Title: Nebulous in a State of Rest - 1835
Collection: 300 years of Shoes
Garment: The lost left shoe of a Regency era woman
Materials: FSC accredited paper tablecloth, tissue paper, cartridge paper, embroidery thread, card, pencil, coloured pencil 
Background: Printed Paper
 
This shoe is inspired by the square toed, flat style of shoe fashionable during the 1830-40s. It reflects the fact that as shoe production began to be mechanized shoes in this style might be cut as ‘straights’ ie. the same shape cut for both feet; they would be labelled ‘left’ and ‘right’ inside the shoes.
 
This shoe is also inspired by Birds-of-Paradise which held particular sway over the imagination of collectors and illustrators alike during this period. Some book illustrations were drawn from description and story only, without an artist ever having laid eyes upon the bird. The images of the bird on the toe and inside of this shoe show one particular bird-of paradise with its tail open and closed respectively. They are reproductions of illustrations created by Jacques Barraband (1769 - 1809), who was considered one of the finest French bird painters of the period. Barraband illustrated many onithologies produced by Francois Le Vaillant (1753-1824). He titled these illustrations The Nebula spreading her Ornaments and The Nebulous in the State of Rest, date issued: 1806
 
Reflecting the importance of links between French, mostly Parisian, and British fashion at this time the label inside this shoe is written in French but dedicated to the craftsmanship of the cordwainer (shoe maker) William Quartermain of 9 Princes Place who was working in Brighton in1800.
 
This piece is beautifully presented in an acrylic display case H 16cms, L 37cms, W 29cms