Ξ May 11th, 2005 | → Comments Off | ∇ General |
So I’ve started looking for a bootmaker to stitch a cuff onto the foot of a boot. I saw a bootmaker conveniently on my way to school, and stopped in to ask him how much he’d charge. Using the above terminology, I got halfway through my question when the man in the shop interrupted and brusquely told me, “You’re using words I never heard. Show me!”
So I started pointing to a boot he had on the counter, when he interrupted me again, and shoved another boot at me: “No, show me on this one!”
I couldn’t tell any difference between the two, other than color, but what do I know about boots? I shrugged, and pointed to the part that goes around the lower calf. “This part… How much would you charge to stitch it to this part?” And I pointed to the line of stitching that encircles the ankle.
For a man approximately 50 years of age, this simple explanation proved to be beyond his ken. He repeated that he didn’t know what I was talking about, and told me I should bring the boots in.
I walked out without another word, which is probably exactly what he wanted. And having written this, I feel I’ve spent 10 minutes’ thought more than the matter deserves. Ah well.
I have since done some searching, and I think I was asking about stitching the side welt onto the vamp of the boot. Not sure of my terminology, though.
If you think that I received improper service, heed my following advice. If you think I was clueless and at fault, disregard this rant.
Not that my usual (tiny) readership is likely to frequent a Western bootmaker, but if you do, avoid Tejas Custom Boots at 208 Westheimer, 77006.
Ξ May 1st, 2005 | → Comments Off | ∇ History, Metalworking |
At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I finally got all my ducks in a row for the first time. I had a good camera, an excellent and varied exhibit on arms and armor, and the knowledge of both what I wanted to capture and how to go about capturing it. The result was 263 pictures, only ~30 of which were unrelated to that exhibit. There were two field harnesses, IIRC, one of which I do recall b/c it provided me with a valuable shot of the sollerets. I’d correctly guessed how the pointed toe variety (mimicking turnshoes) are constructed, but had never seen anything to confirm my hypothesis — until now. I was able to get some good angles I’ve never found in books or others’ photos (though Grant did an excellent job with his pictures at the Museo Militare in Barcelona, regardless of his limited — but obviously sufficient — experience in armoring). I also got a good set of side, front, and 3/4 profile pictures of the helms and some breastplates. By and large, the helms were a fairly typically representative 16th century selection, as were the full harnesses. My one minor disappointment was that none of the harnesses had a steel strap and post with catch (sickle hook or pin secured by chain to the strap) means of mounting the breast and back over the gorget. I first saw such an assembly at the Chicago Art Institute back in 2002 (?), but my pictures of it are dismal.
Still, between Grant’s pics and my pics, I have the beginnings of a bloody awesome photo collection. Add in Mark’s pictures from Les Invalides in Paris (taken on his honeymoon — thanks, Mark!), and you have one excited little boy.
Quality of photos still needs work (primarily to minimize display case glare), but angles are good. Subject matter could stand broadening — e.g. all the munitions-grade stuff in the Austrian Landhaus or in the backroom collections of the New York Met. I’m sure there are better collections out there, but I haven’t seen them.
I also spent an enjoyable 15 minutes talking with Pierre Terjanian, the Associate Curator for Arms and Armor. He happened to open a display case while I was in the gallery, and took the time out to describe some unique, regional features and elements of construction for a set of cannons for the arm and a breastplate. He directed me to some further reading, when he found out that I’ve read Dr. Williams’ book on metallurgical examinations of medieval armor specimens.
For those who’ve read this far with interest, there was a nice curiosity on display — a swordbreaker lantern shield. I didn’t manage to capture all three layers of its construction, but it had:
* A flat rim (like an aerobee or a flat donut) dagged with deep incisions for trapping blades. All edges rolled (must’ve been a bitch).
* A layer underneath, radially pleated like a parasol. This had a regular and dense pattern of small (.25″ x 1.5″?), rectangular slits in a radial pattern.
* Finally, a flat layer underneath the second layer, with a very dense herringbone pattern of slits smaller than the second layer’s slits. This was hard to see, even in person (without actually getting my hands on it).
All three layers were mounted at mid-forearm on the full-length cuff of a long-cuffed gauntlet. There was a small (1.5″ diameter?) porthole in the rim of the first and second layers at a point perpendicular to and above (if you hold your left arm horizontal, palm facing right) the middle of the forearm. This was the only spot that exposed the third layer directly. The riding gauntlet itself was fairly typical, though it had a threaded hole (5/8″ diameter?) right over the middle knuckle. The caption said this was intended to receive a dagger with a threaded pommel or tang. I’m not too clear on how to use a dagger that’s pointing perpendicularly from the back of my hand, though. [edit: it has since been pointed out to me that the knucklebow curls forward farther than I thought over the knuckles, meaning the dagger projects from the hand like an Indian katar knife.]
Helpful picture to follow when A) I get around to resizing it / them (I took 4) / other cool pics for bandwidth-friendliness, B) I’m on a high-speed connection, C) the planets align all nice and pretty.
I just realized that, since I have tentative plans to attend WMAW 2005 in Racine, I should take an extra day to revisit the Chicago Art Institute and spend 2-4 hours getting better pics of their arms and armor gallery. Excellent.
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