Books, Manuals, Publications

[dw]

Lisa,

Sometimes...as hard as it may be to believe......I don't reply to offhand comments or posts simply because I don't know, or have anything useful to offer.

It's funny but often...on this forum at least...if someone jumps in with an opinion, or information....and especially if that information is a bit off the wall or incorrect...those who are really in the know go mum.

I am a bootmaker. A "western" (read "cowboy") bootmaker whose specialty is the full wellington. I know next to nothing about women's shoes, pumps or court shoes.

If anyone on this forum can help you...my suggestion would be our esteemed Prez.--Dan Freeman.

They say that wisdom comes when you know when you know and know when you don't know. Sorry.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[admin]

As administrator, webmaster, and onetime membership contact for the HCC and the Crispin Colloquy, I cannot change links ...such as those to John Bailey...unless I know that those addresses have changed and what the changes entail.

Thank you, Al for providing that update.

The email address for John Bailey has been changed on the HCC webpage.

in the spotlight
Emmett

[das]

Thanks Emmett

[admin]

Lisa,

Apologies, the links to machine manuals were pulled due to copyright issues.

Hmmm, I was almost sure that this was discussed in great detail on this forum...Oh, yes, here it is...within this same discussion, scroll up to my November 01, 2004 post and you will see the announcement that these pdf's have been removed.

sweeping as fast as I can
Yr. Evr. Hmb. Svt.
Emmett

[erickgeer]

This is probably for DW, Al or Marc,

I have located a copy of the Bordoli text. I have agreed to purchase this, but the seller upped the shipping cost quite a bit from the original quote. This is a first edition, described as having tight inards with fading on the spine. Could someone e-mail me off forum, if you have an idea of a reasonable price for this?
Having never seen this for sale, and not knowing how hard it is to come buy, I don't know if I should look elsewhere.

Thanks in advance,

Erick
riotgeer@ameritech.net

[das]

Erick,

I wish I could buck you up on pricing, but it's been so long since I got mine, I really can't recall. All four volumes, in good shape, I'd guess more than $100 USD, but less than...well, $300-$400 would be getting a little rich for my blood, but rare book prices are nuts. I'd just grab it. The bragging-rights here are not on getting it for $50, but for being one of the few who even has a set to begin with

Good luck.

[dw]

Erick,

I think I paid somewhat more than $100.00 for my copy. Bordoli is four volumes....at $100.00, $25.00 for each volume seems like a peanuts. Al said it all...if you want the set, the price is almost of no importance especially compared to passing on it and kicking yourself for the next number of years. As they say in real estate..."they ain't making these anymore."

BTW, congrats on the Sheffield bulldogs. I couldn't have purchased them for that price but I drooled ...I drooled.


Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[erickgeer]

Al and DW,
Thank you both, I took your advice - I paid for the books, now I just have to wait for them to get over the Pond!

DW,
I figured, on the pincers, that brand new ones (that people seem to have a low opinion of) aren't much less. How often does this come around?
hopefuly I'm not scared to use 'em.

Erick

[Lisa Cresson]

Dear Everett,
Thank you for the explaination on the manual links disappearance, and you are right about the page needing an explaination.

On another note I am seeking a copy of:
"Every Lady her Own Shoemaker; or, A Complete Self-instructor in the Art of Making Gaiters and Shoes. By a lady ...
Publisher: R. M. De Witt [c1856], New York
I believe this book should have instructions on the low boots and indoor court shoes women wore at that time.

Al Saguto -- any ideas?

[Lisa Cresson]

wasn't it Socrates who said:
"...experience teaches you to recognize a mistake the second time you make it..."

[das]

Lisa,

The facsimile reprint of 'Every Lady' as sold at Old Sturbridge Village gift shoppes was published by: The 1670 Tavern Antiques, 22 Warf Lane, E. Haverhill, MA 01830. Printed by Unicorn Farm Printery, Gilbertsville, NY 13776. Contact Old Sturbridge Village. Try Amazon Dry Goods.com. Do a used book search. It's only 6" x 4", softbound in red velvet paper wraps, 39 pp., 3 or 4 fold-out plates.

I found my copy here. It's a fun little book, good shoe-history, but it's all turnshoes, flats, and 1856 styles that only reinactors are going to be keen for, e.g. side-lace, elastic gore, and button ankle boots women and girl's; slit-vamp low tie shoes for kids; gents' house slippers, and nothing I can see that would qualify as a "court" shoe. The author has you go to the local shoemaker, get your soles pre-cut to fit a last you have or borrow, then have him hole the sole [pierce the inseam ahead of time]. You take this "DIY kit" home, make the cloth uppers, and sew the inseam yourself through the holes he pierced.

Maybe if you posted a photo or drawing of this shoe style you're calling a "court" shoe, we can know what books to refer you too.

[Lisa Cresson]

Dear D.A.,
I saw a turnshoe from the mid-1800's or earlier. It was an original cordovan [brown], woman's court shoe made on a straight last. Sterling Silver coil tassles. Just lovely and such a small foot! This was worn on the left foot.

