=sr_gallery_6
jonesy, that link sent me directly to vigilink, which happens a lot these days. No biggie. In regards to your Berkshire Hathaway reference, those jackasses wouldn't even be in the boot business if Justin hadn't been in the brick business, because that's what they really wanted and couldn't get one without the other. Hurricane Jack knows more about this than I do. It's still amazing to me that the big three remained so closely tied together after so many years.
Lots of incest and inbreeding in the early years of the cowboy boot business. At the least a lot of infighting and backbiting.