Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-03

to modest brass plate lettered yam
torney, Bother. Here you let the ele-
enter small but elegantly appointed
showroom.
The room is probab-.- empty; no as
sistant is at hand to ask your wishes;
but presently shortish man, looking
somewhat out of place in his white work
ing apron and somewhat rough clothing,
steps out of his workshop at the back to
receive you. If you say that you wish to
see his master he will not be in the least
annoyed, for the same mistake is con-
stantly happening.
This is Paolo Yantorny. the artist boot
maker, who clothes the feet of prncesses,
grand dukes and men of wealth. II you
happen to be one of these he will receive
you in just the same white apron, and
with the same absence of any sort of
Difference. His eye has the look of man
who is quietly but thoroughly conscious
of his position in the world, which he
would not exchange with that of any man
alive.
From childhood Yantorny has studied
the foot and its coverings as no man ever
studied them before. There is nothing
that he could not tell you about what the
learned call our inferior extremity, it's
anatomy, it's weaknesses, its possibilities,
it's individuality, the determinations to
which it Is liable: or about the history of
footgear through the ages. and the vari-
Gus forms it takes in the countries Of the
world.
He knows every little muscle and bone
which go to make up the foot as another
a specialists knowledge of the classical
ideals of it expressed in Greek and Roman
sculpture: while he would give you the
answer with equal ease il you asked him
81 81 of 1<0t dor
Queen Elizabeth or the style now most in
favor among the peasants Of Tibet.
i y
But to all this knowledge he adds some
thing far more valuable, which can only
come from a natural instinct trained by
long years of practice-an intuitive ap-
probation of the utmost capacity of any
given foot for artistic treatment. To ex
press this is the work for which he lives.
and into which he throws his whole soul.
He is only happy when he is creating or
carrying out some new FORM more beau
tiful than anything he has made before.
To him a finely shaped foot is an in
spira ton, and he welcomes its arrival in
his room as sculptor greets beautiful
model, or a painter a magnificent land
scape.
From a small showcase, containing, per-
haps, a dozen pairs (Which could not be
bought for $1,000. he will take boot or
shoe to show you. and dwell lovingly on
the subtle harmonies of its lines and
holdings, the perfect proportions, and the
exact ba ance between comfort and beauty
which his combined science and art are
able to strike. For him such q thing is
by no means a mere covering for the foot
"a foot box" as he contemptuously says
but Is or should be a living thing with
both reason and grace in every detail
ITO make the shoe sneak. as he puts
it, is always his aim. which he achieves
in two ways: First. by expressing the
Individuality. the soul which every well
formed foot has for him, and then by
using to the best advantage all its posi-
bilities of beauty. Therefore. every client
who comes to him presents q new problem
for solution, or to put 1t in another way,
a new outlet for his creative skill.
Under. these circumstances it is only
natural that IL you think you can deal
with Yantorny as you would with another
bootmaker and order him to make you Q