One of my long term projects is back tracking sources, and seeing who was
using what when writing costume (and specifically shoe) related texts. This
week I finally got a hold of a copy of Strutt's _A complete view of the
dress and habits of the people of England_ (1796) [there is a 1970 reprint],
and have to say that from a historiographical perspective it's fascinating.
I find it really interesting how little the known and accepted 'facts' have
changed since the 18th century, and where they -have-. If you are
interested in (mostly English) historical costume, you might want to find a
copy of this -- not to use as a guide mind you, but to see where things have
come from. And it's possible to find tiny nuggets that have been dropped
out of later repetitions.
As a note for further information back-tracking shoe stuff, I recently
managed to get a copy of the C. Roach Smith collection catalog (1854), which
has some interesting drawings of medieval shoe parts (including one, the
long toe of a poulaine, that has been reprinted in a variety of later works
- most of which describe it as armor.
Marc
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