Footwear Collection

Hermes, 1886. Artist: Jonnard
Hermes, 1886. The Greek god Hermes with winged helmet and sandals. From The Magazine of Art. [Cassell & Company, London, 1886]

Picture No. 11768937
DOG Black Labrador puppy wearing flat cap ( 6 weeks old ) with wellington boots Digital Manipulation:Hat PAB brightened Date:

The Old Fisherman, 1903. Artist: Joseph Edward Southall
The Old Fisherman, 1903. From The Studio Volume 79, [London Offices of the Studio, London, 1920]

Field Marshal Lord Roberts, Commander in Chief of the forces in South Africa, 1902. Artist: Lafayette
Field Marshal Lord Roberts, Commander in Chief of the forces in South Africa, 1902. Sir Frederick, 1st Earl Roberts (1832-1914) was one of the foremost British military figures of Victorian times

A Variety of ladies boots 1926
Ladies 1920s boots in willow calf, felt lace, riding, quilted, buttoned, lace-up and rubber. Date: circa 1926

Brochure illustration, W Barratt & Co Ltd, Northampton, showing the Footshape Works where the boots and shoes are made, with addresses of branches below, in London, Bradford, Brighton and Leicester

Picture No. 11072946
DOG Labrador puppy ( black, 6 weeks old ) with boots

Brochure cover, W Barratt & Co Ltd, Northampton
Brochure cover design, W Barratt & Co Ltd, Northampton, advertising boots by post, with a circular illustration of the Footshape Works where the boots are made. Date: 20th century

Josephine Baker at Folie Bergere, 1925-1926. Photograph by Lucien Walery (1863-1935)
XEE4144375 Josephine Baker at Folie Bergere, 1925-1926. Photograph by Lucien Walery (1863-1935). by Walery (Stanislaw Julian Ignacy)

Fifteen year old skinhead Chris Harward poses at home with his mother Joan at their flat in Streatham, South London. 10th April 1970

Wartime advert for Dolcis shoes. Date: 1943

Napoleon at Fontainebleau During the First Abdication - 31 March 1814, (1845). Artist: Paul Delaroche
Napoleon at Fontainebleau During the First Abdication - 31 March 1814, (1845). The invasion of France by the Allies culminated in Napoleons abdication of 11 April

Advert for Raoul Shoe Company 1912
French footwear, womens shoes for all occasions, street, town, seaside, tennis, walking, evening and court. 1912

Poster, Nil Simile, The Ladys Shoe, sold by W F Heddon, Bridge Street, Carmarthen, Wales. Date: circa 1920

Middlesbrough player Robbie Mustoe seen here playing his electric guitar. 24th October 1995

British jockeys, 1934, (1935). Creator: Unknown
British jockeys, 1934, (1935). Steve Donoghue, Joe Childs, Fred Fox, and Brownie Carslake (who was Australian). Donoghue and Childs celebrated their fiftieth birthday in 1934

His Girl, The Huntsmans Meet. Creator: Victor Venner
His Girl, The Huntsmans Meet

Count Otto von Bismarck, Prusso-German statesman, 1870. Otto Edward Leopold, Count von Bismarck (1815-1898) was Chancellor of Prussia and architect of modern Germany

London Life - Fashion pages by Jean Shrimpton, 1965
Spread from the short-lived but impossibly cool magazine, London Life, with a column by sixties supermodel Jean Shrimpton who regularly wrote about the clothes she liked

X-ray Stiletto High-Heeled Shoe
Coloured X-ray of a female leg wearing Stiletto High-Heeled Shoe

Hinmatoowyalahtq it (Chief Joseph), 1879. Creator: Charles Milton Bell
Hinmatoowyalahtq it (Chief Joseph), 1879

Jahangir and his Father, Akbar, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, verso: ca. 1630; recto: ca.1540-50

The Cape Town Highlanders, 1900. Creator: JE Bruton
The Cape Town Highlanders, 1900. The Cape Town Highlanders infantry regiment of the South African Army was mobilised for active duty during the Second Boer War

Neeltje Tuyp, 1897 (1898). Artist: Nico Jungmann
Neeltje Tuyp, 1897 (1898). Plate taken from The Studio magazine, volume 13, no 59 (London, 15th February 1898)

Singer Sewing Machine - Shoe Repairers Machine model 29K53. 1932

Saint Crispin
SAINT CRISPIN Patron saint of tanners and shoemakers : his feast-day is also the date of the battle of Agincourt, as Shakespeare reminds us. Date: circa 285

Leg in stiletto shoe MRI style, X-ray
Leg in stiletto shoe, coloured MRI style X-ray

The slippers An interior of house in Holland - Painting by Samuel Hoogstraten (1626-1678
JLJ4591163 The slippers An interior of house in Holland - Painting by Samuel Hoogstraten (1626-1678) (ec flam) 17th century Sun 1, 03x0, 70 m Paris, Musee du Louvre by Hoogstraten

