The state herald., 1892-06-03
THE ROMANCE OF soLEs.
"A GREAT COLLECTION OF FA-
NOUS FooT-oEAR.
Three Asndrsd and Ten Pairs Of Old
Shoes which Have Historiss-The
81 Thirty Long Years
Of Searching.

In forgotten corner OF Paris sur
rounded by its Fifteenth Century gar
den. stands tho Hotel de Cluny. which.
as Victor Hugo says exists to-day
for the consolation Of artistsn This
famous roof covers much that Is
curious and interesting. but nothing
perhaps which better repays study
than the shoes collected by NJ Jules
Jacqumart ''Shoes!' hear my
Philistine friends exclaim. Yes and
old shoes at that $40 pairs OF them.
writes Elsie Anderson De Wolfe In
the Cosmopolitan. There arc French
shoes Of the fifteenth. sixteenth. sew
enteenth and eighteenth centuries;
there IL Spanish. German and Portu-
guese footgear OF the samo period.
Here is the shoe OF the Venetian noble
and here the boot spur-fretted. that q
hero Of the league has worn In STIR
ring and bloody times Close by arc
ecclesiastical shoes gold.ombroidered.
velvet-soled. that have pressed no pave
ment savethe marble OF tho vatican.
Here are Oriental shoes that have
waited at the white mosque door In
the yellow blaze OF an Eastern sun
while their owners prayed within;
sandals from royal Egyptian. dead
and mummified these 2. 600 years; tho
pointed. upturned toes that Circas-
sian favorite wore; tiny shoes that
have confined tho crippled feet OF
Chinese belle. Hero too are mocca-
sins OF the red skinned North Ameri-
can Indians that have followed the
North Star on enterprises OF blood
she'd and here Is tho sealskin shoe OF
Lapp which has served in weary
tramp during the sunless day Of an
Arctic winter
This unique and splendid collection
was made by NJ. Jacquemart during
thirty years OF ceaselcss searching.
In tho collection are African shoes
from various provinces. most OF them
In leather embroidered with many
colored silks and wOols Here ALEC
are heelloss Turkish shoes richly sewn
with gold and gems and near by the
hand knitted wooden socks worn by
the poorer Turks. This heavy. square,
toed shoe OF black leather belonged to
that fighting governor Of Languodoc
Henry. duke OF Montmorency. A
great feur -de-lis is stamped on tho In
step the solid wooden heel 10 red
colored, and on the flap the entwined
initials OF the duke. Even tho sole is
covered with arabesque.
Here is a shoe that has belonged to
no less person than Catherine dc
Medici, mother Of three kings 1t Is
easy TO imagine that these very pieces
of skilled workmanship clothed hor
thin Italian feet rs she paced the Am
boise terrace more than three con-
turies ago. weaving the web that later
closed about tho victims OF ST. Bar
tholomew.
A little further on Is Us curious an
example Of odd footgear as can well
be imagined-a sixteenth century
French. white leather affair. tho long
too broadening Mt tho tip, the long
tongue embroidered In colored silks,
the sides slashcd and laced TO the cen.
trail tongue. The heel Is rcd and.
most quaint detail OF all Is Joined to
the too by second solo fiat square
and red.
Further on are tho shoes OF great
ladies whose graces adorned the
courts OF tho Louis. Here is Louis
XVI shoe, OF rose colorcd dotted silk
embroidered with whito flowers. the
heels in white kid. Those othors nrc
the tiny shoes Of the beautiful and un.
happy Princess do Lamballe They
nj ~ tI,,s.v, atl II
q yellow ribbon.
Near the shoes OF this Inflated prin-
ccss is shown p curious Italian pat
tern OF dark wood carved In design
OF branches rosettes and trelliswork.
On tho sole are two hearts pierced by
an arrow. But the most interesting
wooden shoe In tho collection wa,
made when Henry OF Navarro was
king. 1t is finely carved In rosettes.
and belonging to II is sort OF mulo OF
similar workmanship. into which the
toe fts tho whole joining at tho heel
with wooden screw.
Hardly less curious Is tho footgear
OF the beginning OF this century.
with ruches OF tho national colors and
tri-color rosettos Among tho shoes
Of this era by far tho most intercst-
ing arc those which once shod the
Empross Josephine
In largo case on tho loft side OF
tho room Mt Cluny is tho collection OF
riding and rcglmental boots. Hero 10
q pair that might have belonged TO
Maurice do Saxe 30 valinntly do thoy
bear themselves
Tho funnel OF tho boots Is very large
and tho great flap is stamped with
nour-do.lis Tho foot Is small with
rounded too and tho heel with It's
marks OF n spur bears dolphin.
Besides thom stand pair OF boots
that marshal OF Franco has worn.
They nrc long and soft made In
shagreon. with thick. white stitched
sole n gnrtor fastened below tho knee
by buckle and second buckle at
tho Hap. ! fancy this ofllccr mus,
have beon bit OF dandy and proud
Of his log.