Introduction 1. The First Shoes 2. From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance 3. European Renaissance 4. Towards the Age Of Reason 5. Return to Simplicity 6. Mechanization of the Industry 7. The Turn of the Twentieth Century 8. Austerity Years 9. A New Era 10. 1980s to the Present Places to Visit Selected Bibliography Glossary Index Acknowledgements
A beautifully illustrated and accessible overview of the history of shoes from the ancient to the contemporary.
Rebecca Shawcross is the Shoe Resources Officer at The Shoe Collection, Northampton Museum, UK.
The new book Shoes: An Illustrated History by Rebecca Shawcross
charts the many ways we’ve clad our feet, from the oldest known
shoes (mocassin-like footwear dating from 3500 BC, and discovered
in a cave in Armenia) to the wild styles of today. Along the way,
Shawcross explains how high heels became synonymous with feminine
sexuality.
*The New York Post*
This new shoe compendium will raise you to ‘new heights’. Taking
the reader on a thrilling shoe odyssey, the work crosses all
ground, from the everyday and the emotive, to the extravagant and
the spectacular. Erudite and comprehensive, this book sets new
standards in exploring the history of footwear.
*Peter McNeil, Professor of Design History, UTS, Sydney
Distinguished Professor, Academy of Finland at Aalto
University*
If you love shoes, buy this book! Learn about shoes across the
centuries: prehistoric sandals, buskins, slap soles, and shoe
designers. An attractive, appealing, informative, and gorgeously
illustrated documentation. Rebecca Shawcross knows shoes.
*Joanne B. Eicher, Regents Professor Emerita at the University of
Minnesota, and Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of World Dress
and Fashion*
My usual beef with most shoe survey books produced in the late 20th
century is that they pretty much have all the same shoes in them …
[Shoes] has SO much more--so many other pairs of footwear that you
just don't see in the majority of other books of this sort out
there. This book is beautifully put together and enormously
readable/browsable--a great balance of full color images,
historical illustrations & engravings, and meaningful yet not dense
text … Shawcross gives equal weight to the progression of the
history of footwear itself … as she does to recurring iconic styles
and innovations/innovators … Ultimately, this is an exciting new
book on a subject I adore, and I highly recommend it.
*La Bricoleuse*
Shoes: An Illustrated History isn’t just about those things we
stuff on our tootsies; there’s Hollywood here, as well as
biographies, pop culture, and plenty of history to dip your toes
into. And while you’ll find a satisfying amount of narrative,
what’s especially appealing are the dozens and dozens of full-color
pictures of shoes, including bygone styles perfect for today’s
runway, and footwear you’d likely boot to the curb. I think anyone
with more than ten pairs of shoes in the closet is missing
something if this book isn’t laying next to the bed. For you,
Shoes: An Illustrated History is a real kick.
*PBG Lifestyle Magazine*
Shoes: An Illustrated History by Rebecca Shawcross shows the human
fascination with footwear over millennia … Shawcross knows her
stuff. She uses historical documents, paintings, photographs and
advertising to show the ongoing development of footwear for both
sexes.
*McClatchy DC*
This beautifully illustrated compendium reveals the expertise of
Shawcross, curator of the Boot and Shoe Collection (with more than
13,000 pairs, Europe's largest) at the Northampton Museum and Art
Gallery, located in England's shoe trade center. Covering
prehistory to the present, the author provides brief historical
introductions for each period and discusses footwear design, types,
fashion, manufacture, marketing, superstitions, uses, famous owners
and designers, brands, and more … the book would undoubtedly be a
keepsake for shoe aficionados … Summing Up: Highly recommended. All
levels/libraries.
*CHOICE*
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