Woman's Shoes

Original OwnerOriginally owned by the Goodsell family (American)

Dateabout 1885

MediumMachine-stitched leather, cotton, cut steel beads, silk tape, and leather-covered wooden heel with nails, possibly of brass

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width x depth): 3 7/8 x 2 1/2 x 9 1/4in. (9.8 x 6.4 x 23.5cm)

ClassificationsCostume

Credit LineGift of Percy H. Goodsell, Jr.

Object number1961.64.48a,b

DescriptionShiny dark brown leather shoes with oval toe and knock-on Louis-style heel. The vamp is punched with round holes in a triangular configuration at the toe. Each hole is finished with buttonhole stitching and the centers worked with thread in a spoke pattern; the holes are then surrounded with cut steel beads. Across the top of the throatline is a buckle-like design, with a rectangle worked in cut steel beads, through which is placed a bow-shaped piece of matching leather, bound with brown silk tape, and also decorated with cut steel beads. The throatline is bound with brown silk tape, which is missing from the backs of the shoes, revealing a doubled string which had been encased within the binding to hold the throatline in shape. The shoes are lined in the quarters with brown leather, and in the vamp with plain-woven, heavy-weight, white cotton. The shoes are made for left and right feet. The top piece of the heel is attached with brass (?) nails.

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