Candice Hern | Romance Author

figure 1

Detail, portrait of Ann Ford by Thomas Gainsborough, 1760. (Cincinnati Art Museum)

GEORGIAN PASTE BUCKLES
Posted 4-9-2002
Updated 6-1-2006

Buckles were worn on shoes as early as Medieval times, but they fell out of fashion and did not appear again until the mid-17th century.

Throughout most of the 17th century, shoes -- especially men's shoes, more on display than women's shoes which were partially hidden by their long skirts -- were ornamented with elaborate ribbons and bows. When buckles came into fashion, it was thought significant enough to be noted by Samuel Pepys in an often-quoted diary entry for 22 January 1660: "This day I began to put buckles on my shoes." Their use among all classes did not become widespread until the 1680s. By 1720, shoe buckles were in universal use, except for the very poorest classes. (See figure 1)

Buckles were made to be attached to the shoe's two straps, or latchets, securing them over the instep. Shoe buckles were sold separately from the shoes, and were meant to be transferable from one pair to another. They were treated like jewelry and kept in special cases to protect them. (See figure 2)

figure 2

Four buckle sets in their original satin-lined, shagreen cases.

Every sort of material was used for buckles, the most common being copper alloy and gold-colored pinchbeck. Most fashionable were sterling silver buckles. 18th century trade cards and advertisements show that many jewelers and silversmiths specialized in shoe buckles. During the 1720s, shoe buckles began to get larger, and continued to increase in size until the late 1780s. From the 1740s buckles began to be seen with real and paste stones. Though diamond shoe buckles were worn (a beautiful pair can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London), it was a rare extravagance. Other materials came to be used in imitation of the brilliant sparkle of diamonds, most especially facet-cut polished steel, marcasite, and paste. All buckles in this collection are set with paste stones.

figure 3

Two deeply arched shoe buckles, c1770. Close-set paste stones on a solid sterling back. Top: separate sterling border along inside; steel bridge; chape and tongue missing. Bottom: sterling chape and tongue. Remarkable skill was required to set these stones so closely together so that virtually no trace of metal showed through.

figure 4

Two shoe buckles, c 1765. Top: single row of paste stones on a solid sterling back, steel chape and tongue. Bottom: Close set paste stones of varying sizes on a solid sterling back, steel bridge, chape and tongue missing.

Paste, which is a heavy high-lead glass, is more easily cut and shaped than diamonds, and could be close-set without the visual intrusion of metal settings, creating a mass of sparkling brilliance. They could be cut and set into any shape or size. This necessitated a higher degree of setting expertise, and paste craftsmen were often more highly skilled than those working with diamonds. (See figure 3) 18th century paste is always foil backed, which increases the brightness and sometimes provides color. The settings must be air-tight to prevent corrosion to the foil, which can cloud the brilliance and ruin the stone. The foil backs acted as mirrors, significantly increasing luminosity. Sparkle was the chief concern.

The 18th century attitude toward paste was not the disdain of later periods. Paste was appreciated on its own merits, and was not intended to simulate or counterfeit diamonds. Good paste jewelry was worn in the highest circles. Some of the most exclusive jewelers, even those with royal warrants, advertised paste jewelry. The demand for paste was so great that the government decided to tax it. The Glass Excise Act of 1777 created a levy on "all Paste Glass, 18s 8d for every cwt."

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Detail, portrait of Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, by Thomas Gainsborough, 1777. (Royal Collection)

Paste shoe buckles, which glittered magnificently in the ballrooms under the candlelit chandeliers and sconces, were fashionable formal wear for both men and women. (See figure 4) It is said that gentlemen of the dandy or Macaroni set were particularly fond of paste buckles as their sparkle served to highlight their skill and grace on the dance floor. Shoe buckles increased in size through the 18th century, reaching massive proportions in the 1770s with the Artois buckle, named after Louis XVI's brother, the Comte d'Artois, who was at that time ambassador to England (and who would later reign as Charles X of France). A young man of fashion, he is credited with popularizing the new style of large buckles that were deeply arched over the instep, and were sometimes so heavy they quickly wore out the latchets on the shoe. The Gentleman's Magazine of 1777 reported "the Artois shoe buckles are becoming universal for ladies and gentlemen: the size of some worn at Court are enormous." (See figure 5) In that same year, the character of Lord Foppington in Sheridan's comedy, A Trip to Scarborough, says that whereas buckles used to be worn to keep the shoe on, "the case is now quite reversed and the shoe is no earthly use, but to keep on the buckle." Huge shoe buckles stayed in fashion for almost a decade. (see figureS 6 & 7)

