The Gallery

[marc]

A boot based on a design and last from the early 1400s.

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And

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A wax seal repro I picked up at the Medievalist Conference in Kalamazoo this past weekend.

Marc

[marc]

As long as I'm at it, here's the display I had at last week's conference:

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It's more cluttered than I wanted, but I was trying to show as much as I could of the whole medieval technology thing.

Marc

[paul]

Hello all,

Here are a pair I finished recently.
Garlin Newman Water Buffalo.
Size 4.5! Smallest size I've made so far.
Sweet to hold such a piece in the hand.

PK

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[Brian C. Thomas]

Here is a pair stitched on one of my Landis G’s. I definitely got it dialed in now!

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“Curve Needle for the Band”
Brian C. Thomas

[dw]

Just finished these...French Calf all the way. I used my old clover leaf tongue that I haven't put on a boot for near on to 15 years. These were made for a long time customer and he insisted. Had to revive the patterns and redesign them a little too. "Blucher" toe. Customer has a neuroma that age has aggravated and although he has been wearing 2 1/4" heels for 30 years he decided to try out a pair at 1 5/8".

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[paul]

Black and Blue.

These are the last two pair I've done. The first is a pair for a Frenchman who flies Lear Jets out of Switzerland. His favorite place on earth is Arizona. This is for that. The last of the GH Buffalo sides with Kid tops.

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This second pair is my fist buckaroo using one of Bill Tippets GFS lasts. Bill was incredibly helpful with getting the size right. I just needed a little fill in the instep area mostly. I really appreciated his help. These are Drum Stuffed Roo.

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PK

[Brian C. Thomas]

Here a pair of black bull hides.

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"Non-Fiction for the Brand"
Brian C. Thomas

[dw]

Here's a pair of boots we just finished...10" veg 'roo, Cuban heel...made by, and for, Randee Frommer--Bootmaker.

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Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[sorrell]

This is a pair of boots I took to a show in Santa Fe. I won Best Artist in the Art to Wear category with them.

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[sorrell]

Cool! I just posted a picture!

Here's another pair I just finished for a customer. It's only one boot. The cowboy and the horses are on one boot and the End of the Trail and the buffalo are on the other boot. My photographer combined two photos so you could see all four design elements.

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[sorrell]

By the way, PK walked me through the "posting a picture" process and then gently nagged me until I actually tried it. Thanks, Paul!

Lisa

[sorrell]

I should be working but I don't want to, so I thought I'd post a few pictures instead. That's work-related, isn't it?

This is a reproduction of the Nudie boots on the back cover of "Cowboy Boots."

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[sorrell]

The customer got the basic design for this boot from a boot book somewhere, but he changed all of the leathers and colors. I wouldn't have thought to put burgundy and red together but I like it.

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[sorrell]

One more and then I'll go back to work...

These have a stingray foot. 'nuf said.

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[marc]

Forwarded for William Stephenson <uilliam@earthlink.net>:
A pair of boots based on the "Fell boot" from Driel-Murray, Carol van. "Footwear in the North-Western Provinces of the Roman Empire." In In Stepping through Time: Archaeological Footwear from Prehistoric Times until 1800, 336-376. ZwoIIe Netherlands: Stichting Promotie Archeologie, 2001.

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[paul]

I don't make many shoes. But this is the second pair of this style I've made. It's from Koeleffs Geometric Pattern Book.

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I sure do wish it included some guidlines for sequence. That's my biggest obstacle. The next pair, I'm working on now, is being the same way. It's a zipper boot spin off of the elastic ankle boot in the same book. This is the second time for this other pair, too. And it, too, is being much more difficult.

Frank, didn't you (or someone else) say someone was working on a shoe construction sequence book?

I can work it out after awhile, but it's real crainial for me. It'll be good to talk with shoe makers at the AGM (how's that Bill?)

PK

[Lisa Cresson]

Marc,
Those boots you posted, do they have nails on the bottom? and what type of leather did they use to create them? I am referring to the posting you made for a friend repeated below:
Thanks,
Lisa
----------
By marc carlson on Friday, September 02, 2005 - 11:12 am: Post for William Stephenson <uilliam@earthlink.net>:
A pair of boots based on the "Fell boot" from Driel-Murray, Carol van. "Footwear in the North-Western Provinces of the Roman Empire." In In Stepping through Time: Archaeological Footwear from Prehistoric Times until 1800, 336-376. ZwoIIe Netherlands: Stichting Promotie Archeologie, 2001.

