Treasures afoot: shoe stories from the Georgian era

Abstract

In 'Treasures Afoot', Kimberly S. Alexander introduces readers to the history of the Georgian shoe. Presenting a series of stories that reveal how shoes were made, sold, and worn during the long eighteenth century, Alexander traces the fortunes and misfortunes of wearers as their footwear was altered to accommodate poor health, flagging finances, and changing styles. She explores the lives and letters of clever apprentices, skilled cordwainers, wealthy merchants, and elegant brides, taking readers on a colorful journey from bustling London streets into ship cargo holds, New England shops, and, ultimately, to the homes of eager consumers. We trek to the rugged Maine frontier in the 1740s, where an aspiring lady promenades in her London-made silk brocade pumps; sail to London in 1765 to listen in as Benjamin Franklin and John Hose caution Parliament on the catastrophic effects of British taxes on the shoe trade; move to Philadelphia in 1775 as John Hancock presides over the Second Continental Congress while still finding time to order shoes and stockings for his fiancee's trousseau; and travel to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1789 to peer in on Sally Brewster Gerrish as she accompanies President George Washington to a dance wearing a brocaded silk buckle shoe featuring a cream ground and metallic threads.

Contents

The cordwainers -- Wedding shoes -- The value of a London label -- Coveting Calamancos : from London to Lynn -- The cordwainer's lament : Benjamin Franklin and John Hose testify on the effects of the Stamp act -- "For my use, four pair of neat shoes" : George Washington, Virginia planter, and Mr Didsbury, Boot and Shoemaker of London -- Boston's cordwainers greet President Washington, 1789.