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H4448-39 Shoe vamp fragment, part of Joseph Box collection, adults, leather, maker unknown, England, 1360-1400. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 2, H4448-39 Shoe vamp fragment, part of Joseph Box collection, adults, leather, maker unknown, England, 1360-1400. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 2, H4448-39 Shoe vamp fragment, part of Joseph Box collection, adults, leather, maker unknown, England, 1360-1400. Click to enlarge

Shoe vamp fragment from the Joseph Box collection

Made
This incomplete shoe vamp possibly featured in the Bethnal Green Museum Shoe Exhibition held in London, England in 1897. The vamp 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 …

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

Summary

Object No.

H4448-39

Object Statement

Shoe vamp fragment, part of Joseph Box collection, adults, leather, maker unknown, England, 1360-1400

Physical Description

Vamp of shoe, incomplete, adults, leather, maker unknown, England, 1360-1400

Adults single right shoe vamp, incomplete, turnshoe construction with pointed toe. Vamp is worn at the end of the big toe and only one side seam remains which would have butted onto the quarters. Throat is cut away from close to the side seam and outside edge is worn.

Short URL

https://ma.as/239642

Production

Made

Notes

This incomplete vamp of a shoe was made in England in around 1360-1400 and possibly featured as exhibit number 154c in the Bethnal Green Museum Shoe Exhibition held in London, England in 1897, described as: 'Portion of a shoe; showing the long pointed toe, English 15th century, Box collection'. Possibly altered during use, the sole has conservation stitching in the sole seam.

History

Owned

Notes

This incomplete vamp made in around 1360-1400 is part of the Museum's significant Joseph Box collection. It possibly featured as exhibit number 154c in the Bethnal Green Museum Shoe Exhibition held in London, England in 1897, described as: 'Portion of a shoe; showing the long pointed toe, English 15th century, 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

Shoe vamp fragment from the Joseph Box collection 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 5 June 2023, <https://ma.as/239642>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/239642 |title=Shoe vamp fragment from the Joseph Box collection |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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