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  • Child's Shoes, about 1870

    Child's Shoes, about 1870

    These are sturdy, simple, inexpensive half-boots likely worn by a working class child. Thick, strong leather would have been uncomfortable and unforgiving for the wearer.

  • Mules, about 1870

    Mules, about 1870

    Mrs. Tom Thumb (1841-1918), was known variously as Lavinia Warren, Countess M. Lavinia Magri, and Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump. She was a dwarf who stood just 32 inches high. Lavinia Warren went under contract to P.T. Barnum in 1862, who indulged her preferences for fine clothing and jewelry.She married Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton, 1838-1883) in 1863 and the two toured with P.T. Barnum's Circus until Thumb's death in 1883. These fine slippers offer an indication of her size (very small) and style (…

  • Women's Boots, about 1870

    Women's Boots, about 1870

    The machine stitching on these boots is extraordinarily tight and fine--fabulous. Very narrow outer sole for a long, skinny foot. They could be wedding boots. Donor Mrs. Ethel G. Douglas, of 5th Ave. in New York City, was born circa 1885 in Pennsylvania. It is plausible that these were her mother's shoes, perhaps worn at a wedding around 1875.