The Honourable Cordwainers' Company
is pleased to announce the
36th Annual General Meeting
in cooperation with
Fort Ligonier
Ligonier, PA
October 23-24, 2021
We are looking forward to a great program at the Thirty-sixth Annual General Meeting of the Honourable Cordwainers' Company, in cooperation with Fort Ligonier in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Due to COVID-19 and with consideration for the health and safety of attendees, the meeting has been postponed to October, 2020. We wish everyone health and safety, and look forward to seeing you then.
Fort Ligonier, built in 1758-9, decommissioned in 1766, disappearing without a trace by 1800, is located 40 miles east of Pittsburgh and just north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The fort is operated by the Fort Ligonier Memorial Foundation. Outside the south bastion of the fort lay an unhealthy flood-prone morass. Filled by the fort’s occupants with “all the best rubbish”, it might be the most remarkable collection of French and Indian War artifacts in North America. This refuse pit, covered in 1759 and sealed for the next 200 years, contained hundreds of men’s and perhaps two dozen women’s shoes, plus thousands more fragments! This is the largest single find of mid-18th-century footwear in the world.
Archaeologically excavated by Jacob L. Grimm, during the reconstruction of the current fort, the shoe collection was conserved and housed at the Fort Ligonier Museum, and since the 1960s, has been the focus of exhaustive study by successive generations of researchers, yielding the bulk of what is known about footwear in British North America.
French victories over George Washington in 1754–55 wrested control from Britain of the strategic forks of the Ohio River (modern Pittsburgh). By 1758, General John Forbes was assigned the daunting task of seizing Fort Duquesne, the French citadel at the forks. He ordered construction of a road across Pennsylvania, guarded by a chain of fortifications, the final link being the "Post at Loyalhanna". Heavily outnumbered, the French abandoned and Forbes occupied Fort Duquesne. He designated the site Pittsburgh in honor of Secretary of State William Pitt. Forbes also named Fort Ligonier after Sir John Ligonier, commander-in-chief. During the fort’s existence as a garrison, it was never taken by an enemy though attacked twice, and besieged by the Native Americans prior to a decisive victory at the battle of Bushy Run in 1763.
Today, Fort Ligonier is home to a rare collection of George Washington artifacts, including hand-written memoirs, and saddle pistols in the Fort’s museum. Also on exhibition, 14 contemporary paintings in the French and Indian War Art Gallery, and The World Ablaze: An Introduction to the Seven Years' War, with more than 200 eighteenth-century objects from around the world. Outside, are rebuilt artillery batteries, cannons, wagons and buildings on the Fort’s original site.
The town of Ligonier is brimming with rural Pennsylvania small town charm: https://www.altoonamirror.com/life/2017 ... d-history/
Our meeting will include a guided tour of the shoes in the Fort Ligonier collections with curatorial specialists.
Call For Papers—Those who wish to present an illustrated talk (Power Point), workshop, or hands-on demonstration are asked to contact Al Saguto dasaguto@widomaker.com The meeting theme will be ‘Footwear through the Ages: Exploring the mutual influences of military and civilian style and function’
HOTEL AND TRAVEL
More information on Group Hotel reservations will be available on the guild website, watch http://thehcc.org for more details.
2020 HCC AGM--Postponed until 2021
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das
- Seanchaidh
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- Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2000 9:00 am
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Join us for Virtual 2021 AGM
The Honourable Cordwainers’ Company is pleased to announce the 36th Annual General Meeting – October 23-24, 2021
Given the still-fluid nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, our 2021 Annual General Meeting will be held virtually via online sessions. We plan to feature a mixture of hosted PowerPoint presentations (with the speaker live or pre-recorded), presenter videos that can be pre-submitted, and live presentations from participants via the virtual conference. Information on the virtual meeting platform will be forthcoming here on The Crispin Colloquy.
Although it is a departure from our traditional in-person fellowship, Ft. Ligonier has graciously agreed to host us in person in 2022, so while we hope to include them in this year's meeting in virtual fashion, we look forward to being able to return in person at the next “live” Annual General Meeting.
CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS
The theme of the program is ‘Footwear through the Ages: Exploring the mutual influences of military and civilian style and function’. Those who wish to present an illustrated talk (Power Point), pre-recorded video presentation, live presentation workshop, or remote hands-on demonstration are asked to contact Al Saguto dasaguto@widomaker.com. We look forward to your creative input and to “seeing” you in October!
Given the still-fluid nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, our 2021 Annual General Meeting will be held virtually via online sessions. We plan to feature a mixture of hosted PowerPoint presentations (with the speaker live or pre-recorded), presenter videos that can be pre-submitted, and live presentations from participants via the virtual conference. Information on the virtual meeting platform will be forthcoming here on The Crispin Colloquy.
Although it is a departure from our traditional in-person fellowship, Ft. Ligonier has graciously agreed to host us in person in 2022, so while we hope to include them in this year's meeting in virtual fashion, we look forward to being able to return in person at the next “live” Annual General Meeting.
CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS
The theme of the program is ‘Footwear through the Ages: Exploring the mutual influences of military and civilian style and function’. Those who wish to present an illustrated talk (Power Point), pre-recorded video presentation, live presentation workshop, or remote hands-on demonstration are asked to contact Al Saguto dasaguto@widomaker.com. We look forward to your creative input and to “seeing” you in October!
-
das
- Seanchaidh
- Posts: 1635
- Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2000 9:00 am
- Full Name: D.A. Saguto--HCC
- Has Liked: 149 times
- Been Liked: 136 times
Join us for Virtual 2021 AGM
Join us for a Virtual AGM – October 23-24, 2021
While the Covid-19 situation has postponed our arrival at Ft. Ligonier until 2022, plans are underway for a virtual gathering this year. Join us for an online series of presentations and special features. Our speakers to-date include:
Nicole Boileau, Apprentice Shoemaker
John (Rob) Welch, Apprentice Shoemaker
Valentine Povinelli, Master Shoemaker
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Shoemakers’ Shop
‘“No material on hand” – Rediscovering leather dressing’
Much like the Virginia government shop we represent at the Publick Armoury, proper uppers leather has become difficult to source. As with Matthew Anderson’s shop, we have had to resort to dressing our own material for this purpose. This presentation will demonstrate and describe the physical process, discuss the research involved in our rediscovery, and share our results and insights.
Edward Maeder, Costume & Textile Consultant, former Curator of Costumes and Textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, founding director of the Bata Shoe Museum
“The Chuck Taylor Sneaker Converse Controversy: The Trademark That Lost Its Way”
June 23, 2016, The International Trade Commission ruled that Converse's alleged trade dress for the midsole design of a combined toe cap, toe bumper, and stripe was not entitled to trademark protection under the common law and found invalid Converse’s federal trademark registration. As one of the ‘expert witnesses’ in this case, I spent several months tracking down the evidence that proved the ‘Chuck Taylor’ design elements were widely, almost universally, used throughout the shoe-making industry. The revelations and stories about how this judgement was reached will be shared.
Carsten Metz, Independent Private Shoemaker
“The rise and fall of the German shoe metropolis Pirmasens”
Located in Palatinate, a region in the south west of Germany at the border to France, the city Pirmasens developed between 1790–1969 from an impoverished area with high unemployment rapidly to an industry of 32000 workers. Pirmasens made Germany to the third biggest shoe exporting nation of the world in 1913 and produced 62 million pairs of shoes a year, thereby supplying one third of all shoes worn in Germany in 1969. This development, however, did not come without a price. With a focus on working conditions, material supply and the overall economic situation, this talk will review the history of the German shoe making industry from the early beginnings through industrialisation, two world wars and reconstruction to final decline.
D. A. Saguto, Project Director, Vasa Museum
“Footprints on the Past: Preliminary Observations of the Footwear from the 1628 Wreck of the Ship Vasa”
Footwear retains the physical imprint of the wearer, recording anthropometric data such as foot size, gait, and pathology. Prior to the 17th-century, it was also one of the first items of clothing produced in standardized sizes on an industrial scale. The Vasa collection includes more than 6300 leather fragments, most from footwear, including shoes, boots, and overshoes made by a variety of techniques with unique departures from other known 17th-century finds. The assemblage also includes tools and materials for making and repairing shoes, which reveal the presence of this skill among the crew, and give some idea of how footwear was maintained at sea. This paper will present the results of the initial reconnaissance of the collection in advance of its full detailed documentation, with observations of significant features.
Matthew Schlicksup, Independent Historical Shoemaker
“A Survey of 18th-Century Women's Shoes”
The shoes worn by women throughout the 18th century represent a striking variety of materials, colors, design features and construction types which present unique challenges when reproducing them today. Using images of surviving originals, this presentation will provide a framework for better understanding 18th-century women’s shoes and their evolution over the course of the century.
Anne Marika Verploegh Chassé, Shoe and Bootmaker, Instructor, FIT, RISD & Parsons
“Staying healthy for makers”
We all work many hours in quite taxing positions.
I have been doing yoga for many years to keep my joints and back flexible and agile.
In my presentation I will share some of my routine that I do while I am sitting on my workbench.
Brett Walker, Independent Historical Shoemaker
“Head Over Heels: Exploring Fashion Choices on the Early American Frontier”
Movies, fiction books, non-fiction books, blogs, and other forms of communication suffer from a tendency to “paint with a broad brush” when it comes to buying choices of past generations. Few places exhibit that inclination to group too broadly than the early American frontier. A mental picture of the “typical” person along the hinterlands of the European colonies in North America – a place of tremendous exchange of native and European thoughts and ideals – rapidly forms when the subject is raised. How accurate is that picture? Brett Walker is a practicing cordwainer, historian, and teacher who endeavours to explore (and sometimes explode?) pervasive mythos about early America which we’ve adopted from pop culture. Using period sources and extant shoes from the period, he attempts to demonstrate that the range of shoes and boots purchased and worn, as well as the motivations for doing so, is as wildly varied as the people who called the frontier, in some sense, their home.
Additional speakers are welcomed, and updates will be provided on The Crispin Colloquy.
CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS
The theme of the program is ‘Footwear through the Ages: Exploring the mutual influences of military and civilian style and function’. Those who wish to present an illustrated talk (Power Point), pre-recorded video presentation, live presentation workshop, or remote hands-on demonstration are asked to contact Al Saguto dasaguto@widomaker.com. We look forward to your creative input and to “seeing” you in October!
While the Covid-19 situation has postponed our arrival at Ft. Ligonier until 2022, plans are underway for a virtual gathering this year. Join us for an online series of presentations and special features. Our speakers to-date include:
Nicole Boileau, Apprentice Shoemaker
John (Rob) Welch, Apprentice Shoemaker
Valentine Povinelli, Master Shoemaker
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Shoemakers’ Shop
‘“No material on hand” – Rediscovering leather dressing’
Much like the Virginia government shop we represent at the Publick Armoury, proper uppers leather has become difficult to source. As with Matthew Anderson’s shop, we have had to resort to dressing our own material for this purpose. This presentation will demonstrate and describe the physical process, discuss the research involved in our rediscovery, and share our results and insights.
Edward Maeder, Costume & Textile Consultant, former Curator of Costumes and Textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, founding director of the Bata Shoe Museum
“The Chuck Taylor Sneaker Converse Controversy: The Trademark That Lost Its Way”
June 23, 2016, The International Trade Commission ruled that Converse's alleged trade dress for the midsole design of a combined toe cap, toe bumper, and stripe was not entitled to trademark protection under the common law and found invalid Converse’s federal trademark registration. As one of the ‘expert witnesses’ in this case, I spent several months tracking down the evidence that proved the ‘Chuck Taylor’ design elements were widely, almost universally, used throughout the shoe-making industry. The revelations and stories about how this judgement was reached will be shared.
Carsten Metz, Independent Private Shoemaker
“The rise and fall of the German shoe metropolis Pirmasens”
Located in Palatinate, a region in the south west of Germany at the border to France, the city Pirmasens developed between 1790–1969 from an impoverished area with high unemployment rapidly to an industry of 32000 workers. Pirmasens made Germany to the third biggest shoe exporting nation of the world in 1913 and produced 62 million pairs of shoes a year, thereby supplying one third of all shoes worn in Germany in 1969. This development, however, did not come without a price. With a focus on working conditions, material supply and the overall economic situation, this talk will review the history of the German shoe making industry from the early beginnings through industrialisation, two world wars and reconstruction to final decline.
D. A. Saguto, Project Director, Vasa Museum
“Footprints on the Past: Preliminary Observations of the Footwear from the 1628 Wreck of the Ship Vasa”
Footwear retains the physical imprint of the wearer, recording anthropometric data such as foot size, gait, and pathology. Prior to the 17th-century, it was also one of the first items of clothing produced in standardized sizes on an industrial scale. The Vasa collection includes more than 6300 leather fragments, most from footwear, including shoes, boots, and overshoes made by a variety of techniques with unique departures from other known 17th-century finds. The assemblage also includes tools and materials for making and repairing shoes, which reveal the presence of this skill among the crew, and give some idea of how footwear was maintained at sea. This paper will present the results of the initial reconnaissance of the collection in advance of its full detailed documentation, with observations of significant features.
Matthew Schlicksup, Independent Historical Shoemaker
“A Survey of 18th-Century Women's Shoes”
The shoes worn by women throughout the 18th century represent a striking variety of materials, colors, design features and construction types which present unique challenges when reproducing them today. Using images of surviving originals, this presentation will provide a framework for better understanding 18th-century women’s shoes and their evolution over the course of the century.
Anne Marika Verploegh Chassé, Shoe and Bootmaker, Instructor, FIT, RISD & Parsons
“Staying healthy for makers”
We all work many hours in quite taxing positions.
I have been doing yoga for many years to keep my joints and back flexible and agile.
In my presentation I will share some of my routine that I do while I am sitting on my workbench.
Brett Walker, Independent Historical Shoemaker
“Head Over Heels: Exploring Fashion Choices on the Early American Frontier”
Movies, fiction books, non-fiction books, blogs, and other forms of communication suffer from a tendency to “paint with a broad brush” when it comes to buying choices of past generations. Few places exhibit that inclination to group too broadly than the early American frontier. A mental picture of the “typical” person along the hinterlands of the European colonies in North America – a place of tremendous exchange of native and European thoughts and ideals – rapidly forms when the subject is raised. How accurate is that picture? Brett Walker is a practicing cordwainer, historian, and teacher who endeavours to explore (and sometimes explode?) pervasive mythos about early America which we’ve adopted from pop culture. Using period sources and extant shoes from the period, he attempts to demonstrate that the range of shoes and boots purchased and worn, as well as the motivations for doing so, is as wildly varied as the people who called the frontier, in some sense, their home.
Additional speakers are welcomed, and updates will be provided on The Crispin Colloquy.
CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS
The theme of the program is ‘Footwear through the Ages: Exploring the mutual influences of military and civilian style and function’. Those who wish to present an illustrated talk (Power Point), pre-recorded video presentation, live presentation workshop, or remote hands-on demonstration are asked to contact Al Saguto dasaguto@widomaker.com. We look forward to your creative input and to “seeing” you in October!