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Pair of boots worn by Queen Victoria
DesignedParts of this object
Summary
Object No.
94/88/1Object Statement
Boots (pair), with calling card, womens, worn by Queen Victoria, linen / silk / cotton / leather / metal / cardboard, designed and made by Joseph Sparkes Hall, London, England, 1837Physical Description
Pair of 'elastic' sided boots featuring flat leather sole, natural coloured linen upper, centre front seaming, straight black leather square toe cap and gussets either side of ankle composed of metal coils covered in natural covered cotton. Tab at back of ankle. Label inside front of ankle boots '......Sparkes Hall....London'Marks
Silk label sewn inside front of each shoe with black printed lettering.The labels have deteriorated and are largely illegible."...sparkes Hall...London"Short URL
https://ma.as/141906Dimensions
Height
135 mmWidth
65 mmProduction
Designed
Made
Notes
Joseph Sparkes Hall was experimenting with ways of making a boot with expanding side gussets that would allow the wearer to easily pull them on and off. In this first pair he used metal coils covered in ruched cotton. By 1840 he had patented a boot using rubber in the gussets.Note on file says "Englishman Joseph Sparkes Hall is said to have invented the elastic sided boot and it is believed that this pair of boots is his prototype in 1837. Earlier boots had featured lace up fastenings. This first "elastic" sided boots feature gussets of expanding metal coils covered in ruched cotton which gave the necessary elasticity to allow the boots to be pulled on and off. In J Sparkes Hall's "The Book of Feet" written in 1846 he expounded the virtues of elastic sided boots, noting the advantage of being able to pull them on and off quickly and not having to worry about buttons falling off, laces breaking or the eyelet holes wearing out. He notes that his first experiments were a failure and presumably this refers to the use of the coiled metal gusset. By 1840 he was using rubber in the gusset and notes that the subsequent improvements in materials and workmanship have "combined to make the elastic boot the most perfect thing of its kind".
By the mid 19th century the majority of footwear worn by women was some form of boot with the elastic sided boot the most popular. For evening wear a cream satin version was developed of which there are several examples in the Museums collection.
A person wanting to buy shoes in the 1800s could get them direct from a shoemaker who worked alone or in a shared workshop with traditional tools and techniques. Factories were also producing ready-made shoes by hand, which could be bought from the premises or from warehouses or peddlers. Gradually, mechanisation took over from handwork and by the end of the century most shoes were machine-made in factories and sold through specialist shoe shops.
With vulcanised rubber not coming into use until 1840, the 'elastic' sided gussets of these boots were made of tightly coiled wire covered in cotton. In Joseph Sparkes Hall's 'The Book of Feet' written in 1846, Hall notes that his first experiments in producing the elastic sided boots were a failure and presumably this refers to the use of the coiled metal gussets, replaced in 1840 by the use of rubber.
History
Used
Notes
Englishman Joseph Sparkes Hall is said to have invented the elastic sided boot and it is believed that this pair of boots is his prototype patented in 1837. Hall records in his 1846 book, 'The Book of Feet', that he presented his first pair of elastic sided boots to Queen Victoria in 1837 and notes that "Her Majesty has been pleased to honour the invention with the most marked and continued patronage: it has been my privilege for some years to make her boots...".This accords with the family provenance on the shoes. A calling card located in one of the shoes is printed with the name "Miss H.D.Butcher" and a handwritten note "This shoe was worn by a Lady in Waiting to Princess Christian when we were at Windsor 1880-1900". Donor Mrs Downes's grandfather was a doctor and often attended patients at Windsor Castle.
Source
Credit Line
Purchased 1994Acquisition Date
7 April 1994Cite this Object
Harvard
Pair of boots worn by Queen Victoria 2020, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 16 January 2021, <https://ma.as/141906>Wikipedia
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