It is to be found at the Archives National, or in the Library of the Cour de Cassation. In the Archives National is a small collection of ordinances relative to lace collected by M. Rondonneau, extending from 1666 to 1773. It is very difficult to get at all the ordinances. Many are printed in De la Mare (Traité de la Police); but the most complete work is the Recueil général des anciennes Lois françaises, depuis l'an 420 jusqu'à la Révolution de 1789, par MM. Isambert, Ducrusy, et Taillandier. Paris, 1829. The ordinances bear two dates, that of their issue and of their registry.
This "canon," originally called "bas de bottes," was a circle of linen or other stuff fastened below the knee, widening at the bottom so as to fill the enlargement of the boot, and when trimmed with lace, having the appearance of a ruffle.
Dictionnaire des Précieuses. 1660. Molière likewise ridicules them:—
"Et de ces grands canons, où, comme des entraves,
On met tous les matins les deux jambes esclaves."
—L'École des Maris.
And again, in L'École des Femmes: