ne of the first sumptuary laws in New England declared that men of mean estate should not walk abroad in immoderate great boots. It was a natural prohibition where all extravagance in dress was reprehended and restrained. The “great boots” which had been so vast in the reign of James I seemed to be spreading still wider in the reign of Charles. I have an old “Discourse” on leather dated 1629, which states fully the condition of things. Its various headings read, “The general Use of Leather;” “The general Abuse thereof;” “The good which may arise from the Reformation;” “The several Statutes made in that behalf by our ancient Kings;” and lastly a “Petition to the High Court of Parliament.” It is all most informing; for instance, in the trades that might want work were it not for leather are named not only “shoemakers, cordwainers, curriers, etc.,” but many now obsolete. The list reads:—
“Book binders.
Budget makers.
Saddlers.
Trunk makers.
Upholsterers.
Belt makers.
Case makers.
Box makers.
Wool-card makers.
Cabinet makers.
Shuttle makers.
Bottle and Jack makers.
Hawks-hood makers.
Gridlers.
Scabbard-makers.
Glovers.”
Unwillingly the author added “those upstart trades—Coach Makers, and Harness Makers for Coach Horses.” It was really feared, by this sensible gentleman-writer—and many others—that if many carriages and coaches were used, shoemakers would suffer because so few shoes would be worn out.
From the statutes which are rehearsed we learn that the footwear of the day was “boots, shoes, buskins, startups, slippers, or pantofles.” Stubbes said:—
“They have korked shooes puisnets pantoffles, some of black velvet, some of white some of green, some of yellow, some of Spanish leather, some of English leather stitched with Silke and embroidered with Gold &; Silver all over the foot.”
A very interesting book has been published by the British Cordwainers’ Guild, giving a succession of fine illustrations of the footwear of different times and nations. Among them are some handsome English slippers, shoes, jack-boots, etc. We have also in our museums, historical collections, and private families many fine examples; but the difficulty is in the assigning of correct dates. Family tradition is absolutely wide of the truth—its fabulous dates are often a century away from the proper year.
The Copley Family Picture.