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H4448-33/1 Postillion boot with spur, part of Joseph Box collection, mens, leather / metal, maker unknown, possibly France / England, c. 1790. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 3, H4448-33/1 Postillion boot with spur, part of Joseph Box collection, mens, leather / metal, maker unknown, possibly France / England, c. 1790. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 3, H4448-33/1 Postillion boot with spur, part of Joseph Box collection, mens, leather / metal, maker unknown, possibly France / England, c. 1790. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 3, H4448-33/1 Postillion boot with spur, part of Joseph Box collection, mens, leather / metal, maker unknown, possibly France / England, c. 1790. Click to enlarge

Postillion boot with spur from the Joseph Box collection

Made
  • c. 1790
This postillion boot and identification tag 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' …

This object is part of

H4448-33 Postillion boot with spur, and label, part of Joseph Box collection, mens, leather / metal / paper, maker unknown, possibly France / England, c. 1790
Postillion boot with spur from the Joseph Box collection
c. 1790

Summary

Object No.

H4448-33/1

Object Statement

Postillion boot with spur, part of Joseph Box collection, mens, leather / metal, maker unknown, possibly France / England, c. 1790

Physical Description

Mens single right straight thigh boot (postillion), [welted] construction, with square domed toe over rounded square sole and stacked heel. The boot consists of black leather upper featuring a straight vamp seam at waist, rigid leg to knee with extra layer to top, all front seamed, outside right leg and front top cut higher. The spur rest is stiched to the centre back and angled away from the back. The original spur leather is incomplete at the bottom, now attached with 2 leather straps and buckles and D buckle. The upper is decorated with a pair of leaves between 2 rows of stitching and a row of stitching around the top edge, scallops and circles at the original centre of the spur leather with 2 rows of stitching each side. The lining consists of a roll of leather at the top edge of leg, probably padded. The stacked leather heel has 4 lifts, a slight kickup in centre and wrought nail head.

Short URL

https://ma.as/239631

Dimensions

Height

618 mm

Production

Made

  • c. 1790

Possibly made

Possibly made

Notes

This postillion boot was possibly made in [France] in around 1785-1795.

History

Notes

This postillion boot with spur made in around 1785-1795 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

Postillion boot with spur from the Joseph Box collection 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 30 May 2023, <https://ma.as/239631>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/239631 |title=Postillion boot with spur from the Joseph Box collection |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=30 May 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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