By the 1790s shoe buckles were falling out of use, surviving for the next few decades only in ceremonial and Court dress. By 1791, it is reported that 20,000 buckle makers were out of work in Birmingham. The change in fashion was a reflection of the significant social and political changes taking place. One of the cries of the French Revolution was, "Down with the aristocratic shoe buckle!" In 1789, members of the National Assembly in France ceremoniously removed their silver and jeweled shoe buckles and gave them over to the cause of the Revolution.

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Two large Artois style shoe buckles, c. 1780. Close-set paste stones on a solid sterling back. Top: tooled pinchbeck bezel; sterling loop chape and tongue; large stones so closely set is typically English. Bottom: gold central band; steel loop chape and tongue.

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Two large Artois style shoe buckles, c 1780. Top: Double row of paste stones set on a solid sterling back; deeply arched; steel chape and tongue. Bottom: Single row of enormous round cut paste stones set on a solid steel backing; steel etched around stones; steel chape and tongue.

Other types of buckles also followed the general jewelry trends evident in shoe buckles. There were buckles for dresses and hats and gloves. Knee buckles were especially popular. (See figure 8) In 1711, The Spectator reported a new fashion: "a pair of silver garter buckles below the knee lately seen at the Rainbow Coffee-house." Knee buckles stayed in fashion as long as breeches were worn for formal wear, well into the 19th century. They were often made en suite with shoe buckles. (See figure 9) Another type of buckle often set with paste stones was the stock buckle. The stock was a high neckcloth of linen or cambric, stiffened with a pasteboard frame. Though sometimes tied, it was often buckled in the back with studded stock buckles. (See figure 10).

figure 8

Two pair of knee buckles, c 1770. Top: Close set round cut paste stones on a solid sterling back; sterling chape and tongue. Bottom: Close set sub-rectangular paste stones on a solid sterling back; tooled pinchbeck bezel; steel chape and tongue.

figure 9

Matched set of shoe buckles and knee buckles, c 1775. Interlacing ribbon design close set with paste stones on solid sterling backs. Ornamental steel chapes and tongues. The anchor chapes on the smaller pair identify them as knee buckles.

figure 10

Two stock buckles, c 1775. Left: Tiny paste stones close set on a solid sterling back; steel
tongue; sterling openwork chape with four paste studs. Right: Round cut close set paste
stones on a solid sterling back; steel tongue; sterling openwork chape with four paste studs.

Updated 6/1/2006:

I continue to collect paste shoe buckles and have acquired several more since this Collection was originally posted. In fact, I have run out of space to display them! Here are two of my favorite new pairs:

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Large Artois style shoe buckles, c. 1780, in their original shagreen, satin-lined case. Close-set paste stones on a solid brass back with tooled brass bezels; steel loop chape and tongue. Probably English.

figure 12
Pair of ladie's shoe buckles, c. 1770. Close-set paste stones in a ribbon pattern on sterling silver backs. Chape and tongue also sterling. These are much smaller than the very large man's buckles on the left, about 2/3 the size. Possibly French.

Sources

J. Anderson Black, The Story of Jewelry, William Morrow and Co., 1974.

Mona Curran, Collecting Antique Jewellery, Emerson Books, 1963.

Eugenia Girotti, Footwear, Chronicle Books, 1986.

Bernard & Therle Hughes, Georgian Shoe Buckles, Greater London Council, 1972.

M.D.S Lewis, Antique Paste Jewellery, Faber and Faber, 1970.

Colin McDowell, Shoes, Fashion and Fantasy, Rizzoli, 1989.

Northampton Museum, Catalogue of Shoe and Other Buckles in the Northampton Museum, 1981.

Clare Phillips, Jewels and Jewellery, V&A Publications, 2000.

Lucy Pratt and Linda Woolley, Shoes, V&A Publications, 1999.

Diana Scarisbrick, Jewellery in Britain 1066-1837, Michael Russell Ltd., 1994.

June Swann, Shoes, Batsford Ltd, 1982.