Writing down what probably hadn’t been written before (or if it had been written, nothing survives), M. de Garsault described the practicalities and the art of making shoes in his 1767
treatise, Art du cordonnier. D.A. Saguto is a present-day master boot- and shoemaker for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (which collaborated with Texas Tech University to produce this
extraordinary volume); he offers an introductory essay and extensive notes on 18th-century German and Italian sources as well as later editions of Garsault’s work. Thoughtfully prepared and
elegantly produced (on coated stock in a slightly oversize format: 9x11.25＂), this volume contains a translation of the 18th-century treatise, a facsimile reproduction of the original French
text, and photographs of antique tools and shoes. The substantial explanatory text--including a foreword by another master boot- and shoemaker, Ernest W. Peterkin--offers background and context
that will further engage readers in the digital age who are students of costume, artists, collectors, archaeologists, and artisans. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
