All of our shoes are functional copies of shoes of the American Colonial Period. They are designed to be worn with genuine shoe buckles, not the tie-on imitations seen at so many Scottish events.
Fugawee makes both straight last and left/right or “crooked” colonial shoes. The straight last is more correct for the ordinary persona of the Colonial period but the crooked last is more comfortable. After being worn a few times, a straight lasted shoe soon molds itself to your foot.
Never swap shoes. That is a myth with but a faint foundation in history.
Toe caps, the formed section at the front of the shoe, didn’t come into use until about 1870. When you buy a Colonial shoe, expect soft toes and expect to need your shoes a little longer if you have prominent big toes.
What’s the story on straight-lasted shoes?
During the Middle Ages shoes were soft, made something like hard-soled moccasins, and had little, if any, heel. They were easily made to fit each foot. Then came the. Italians. Some people even blame Leonardo Da Vinci.
High-heeled shoes are mentioned as early as 1533 but they reached ordinary fops in the 1590s when they swept into Venice and Florence. This brought out a whole new set of problems. The shank in the arch of the shoe had to be strong and stiff enough to keep the shoe from collapsing forward and the sides of the shoe had to be molded so that the foot would not slide down into the toe area. The complexities and cost of carving compound curves into the last (the form that the shoe is molded over) and then making a mirror image for the other foot limited such shoes to the very rich.
The fashionably foppish folk were faced with a dilemma: Style or Comfort?
You guessed it. Style won out, so from the 1590s until the 1830’s ordinary people wore straight last shoes. Then, in 1828 a foreman named Blanchard at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts developed a duplicating lathe for the manufacture of gun stocks.
The original Blanchard lathe is on exhibit in the Springfield Armory Museum. Despite the Armory’s history of service since the birth of the Republic, it is gone. An industrial park and/or Junior College now occupies the buildings. A small but fascinating museum of American arms making since the birth of the republic is set up in one of the old buildings. The museum is closed Monday and Tuesday. When asking for directions from the local people, ask for the Junior College. Most of them don’t know how those old buildings won this nation’s wars.
A Philadelphia shoemaker thought that Blanchard’s new lathe was also ideal for making shoe lasts and soon discovered that, by reversing the cam which guided the cutter, a mirror image could be produced. Since a wooden last gets chewed up by tack holes in a few hundred uses, there was a constant demand for new lasts and the new lasts soon were all made in left and right. By 1841 the military was using left/right shoes. By 1851 left/rights were officially specified.
Some slippers and light women’s shoes continued to be made on straight lasts by the turn-shoe method until perhaps 1880. This probably is because the lasts were usable for a longer period since they did not suffer all the tack holes used in welt construction.
(By the way; Napoleon’s valet broke in his boss’s custom-made boots. It’s good to be the Emperor.)
So back to your choices in a man’s Colonial shoe.
The left/right Franklin is made of black calfskin. It has a normal heel and is leather lined. The toe is slightly squared but not square enough to limit the style to pre-1735. With a longish tongue, the Franklin is a good choice for the gentleman of means. To get a little snobbish, paint your heels red with paint. Originally, that meant that you had been received at Court but it was widely imitated by all kinds of fops and pretenders. See the film “Rob Roy”. The latchets will accept a 1¼ to 1½ inch buckle. Sizes 7 to 13 in E width only.

The COVID #@$#!! The whole virus thing has been hard on my mother and our business, Nancy She is the founder of Fugawee. Age ninety, and she is doing great. She is still independent and lives on her own. Nancy’s latest project that she is finishing up is a book on our family and the letters back and forth from a family home in Florida and my father. He was a Merchant sailor and was away a lot, up to eleven months at a time. He could be ANYWHERE in the world!  I remember watching TV about 1968-69, and they were showing how the Vet Cong were setting up IED’s for ships using anti-aircraft missiles along these long rivers the vessel had to go up to unload. Munition ships like my dad was sailing carried 500,000 tons (one billion pounds) of hi explosives, bombs, bullets, artillery rounds, all the stuff that went boom. He would be in faraway places. They would be written on onion skinned paper to save weight. The letters had cool stamps and marked “US Air Mail” on them from coming from  Far away places like Cat Lai bay, Saigon, Da nang. They didn’t sound safe, according to Walter Cronkite was saying. I was eight years old. I’m sure I will be quite embarrassed by some of the passages that come out in the new book. But we will talk about her new book another time.

  Having Time to Breathe.

 Gone was the typical day to day barrage of wake em up and get them out to school. Then business, business, business, and coordinating and schedule with military precision, band, Odessey of the mind, Drama, softball, homework, dinner (on Time), music homework, School projects, and playdates. All suddenly vanished poof! The constant hi voltage humm of the everyday was gone. There is Time to be with the family and not just to run by each other as the daily activities are going on, getting uptight because someone was late, or forgot something.

Doing things you haven’t been able to do.

 Putting a puzzle together w with one of my kids, a family board game, frisbee in the yard. Pulling out the ping pong table. In other words, Time with your family that was being stolen one little slice at a time.