[William Stephenson]

Lisa,
The "Fell boot" was made from 4/5 oz veg tanned cow. and yes, they are hob nailed on the bottom. The hobs were obtained from La Prevo Leather in the UK. I did them as a prototype study for a group of Roman re-enactors.

William

[paul]

Hi all,

I'm gettin' ready for the rush.

A local magazine did a stroy on me recently, even put my grey ol' face on their cover, of all things. I've already had a lot of inquiries and interest, so I thought I should be ready to accomodate.

Printed gift certificates are uninteresting to me, generally, so I made my own.

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It's about 5"x6", and carved on a piece of skirting. I traced the boot out of one of the collectors books I have here in the studio. It only took a swivel knife, beveler, backgrounder and modeling tool. I decided to leave the boots unembelished as I didn't want to influence the receiver in any way with some design or color they'd not prefer.

I mounted it on hot press illustration board, so I could rubber cement the certificate part, which I made up in Word, on the back and be able to remove it later for the next use. I tell the customer that it will be redeemed and exchanged at the time the order is placed. (There's one still out there from two years ago, so I need a few to keep on hand.) This gives the giver something tangible to put under the tree.

Just thought I'd share an idea with ya'll.

PK

[william]

Hi All,

More Roman footwear. My interpretation of a "Fell" boot from "Stepping through Time". Decorative lace hole cutting adapted from illustration #7 pg. 343 of the above mentioned reference. Uppers made from 4/5 oz veg tanned cow. Outsoles from 8/9 oz veg cow. Cemented construction. Iron hobs from Le Prevo Leather in the UK.

These are breaking in very nicely and will become my "boot du jour" for my Roman re-enactment activities.

William

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[dw]

Hmmm...haven't posted anything in a while. Of course I don't even photograph every pair I make much less post every one.

Here's a pair of six inch Derby boots/packers in (correct me if I'm wrong) what is sometimes called the "Blucher" style. The customer wanted something very like a pair of Lobbs that he had bought. He sent them to me tyo look at (they hadn't been worn) Frankly I was disappointed in the workmanship. Mine are cleaner and nicer finished...in my opinion.

Water buffalo calf, fully lined, integral counter, full gusset tongue, inch and five-eighths heel.

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Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[dw]

Also, just finished these...

Standard full wellington but of Horween latigo--the leather is the noteworthy feature. Not a bad leather...a little prone to water stain in lighter colours.

14 inch tops, full pegged sole with mid sole (thus accounting for the height of the heel), cuban/military heel, 2 ounce veg calf toe puff/box.

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Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[william]

Tom/Peter,

Seeing as you inquired - here is a pic of the "last" that I made/use to make my Roman footwear. I used plaster bandage to make a mold of my feet - then filled them with plaster of paris and inserted a short length of copper tube in the "leg" so I can use them on a last stand. I screwed them to the wood base which is the shape of the insole plan and built up/shaped the toe using bondo. The thickness of the "base" becomes the cementing margin for attaching the uppers to the insole. Crude - but effective.

Don't laugh to hard now,

William

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[william]

Jenny.

Here's an illustration that I hope will explain the"cementing margin" better than words can.

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Tom,

In answer to your first question - 'cause the Romans had a lot of Gaul.

In answer to the second question - yes, I can/do reuse them. I only use them for lasting the uppers. I do not do any hammering on them (it would break them up). FYI - I use a 3 inch wide x 5 yd long plaster bandage per foot up to a size 11. Anything bigger will take more bandage.


Hope this helps,

William

[william]

Good morning all,

I hope everyone is haveing a wonderful Holiday Season.

More Roman footwear for ya to look at.

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This is a production version of the "Allendale" boot from Stepping through Time with less cutting on the uppers and more coverage over the toes that the prototype study I did. Late 1st C. Uppers made from 4/5 oz veg cow. Soles are 2 layers of precut/oiled soles cemented together, hob nailed and shaped.

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My interpretation of a pair of 3rd C shoes from Vindolanda (ala Stepping through Time) I made for my wife. Uppers from 4/5 oz veg cow. 6 iron Vibram Diamond Pyramid EVA for the soles 'cause that's what my wife wanted.