English 20th Century Pair of Handmade Cobbler's Shoe Lasts in Wood and Leather with Client Numbering

Objects of quiet industrial poetry, this pair of English cobbler's shoe lasts were handmade in wood and leather in the 20th century to the exact specifications of individual clients — each last numerically coded along the side in the tradition of bespoke cordwaining, where a customer's measurements were preserved in three dimensions and returned to with each new commission. They carry the authority of tools made to matter.

The forms are those of human feet rendered in wood and wrapped in leather, their surfaces acquiring through decades of use a rich and layered patina — worn smooth at the toe, darkened at the curves, with the natural grain of the wood just visible beneath. This handsome weathering is not merely age but evidence of craft: of heels and insteps pressed and released in the making of fine shoes. The numbered markings along the side remain legible, lending the pair an archival specificity that appeals to those who collect objects with a story embedded in their form.

A singular decorative find for the library, the dressing room, or the well-appointed study, these lasts work equally well displayed as a pair or individually — as sculptural still-life objects that invite the imagination back to the ateliers of English shoemaking. Dimensions: 7.5"W × 2.75"D × 2.5"H.

Place of Origin: England
Period: 20th Century
Dimensions: 7.5"W x 2.75"D x 2.5"H

Inventory Number: ACS11
Location: JAA

Price: $ 195