The Good

Finding out what it is that made you want a family and a spouse, not the constant drive that it takes to float the boat you built. This virus ran it aground, and you have to wait for the tide to lift us all back to where we can resume the “typical” day again. My hope to see America stop chasing every advertiser’s concept of life telling you that you need constant consumption. We all have been collectively chasing the advertises tall tail of what America is just to make you want and spend. Just enjoy some contentment it what you have achieved.

’87 Prairie Du Chien

Entrepreneurs “Risk-takers”

The Entrepreneur is a French word.  We all think of a small business’s when we hear it. The direct translation to English is a risk-taker.

When you’re a small business that includes our Children and spouses as we travel the rough road of our way.  As a small business, we employ about half of the United States!  I accept that, and my family has been living it for years.  Ups and downs

Then out of the blue comes COVID-19, a risk no one saw coming.  Like a grass fire, it starts small and grows to engulf the whole prairie.  As a small business, it’s like being struck by a bolt of lightning on a sunny day.  A boot to the head is another way to describe it.  With only a vague restarting date for one the entire world that keeps getting pushed back farther and farther!  The situation is fluid at best.

But how do you weather the storm?

WE ARE LOOKING FOR BUSINESS, so check this out.

We are here and happy to do custom metalwork.  Hatpins/lapel pins have been viral.  As an introduction, we are doing an excellent special for small clubs or events.  Very simple and straight forward.

The first pin, coin, or medallion will cost $150, and every one after that is $2 and up with no minimum quantities.

What I need:

Your vector graphic artwork a sketch/drawing or description of how you want it to look.

What you get:

• 1×1 inch Lapel/hatpin with a clutch. Or a 1 1/4 inch single-sided coin or medallion.  All made in the USA. Larger sizes are available at additional cost.
• Finishing will bright with a highlight. Other options are available for an additional cost.

https://www.fugawee.com/fugawee/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/boiler_anamat1_32.jpg

a group of Medallions by Fugawee Corporation

Three Rivers

Award Hocus pocus

There is a lot of estimating happening at the making of an Award, and it is confusing. Ayotte Pewter is going to lay it on the table simple.

Below is a basic custom Britannia Medallion (lead-free Pewter) not brass. It’s a silvery metal. This offer comes in a basic antiqued finish and is priced to give every event, association, club, venue, and more a chance to have a memento of their own.  We can make them as fancy as you want. Just give us a call.

100 1 ¼  inch single-sided Britannia coins made in the USA, text only, inset letters included, making of the master and produced with an antique finish –  $300.00 plus shipping.

Outside loop $10 extra.

Raised letters and/or artwork $45 per side. (You supply the art)

If you need Fugawee to do the artwork, please call for estimates. (Usually about $85)

2^nd side $45

The more you buy, the price goes down.

100 1 ½ inch coins $345

100 1 ¾ inch  coins $390

100 2” inch coins $435

100  2 ½ inch coins $480

100 3 inch  coins $530

Neck ribbon extra.

A wet and worn shoe

Showing the arch of a good sole

Wet morning or a rainy day? Mink Oil is fine, but there are more aggressive products Available. NeverWet by Rust-Oleum I haven’t tried it yet, but I have never been disappointed by a Rust-oleum product. Huberds shoe grease https://www.huberds.com/ this is from coal country and coal miners like it. The other place the water can come from is the sole. Once the sole is saturated, it needs time to dry out. Or it will twist and reshape; you will get smiles (where the sole layers separate at the edges) as the leather stretches farther than the adhesive can. The only remedies that I know of are:

 Hessian boot by Fugawee Corporation

The colonists were first introduced to the Hessian mercenaries on the 15^th of August 1776 on Statin Island in the colony of New York. Their first battle was coming up. Their first engagement was the battle for Long Island also known as the battle for Brooklyn Heights.

 Over the course of the War for Independence, the British Government Leased 30,067 Hessian Mercenaries for just the American Revolution. It worked so well that they were used by lots of different countries. Sometimes the Hessians were on both sides of war at the same time.

 Fugawee’s Hessian boot is another well made the long-lasting leather boot, Steel shank construction. Stacked leather heel, fully lined here are some of the works we used. 

References to Hessian boots:  Direct copy from their boots, no editing by me.

“If the shoe fits” by Bill Severn pg. 119

Hungarians introduced the hussar boot for military wear.  When it first appeared in London in 1770s on the feet of the Hessian mercenaries hired by George 111 to fighting the American colonies, it was called the Austrian boot.  Later, the English took to calling it the Hessian boot, the name by which it also became known in America.  In France, a version of the same boot was named the Sonvaroff, after a Russian general.  Whatever name was used, the basic style was a knee-high boot, usually of shiny black leather topped with gold or silver braid.  The center rose to a peak at the front that frequently was decorated with a free-swinging silk tassel.  Worn over tight pantaloons, the boots were first ridiculed by conservative gentlemen who didn’t intend to trade their handsome top boots for them, but they were the height of fashion by the century’s end.

