Pair of embroidered half-boots from England, mid-19th century.
Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, acc. no. T.24&A-1936.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London houses a pair of wool embroidered half-boots (also called ankle boots), which date to the mid-nineteenth century and were made in Britain. They are made of canvas, with elastic side gussets, and with the uppers being (hand) embroidered. The boots measure 18 x 10 x 28 cm.
Curatorial information tells that women used to embroider footwear at home. The uppers of these particular half-boots were probably worked separately and passed on to the shoemaker to be attached to sole and heel.
V&A online catalogue (retrieved 22 February 2017).
WV