Woman's side-laced ankle boot

While many of the shoes in the Cordwainer College Collection have been preserved as examples of technique and production and are therefore unworn, others are in less pristine condition but carry interesting impressions left by their wearers. This woman’s side-lacing ankle boot is made of kid leather and linen. Weighing just 1.04kg, the boot is very dainty and would originally have been a bright white. The leather is now tarnished and a mended expansion point has been created on the right hand side of the forefoot, presumably to allow for a bunion on the wearer’s foot. The boot dates from the 1850s-1870s.