A Colonial Merchant: The Ledger of William Ramsay

Alexandria, VA 1753-1756

Artifact: Shoe Buckles

Shoe Buckle

Materials: Steel

Dimensions: 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.

Date: Circa 1770-1785

Origin:

Collection: LACMA

License: Public Domain

Ledger Entry: Shoe Buckle

Shoe Buckle

Department: Footwear

Customer: Mrs. Sarah Wigginton

Ledger Page: 272

Imported From: Buckles were frequently imported from Sheffield or Birmingham

Product Description

Buckles were the most common means of fastening shoes from the mid seventeenth century through the end of the eighteenth century. While they did serve a practical function, they often served as fashion accessories worn by both men and women. By changing out buckles of different styles and levels of ornament, a single pair of shoes could be adapted to different social functions. They were fashioned from a variety of metals ranging from elaborately decorated jewel-encrusted silver to simple iron rectangles. Lower grades of metal such as steel, brass, copper, or pewter were often still cast in ornamental molds.

Citation: Ivor Noël Hume. A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001), 84-86.; James M. Gaynor and Nancy L. Hagedorn, Tools: Working Wood in Eighteenth-Century America (Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1993).

Historical Price: 10 pence per pair; Modern USD: $9.35

Product Variations

The databases record only four purchases of shoe buckles. Their prices range from ten pence to one shilling ten pence.