“The Mode in Footwear” by R. Turner Wilcox.  Page 120 [most of this is like the description from Bill Severn’s book.]

It was at this time that the hussar boot entered the mode.  It was introduced to the European armies in the seventeenth century by the Hungarian hussars.  When the boot appeared in London in 1770’s on the legs of the Hessian mercenaries hired by George 111 to fight the American colonists, it was first called the Austrian boot, but eventually, it became the Hessian boot to the English and the Americans.  To the French, it was the hussar or Souvaroff, so named after the great Russian general of the period. (1729-1800).

The boot was first looked upon with derision, in comparison with the handsome top boot; but as happens time and time again, the scoffed at newcomer became the very height of fashion by the end of the century.  Hessians were worn over the tight-fitting pantaloons, of shiny black leather, the top finished with gold and silver braid, and a silk tassel jauntily swinging from the up-peaking center front.

{this next bit is a good description of the polish that was used}

In general, bootlegs were polished to a dull finish with a viscid dressing composed of the white of an egg and lamp soot, this English cream much in demand all over Europe.  Bootblacks or, by the French name, “artist polishers” opened small shops for the purpose.  In London, where they were especially necessary because of the ill-paved streets and lack of drainage, there were bootblacks or “boot” stationed at most street corners. Ready to clean the footwear of gentlemen and beaux.

“Fashion in Costume 1200-2000” by Joan Nunn

[two mentions, first page 84, next page 110]

Jackboots, by 1725 worn only by postillions, coachmen, etc., were succeeded by a close-fitting boot-shaped to the leg and cut away behind the knee, and by jockey tops or half jackboots which ended below the knee with a turn-down top of softer, lighter colored leather; after 1780 they were called top boots. Spatterdashes were still worn by the country, as were gaiters, introduced for the infantry around 1710-20 and worn civilians during the 1770s but considered unfashionable after 1790.  Hessians – short riding boots, calf-length behind and generally curving to a point in the front below the kneecap and decorated with a tassel – appeared after 1790 but are more a feature early 19^th-century dress.  Boots were not worn indoors by men of fashion during this century until after 1780 when they became suitable for all occasions.

Page 110

From 1800 to 1820, high boots were general wear in both town and country.  Some were adapted from military styles and named after military leaders.  After 1830, high or ‘over’ boots were confined to country or sporting wear, but the short boot, worn under trousers, remained in fashion in various forms into the next century. Hessians (1790- 1850) and hussar (1800-20) were both calf-length behind, rising to a point in front just below the knee, low-heeled, and of black leather.  Hessians occasionally had a narrow border contrasting colored leather around the top and were always trimmed with a tassel at the point.  Hussars might have a turn-over top.  Wellingtons from 1817, were like 18-century top boots without the turnover: the name was later to be used for rubber boots in the 20^th-century.

“Costumes of the 17 & 18^th Century” by Phillis Cunnington   page 76

Hessians were short riding boots rising to a point in front to below the knee and generally decorated with a tassel (Introduced in the 1790’s)

“History of Men’s Costume” by Marion Sichel   page 42

Hussar boots, popular towards the end of the century were also called hessian boots, originating from the German Principality of Hess.  These were short riding boots to just below the knees, higher in the front with a tassel decoration.  These were mainly black, with a colored border on the top.

“Shoes” by June Swan

{several pages listed, but I could only find a  true reference in the following}

Page 33

Brummel’s other choice was the hessian, cut with a V-dip at center front with tassel; according to Rees it was ‘brought into this country from Germany in the beginning of this war about 1794 or 5, – though one of the MPs in the painting of Pitt’s Address to the Commons in the previous year also wore them, in black with re top binding.  Rees also referred  to them as ‘th Hessian or

Austrian boot:  lately, they were of a gradual sweep in front and with a peak behind; now(1813) they are square in front without a peak behind.’ The walking attire of John Horseman in 1804 was ‘hessian boots with immense tassels’(and see fig.27).  By 1830 the “Whole Art of Dress” by a Cavalry Officer says that they were ‘only worn with tight pantaloons’, and by 1861 Whyte Melville’s “Good for Nothing “says: There are no hessian boots now’ – though they did survive for military wear.

The Hessians were ousted by the wellington.

Page 39  short mention

The 1858 Dunkley account book has ‘best calf screw clump sole wellingtons at 21 shillings.’ American army boots in 1872 were brass screwed Hessians or bluchers.

Page 43

The predominant footwear, as the British set out to conquer the world, was naturally boots.  “The Whole Art of Dress “1830, reports: ‘the hessian is a boot only worn with tight pantaloons.  The top boot is almost entirely a sporting fashion.  Although they are worn by noblemen and gentlemen in hunting, they are in general use among the lower orders, such as jockeys, grooms, butlers.  The Wellington…the only boot in general wear’. The hessian survived longer in the United States.  The 1858 patent for a brass toe bit is on a machine-sewn hessian with pegged sole, and the photograph, c 1879 of Billy the Kid, shows him in medium high-heeled Hessians with front dip, but no tassel, the straps hanging outside.