I appreciate your assistance in the details to locate this book.
The search continues. . . Is Carl Adrian's Last Making book back in print? The fellow at shoetrades.com said he was looking for Adrian's widow for permission when I called a while back.

Regards,
Lisa

[das]

Lisa,

The shoe you describe sounds more like a woman's "Grecian" or a "sandal" [period parlance]. Not surprising--most "straight" shoes were worn off as lefts and rights. Very few at any period show any evidence of the popular myth of swapping over from foot to foot.

Still need pictures of what you want patterns for as a "court shoe".

Hope you find 'Every Lady', it's a fun item. Sorry I have no advice on Carl Adrian's book. It's out there.

[erickgeer]

Lisa,
I bought my copy from Shoetrades about a year/ year and a half ago- if this impacts your search from them.

I also found it for sale at Brannock device online.

Do a google search for "american Last Making" and you will probably get links to Shoetrades and Brannock Device.

Erick

[danfreeman]

A very interesting article about one of our Guild members in a very recent publication: The Feb. 14 & 21 issue of the "New Yorker" magazine has a piece titled "Sole Survivor: Were Stone Age Shoes Comfortable?" (the answer seems to be "yes and no"), by Burkhard Bilger; the article concerns Petr Hlavacek, professor of shoe technology at Thomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic.
Guild members who attend our Annual General Meetings will remember Mr. Hlavacek's talk given at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto at our '93 AGM. He spoke at length about Otzi, the Ice Man found frozen in Italy in '91, and about his wonderfully complex and well-preserved shoes.
Although Bilger is no shoemaker, he does not too badly maul the wealth of shoemaking detail Mr. Hlavacek provides, from footwear development history to the story about his re-creation of Otzi's shoes (and if you think they're sticklers for detail at Colonial Williamsburg--which they are--you'll be even more impressed by these shoes' authenticity: bearskins, flint knives, bone needles, etc.)
The shoe construction is nothing like what most footwear historians have written about, and seems to contradict John Thornton's theories about the "invention" of shoes, although maybe not: Otzi's shoes could be called modified moccasins, and Thornton predicted many variations.
I found the article very informative and enjoyable; try to read it if you can. It is pleasing to know that HCC members are at work around the world.

[marc]

This question came up on a different list I'm on and I thought I'd expand it to here, just to see the different sorts of answers people have.

If you had to pick the 5 "must have" books on shoe and/or bootmaking, what would they be? (since I'm not wanting to start any fights, if you don't agree with the ones, for example, that I post, just post your own )

For (not medieval) shoes I'd say:

- Golding, Frank Yeates, ed. Boots and Shoes, Their Making. London, 1935. (which is cheating since it's more than 5 individual volumes)
- Rees, John F. The art and mystery of a cordwainer; or, An essay on the principles and practice of boot and shoe-making. With illustrative copperplates. London: Printed for Gale, Curtis, and Fenner, 1813.
- Salaman, R. A. Dictionary of Leather-Working Tools, C.1700-1950, and Tools of Allied Trades.
New York: Macmillian, 1986.
- Standage, H. C. The Leather Worker's Manual; Being a Compendium of Practical Recipes and Working Formulæ for Curriers, Bootmakers, Leather Dressers, Blacking Manufactures, Saddlers, and Fancy Leather Workers. 3d, rev. ed. The Leather Worker's Manual. London: Scott Greenwood & Son, 1920.
- and either Gaursault in English or DW's Western Bootmaking.

Marc

[dw]

Marc,

Not that my list is any better than anyone else's but I agree Golding is top of the list. Salaman maybe second. I've never seen Standage's work...never heard of it til you mentioned it here. I may have to go digging.

I wouldn't leave out Swaysland or Thornton (although I don't own a full copy of the latter) but as much as we all revere Rees, in my opinion the usefulness of The Art and Mysterie is pretty limited for modern work.

And believe it or not I would at least give honourable mention to Handmade Shoes for Men. If nothing else it is inspirational...but I've picked up an awful lot of tiny details and refinements just by looking closely at the pictures.

And I have to tell you that either Modern Patternmaking by Patrick or (dern, I forget the title) Frank Jones' book on patternmaking...for those looking for a well rounded collection....would come in ahead of my book on my own list. (Although for bootmakers, I don't think there has ever been anything published quite like it...for a complete tutorial...and for better or worse.)

Anyway that's my take. I too would be interested in seeing the "lists" of others on the forum....??!!

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[Lisa Cresson]

The women's pump sole is attached without a rand, or welt et al

any comments. . .

[das]

Lisa,

I'd say from that it's a turn-shoe: inseamed inside out, then turned right way round.

