Bootees

Unknown

1840–50 · cotton, silk · Costume Institute

Atypical of most surviving baby shoes, the pair here is made from a patterned cotton print. The small geometric coral design is very distinctive of the 1840s, and printed cottons of this type were used extensively for women's day dresses. These handmade shoes could well have been fashioned from leftover scraps. The construction of the shoes is meticulous, with every edge bound in silk tape before assembly.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1840–50

Medium

cotton, silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of The Jason and Peggy Westerfield Collection, 1969