Snappy Victorian Button Boots by Atelier Louette-Finner

Fun, fresh and contemporary low-heeled button boots, circa late 1870s-1880s, by Belgian shoe and bootmakers, atelier Louette-Finner. The black and white check upper contrast with the black lower, giving the appearance of a spat or overshoe. It is the use of the checked textile clad heel which sets the boots apart, adding a visual flourish and illustrating why the firm excelled in design. The heel softens the more masculine style.  The boots are in the collection of the Bata Shoe Museum and on view in ‘Fashion Victims’ (through January 2017; http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/fashion-victims/)

The shoe concern exhibited at a number of international expositions, including the 1867 Paris International. Their shoes may be found in other collections, such as the Centraal Museum.  

Again, atelier Louette-Finner adds their own design flare to two pairs of 1870s women’s shoes.

For more: http://centraalmuseum.nl/ontdekken/object/?img_only=1#o:7779

A New Hampshire Man Gives Thanks: Samuel Lane (1718-1806)

A New Hampshire Man Gives Thanks: Samuel Lane (1718-1806)

Deacon Samuel Lane (1718-1806) was a tanner and a cordwainer (or shoemaker); he was 75 when he wrote the following in his daybook. His house, barn and millpond survive in Stratham, NH. 

On Public Thanksgiving Day Morning November 21, 1793, Lane wrote:

As I was Musing on my Bed being awake as Usual before Day-light: recollecting the Many Mercies and good things I enjoy for which I ought to be thankfull this day; some of which I have Noted, viz.....

The life and health of myself and my family, and also of so many of my children, grandchildren and great grand children...

For my Bible, and many other good and useful books, Civil and Religious Priviledges, for the ordinances of the gospel; and for my minister.

For my land, house and barn and other buildings...for my wearing clothes to keep me warm...For my Cattle, Sheep & Swine & other Creatures, for my support.

For my corn, wheat, rye, grass, hay; wool, flax; syder, Apples, Pumpkins... For my clock & watch to measure my passing time by Day and by Night...

For my Lether, Lamp oyl & Candles, Husbandry Utensils, & other tools of every sort.

Excerpt: Brown, Jerald E. The Years of the Life of Samuel Lane, 1718-1806: A New Hampshire Man and His World. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2000. Donna-Belle Garvin, Editor. For purchase, see: https://www.nhhistory.org/Store/Books/Biography/The-Years-of-the-Life-of-Samuel-Lane,-1718-1806-A

Courtesy, New Hampshire Historical Society


For additional images of almanack pages, Lane's tools, family furniture and additional sources, follow link below:http://www.nhhistory.org/eimages/October2009/lanejournal.html