Shoe
Date1730-1740
Artist/Maker
John Hose
MediumSilk Damask (Exterior), Leather (Sole), Linen (Lining); Metal (Buckle, Not Original)
DimensionsLength: 9 1/2"; Height: 4 3/4"; Width: 3"; Heel Height: 2 1/2"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1951-150,3B
DescriptionWoman's shoe constructed of light blue floral silk damask. Shoe has pointed, upturned toe and high, squared tongue. Latchets fasten closed over the instep with a removable buckle. Curved heel approximately 2 1/2" high and white rand. Linings of white kid leather and linen with light blue silk tongue lining. Shoe made as a straight with no intended difference between right and left. Shoe is considerably mended and patched. Matching shoe #3A has paper label on the interior, reading "Made by John Hose at the Rose in Cheapside near Milk Street, London." The interior lining just below the tongue of the shoe at center has inked marking reading 9/38. The left side of the interior lining below the tongue has an illegible mark in the same ink.This shoe #3B has a small rounded, paste buckle in place; this buckle is not original to the shoe.
Construction History:
1. Ca. 1740: Initially Constructed
2. 1900-1925: Small rounded steel-cut buckle added and latchets on both shoes stitched into place
3. January 19, 1954: Cleaning, repairing, restoring by Ernest LoNano.
MarkingsLabel: "Made by John Hose at the Rose in Cheapside near Milk Street, London". "Made by John Hose at the Rose in Cheapside near Milk Street, London." The interior lining just below the tongue of the shoe at center has inked marking reading 9/38. The left side of the interior lining below the tongue has an illegible mark in the same ink.
ProvenanceThe shoes came with a gown and petticoat said to have been worn by Sarah Greene Hill (1700-1760) of Wickford, Rhode Island, for her wedding. Subsequent genealogical research, however, shows that Sarah Greene Hill (Mrs. Caleb Hill) was born in 1760, married in 1784, and died in the 1830s, making it unlikely that she ever wore the shoes that date 1750 to 1765. It is more likely that the shoes were passed down in the family and originally worn by Sarah Greene Hill's mother, Mary Waterman (Mrs. Thomas) Greene (1726-1765) or by Sarah's grandmother, Sarah Wicks (Mrs. Benoni) Waterman (about 1700-1786).