[uncle_bob]

DWFII,
Dig no further!
"I've never seen Standage's work...never heard of it til you mentioned it here. I may have to go digging."
Thrid Edition, May 1920 The Leather Worker's Manual, H. C. Standage,
Chaper 1-boot and Shoe blackings, polishes, Glosses, Dressings, Renovators
Chapter II- Harness polishes, Blackings, Dressings, Compositions, Greases, Soaps, Boot-Top Powders and Liquids
Chapter III-Leather Grinders Sundries
Chapter IV- Curriers' seasonings, Blacking Compounds, Dressing Finishes, Glosses, ETC.
Chapter V- Dye and Stains for Leather
Chapter VI- Natural and Aniline Dye-stuffs, Miscellaneous Recipies
Chapter VII- Chrome Tanning
Chapter VIII- Useful Recipies and Methods

An Excerp from page 51-Shoemakers' Waxes-
Ingredients:
40 lb. rosin
4 lb. heavy rosin oil
4 lb. heavy cao-tar oil (free from creosote)
2 lb. chrome yellow
2 lb. chalk
Method of preperation-Put the rosin into a suitable boiler, and heat until it melts, then add the rosin oil and coal-tar oil and heat up the mixture until it boils, and continue the boiling until a sample, when taken from the boiler, can be kneaded and drawn out into threads between the fingers; then allow the mixture to cool, and while in a fluid state stir in the chrome yellow and chalk, both in the dry powdered state; mix thoroughly by stirring, and when homogeneous allow to cool until plastic enough to be moulded into suitable sized pieces of "cobbler's wax".
Another fomula is to melt together tallow and Swedish pitch, and when plastic to form into balls; the quantity of tallow is best determined by experiment.

There are a few other formula for waxes for other specific purposes. Neat book!
Although the Rees is antiquated in it's relavance in todays environment, the bookbinding skills which are displayed in the making of this volume would make any leather trades professional smile with aknowledgement.

Surprised to read you did not have a full copy of Thornton, Three that I'm aware of are the 1953 Textbook of Footwear manufacture and the 1958 2nd and revised edition along with the 1955 Textbook of Footwear Materials, are there others!
Another good one for formula is Manufacture of Lubricants, shoe polishes & leather dressings by R. Brunner 1916 Second English Edition
Kind Regards,
Bob

[uncle_bob]

Another very comprehensive exhaustive treatise on the construction and design of patterns is the turn of the century work by Thos. J. Brophy, Jun. A registered teacher, City Guilds of London Institute; Instructor of Boot and Shoe Manufacture at the City of Dublin Technical Schools. The book although not dated, mentions in its technical publications page Hill and Yeoman's, A Manual of Boot & Shoe Manufacture, of which my copy is 1900 so I'm estimating its publication date in the same time frame. There is a very interesting list in the back I thought you's enjoy "it's kinda like trivia, you know how they say your waist is twice your neck and your foot is the length of your wrist to your elbow, measured on the inside of your arm" well here it is:
A Few General Mnemonics
The ankle equals the joint measure

The correct rule or tape measure should start the 0's size at 4 in.

Straight toecaps are 2-3rds of length of vamp; high peakones, 3/4

The "form" is 1-10th longer than the last.

The joint line of a standard equals 1-3rd of joint of last, plus lasting allowances.

As 4in. is the length of last, so is 5in. to heel measure, 3 1/2in. to instep, and 3 1/4in. to joint and ankle measures.

Subtract the spring intended for the completed boot from the spring of last; double of the remainder give the height of heel this last will carry.

The majority of lasts are scaled up and down by 1/4in. from per size in girth measure; fittings ditto.

The ankle measure should be taken at the smallest part of the leg, or 1-12th of heel measure from pitch point.

The height of the following designs at the back seam bear this relation to the length of last: Slippers, 1/4; shoes, 1-3rd; Bluchers, 1/2; men's linings, 1/2; Derbys, 3-5ths; women's low balmorals, 2-3rds; high polish, 3/4.

The highest point for Blucher Tab and leave "vent" is half the length of standard, crossed by half the depth of instep.

Oh Well, go figure!!!

Uncle Bob

(Message edited by Uncle Bob on March 05, 2005)

[dw]

Unca Bob,

When you say "dig no further" am I to assume you are offering the book to me? I would like it of all things!!

Seriously, thanks for the recipe. I had a chance at Thornton, once upon a time--through "HP Bookfinders" in UK--but, as I recall, the widow who was selling it changed her mind at the last minute.

I'd really like to see the Brophy book. That's another I've never seen nor heard of. 'Course all I've got to work with is a bibliography that originally came from NorthHampton, I believe, and was re-printed up by the Guild.

Do you have a scanner? An optical recognition program? A desktop publishing program such as Quark or Ventura? If the answers to all these questions is "yes," you could scan in some of these books and add them to the Guild library/mini-Gutenburg Project.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[uncle_bob]

Tell you what I'll do, all 4 books "the revised Thornton" will be forwarded via USPS Priority Mail "Uncle Bob's Limited LENDING Library" in Monday's outgoing, for your perusal. It would be my sincere pleasure to learn how to do all that neat transfering of written word into computer stuff, as semi-retirement lends itself to having time to do cool things. Perhaps on my next pilgrimage out west, I'll swing by the shop for a shot "or two" of LaGavulin single malt and you can give me a primer on "how to get books into the computer, without having to re-type the entire text" as I look over all your facinating bootmaking treasures!

[uncle_bob]

(Message edited by Uncle Bob on March 06, 2005)

[uncle_bob]

Book:

3489.jpg

Book 1:

3490.jpg

Book 2:

3491.jpg

(Message edited by Uncle Bob on March 06, 2005)