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H4448-18 Slip on shoes (pair), part of Joseph Box collection, womens, silk satin / linen / leather, by Gundry & Sons, London, England, c. 1840. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 2, H4448-18 Slip on shoes (pair), part of Joseph Box collection, womens, silk satin / linen / leather, by Gundry & Sons, London, England, c. 1840. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 2, H4448-18 Slip on shoes (pair), part of Joseph Box collection, womens, silk satin / linen / leather, by Gundry & Sons, London, England, c. 1840. Click to enlarge

Pair of slip on shoes by Gundry & Sons

Made
This pair of slip on shoes comes from an important collection of footwear and shoemaking objects thought to have been initiated by the London shoemaker, Robert Dixon Box, and consolidated by his son, Joseph Box and the Box Kingham family during the second half of the 1800s. The collection ranges from remnants of leather shoes from the Middle Ages found in English archaeological sites, to intact European shoes from the 1600s onwards, 'foreign' shoes collected as 'curiosities' from around the …

This object is part of

H4448 Collection of shoes, boots, and buckles, part of a larger group of objects related to the art of shoemaking collected by Robert Dixon Box, Joseph Box and the Box Kingham family, various materials, various makers, England, 1500-1920
Joseph Box collection of shoes and objects related to shoemaking
1500-1920

Parts of this object

H4448-18/1 Slip on shoe (1 of pair), part of Joseph Box collection, womens, left of pair, silk satin / linen / leather, by Gundry & Sons, London, England, c. 1840
Slip on shoe by Gundry & Sons
c. 1840
H4448-18/2 Slip on shoe (1 of pair), part of Joseph Box collection, womens, right of pair, silk satin / linen / leather, by Gundry & Sons, London, England, c. 1840
Slip on shoe by Gundry & Sons
c. 1840

Summary

Object No.

H4448-18

Object Statement

Slip on shoes (pair), part of Joseph Box collection, womens, silk satin / linen / leather, by Gundry & Sons, London, England, c. 1840

Physical Description

Slip on shoes, pair, womens, tabbed, silk satin / leather / linen, made by Gundry & Sons, London, England, c1840

Pair of womens tabbed slip on shoes for indoor wear of turnshoe construction with narrow oval toe and covered wedged heel. Shoes consist of ivory silk satin uppers with short tab front, slightly oblique side seams and back seam all pink bound. Shoes appear to be missing rose decoration from the tab as for H4448-17. Uppers lined in linen and white kid with heel grip at back. Heels covered in the same silk satin as the uppers and leather soles are white finished.

Marks

Manufacturer on sock of right shoe, pasted, printed oval paper label, text beneath coat of arms and between flourishes, 'GUNDRY & SON, / Boot & Shoe Makers / TO THE QUEEN / The Queen Dowager / Their Royal Highnesses / Duchess of Kent / Princess Sophia / 1 Soho Square, London'

Short URL

https://ma.as/239596

Dimensions

Height

75 mm

Width

60 mm

Production

Made

Notes

This pair of silk satin tabbed shoes was made in England by Gundry & Sons after Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838 as the label on the shoe states '... / Gundry & Sons / Boot & Shoe Makers / TO THE QUEEN ...'

History

Notes

This pair of silk satin tabbed slip on shoes made in around 1840 is part of the Museum's significant Joseph Box collection. Joseph Box Ltd had its origins in a London shoemaking business established in 1808 by a 'ladies shoemaker' called James Sly. From 1816 Sly's apprentice was Robert Dixon Box, the fifteen-year-old son of a bankrupted Quaker attorney. Box was to become manager of the business when Sly died in 1826, and gained a reputation for fine shoemaking through its participation at international exhibitions and by obtaining Royal Warrants. The business became known as Joseph Box Ltd in 1862 after it was transferred to Robert's son, Joseph. Like his father, Joseph started in the trade at the age of 15, but retired at the relatively early age of 42 to enable his daughters to enter society. Although he transferred the business to his cousins the Box Kinghams in 1882, Joseph maintained an active interest in shoemaking through collecting. At the end of the century the business was later taken over by royal shoemakers Gundry & Sons, which was itself taken over by John Lobb Ltd some time after 1953.

The collection acquired by the Museum in 1942 was probably started by Robert Dixon and consolidated by Joseph Box and the Box Kinghams during the second half of the 1800s. It includes remnants of leather shoes from the Middle Ages found in English archaeological sites, intact European shoes from the 1600s onwards, 'foreign' shoes collected as 'curiosities' from around the world, shoe buckles and spurs, as well as documents relating to Joseph Box Ltd.

Footwear scholar, June Swann, former Keeper of the Boot and Shoe Collection at the Northampton Museum in England was invited to catalogue this very significant collection in 1993. A large selection was subsequently featured in the Museum's 1997 exhibition and accompanying publication 'Stepping out: three centuries of shoes'.

REF:
Mitchell, Louise, with Lindie Ward, 'Stepping out: three centuries of shoes', Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 1997

Cite this Object

Harvard

Pair of slip on shoes by Gundry & Sons 2022, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 5 June 2023, <https://ma.as/239596>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/239596 |title=Pair of slip on shoes by Gundry & Sons |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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