The Wild West Wellington Boots
Cash strapped American cowboys wore whatever footwear they could afford till the end of the American Civil War. During the civil war, they wore the footwear issued to them, if at all they lasted the duration.
Given a choice however, the American cowboy would have chosen the Wellington boot, originally of British design. The design dates back to early 19th century when Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, got them made by his personal cobbler. Wellington had become a national hero in Britain by defeating Napoleon at Waterloo, and the young British, who hero-worshipped him, emulated what he wore.
The Wellington boot was a simple plain boot which was mostly black in color, but brown was available too. The design was stark, featuring side seams with either square or slightly round shaped toes and one-inch high straight heels. The top of the boots had leather pull on straps attached to facilitate pulling them on and off.
American cowboys were then using a boot called the Hessian boots, so named after the users, Hessian soldiers from the city state of Hesse in Germany. During the late 18th century, these boots were quite popular in Britain too as the popular apparel for gents then was the knee length breeches. Hessian boots had a V shaped cutaway in the front.
Considerable innovation in design and style to the Hessian and Wellington boots, besides various other types of boots, took place in Texas, which had become a center for the manufacture of boots. During the 1860s and 1870s, innumerable varieties of military boots were produced improving on the classical as well as creating completely new ones.
During these two decades, Texas and Kansas put in the roots for a flourishing boot manufacturing industry. Most manufacturers in these two states were of German or British origin that became quite wealthy due to the explosive growth of the entertainment business ever celebrating the cowboy and his exploits. All the wardrobes of theatrical production companies stocked up on them and what the ordinary cowboy saw on stage were what he wanted too.
American boot makers were not by any chance, the only ones to improve or innovate on the Hessian and Wellington boots. Both types were shipped all over the world with colonial armies and the local cobblers throughout the world were also adapting them to suit local needs. Such adaptation and modification, so aptly represented by deities of various cultures adapting to each other, has been a continuous feature of mankind throughout history.
Footwear producers of the new world were constantly overbooked with demand far outstripping supply due to the popularity of the Wellington and Hessian boots and their modified versions, as the population was growing with increasing immigration into the new world.