Dancer adjusting her shoe (ballerina). Drawing by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) New York City
XEE5033393 Dancer adjusting her shoe (ballerina). Drawing by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) New York City. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Oliver Cromwell, 1867 (oil on canvas)
985100 Oliver Cromwell, 1867 (oil on canvas) by Leutze, Emanuel Gottlieb (1816-68); 145.1x107 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: Oliver Cromwell. Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816-1868). Oil on canvas

George Kay and Joe Smith before kick-off, FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London, 1923, (1935)
George Kay and Joe Smith shake hands before kick-off, FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London, 28 April 1923, (1935). George Kay (1891-1954), captain of West Ham United

Fashionable women in new creations 1913
Women models wearing the latest winter beautifully decorative wraps. 1913

Advert, Thomas Rankine & Sons, Shoes, Edinburgh
Advert for Thomas Rankine & Sons, Wholesale Shoewarehousemen and Importers, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. 1905

Advertisement for Cherry Blossom boot polish (colour litho)
6030595 Advertisement for Cherry Blossom boot polish (colour litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Pink and Blue (The Cahen Ladies of Antwerp). Painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir
LRI4638376 Pink and Blue (The Cahen Ladies of Antwerp). Painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir (Pierre-Auguste, 1841-1919), 1881. Impressionism. Oil on canvas

A worker at the Mansfield shoe factory in Northampton, cutting out a leather shoe upper. 26th April 1956

Boot factory of Messrs, Manfield and Sons, Ltd. Northampton. Making room. No. of hands - 147. Pulling over uppers. April 1930

Henri Jacques-Guillaume Clarke, 1804, (1839). Creator: Julien Leopold Boilly
Henri Jacques-Guillaume Clarke, 1804, (1839). Clarke (Henri-Jacques-Guillaume) duc de Fettre, Marechal de France. Portrait of Henri Jacques-Guillaume Clarke (1765-1818)

A Wellington Boot- or the Head of the Armye, 19th century. A satirical political cartoon of the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1827

Cattistock, 1899. Artist: CG
Cattistock, 1899. John Hargreaves on horseback in hunting clothes. Cartoon from Vanity Fair, 30th March 1899

The General, 1881. Artist: Spy
The General, 1881. Mourdaunt Fenwick Bisset MP. Bisset served as Conservative MP for West Somerset from 1880-1884. He was Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds from 1855 until 1881

Mousquetaires Noirs, petite tenue, 1814-15. Artist: Eugene Titeux
Mousquetaires Noirs, petite tenue, 1814-15. Histoire de la Maison Militaire du Roi de 1814-1830, volume 2

Our Boys Clothing Company, riding and top boots
Our Boys Clothing Company riding and top boots. Date: c.1895

Poster advertising Walder shoes, showing a dog holding an elegant pink shoe in its mouth. circa 1930

Brochure cover, W Barratt & Co Ltd, Northampton
Brochure cover design, W Barratt & Co Ltd, Northampton, advertising Footshape boots by post. Depicting an 18th century scene with a coach and horses and a road sign: Boots by Post in 1780

Greetings card in the shape of an owl with top hat, monocle and lace-up shoes. circa 1890s

Chinese woman playing a Ruan (note the Western influence in her choice of footwear!). Date: circa 1910s

The bakery, the butchers, the shoemaker, 19th century lithograph, bread, oven, fire, baker, bake, flour, baked, boots, leather, craft, shoe, hammer, tool, handcraft, handwork, craftsman, soles

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From timeless elegance to bold statements, it has always been an art form. Take a step back in time with Hermes' exquisite craftsmanship in 1886, captured beautifully by Jonnard's brush strokes (Picture No. 11768937). The Old Fisherman, portrayed by Joseph Edward Southall in 1903, showcases the durability and practicality of shoes even in the harshest conditions. Field Marshal Lord Roberts, depicted by Lafayette in 1902, exemplifies the power and authority that can be conveyed through footwear. In Northampton's thriving shoe industry, W Barratt & Co Ltd left their mark with stunning brochure illustrations and covers throughout history. Their designs from 1926 display a variety of ladies boots that catered to every taste (Picture No. 11072946). Meanwhile, Raoul Shoe Company made waves with their innovative advertising techniques as early as 1912. But it's not just about aesthetics; technology has also played a role in revolutionizing footwear. Witness the intriguing X-ray Stiletto High-Heeled Shoe that reveals its inner structure like never before. And for those curious about what lies beneath the surface when wearing stilettos or any other shoe style, an MRI-style X-ray captures it all. Footwear is not only a fashion statement but also reflects cultural movements and subcultures like skinheads. Fifteen-year-old Chris Harward poses proudly at home with his mother Joan while sporting his distinctive skinhead style. Whether you appreciate classic designs or embrace cutting-edge innovation, there is no denying that footwear holds immense significance both artistically and functionally throughout history.