Georgian Child’s Bootees

Dating to about the 1790s, these little boots are delicate and yet so evocative of the Georgian era when those with status and money spared no expense when dressing their children. The boots are made from deep cream silk that is hand-painted. Curiously the designs differ on each boot – one has trailing pink flowers whilst the other has tiny trailing blue flowers. The lining is cream silk and the soles are kid leather. They are trimmed at the top with fine lace with matching rosettes on each upper and are fastened with silk ribbon ties.

The boots have small condition issues best demonstrated by the accompanying photographs. There are small tears to the silk around the top edges, the heel seams and on the tips of the toes. The soles are also partly detached from the silk though they are still firmly held by the cambric lining.