Alfred Gillett Trust Archives
Footwear in Focus for Heritage Open Days in Street
Do something new and join the FREE exhibitions being held at the Grange in Street, specially curated by the Alfred Gillett Trust for Heritage Open Days, England’s largest annual festival of history and culture. Put your best foot forward and let your eyes delight at our ‘Footwear in Focus’ photography exhibition. Charting the evolution and […]
Shoe Digitisation Project Update 3
Between 2-13 March we documented, cleaned, photographed and repacked over 160 shoes for the Shoe Digitisation Project. These were men’s and women’s shoes dating from 1960-1969. Here’s a small selection of the ones which caught our eye! Click on the images to see the full slideshow.
Shoe Digitisation Project Update 1
Between 16-20 February, we documented, cleaned, photographed and repacked 80 shoes for the Shoe Digitisation Project. These mostly date to the 1950s. Here’s a small selection of the ones which have caught our eye!
Shoes With Sole
Due to rationing in WWII, shoemakers had to find alternatives to leather. Called sea leather, their creative solution was to use brightly dyed fish skin!
Shoe Digitisation Passes 100,000 Images Mark!
The Shoe Digitisation Project has just passed a massive milestone; we have now taken over 100,000 images of shoes! Since 2014, a dedicated team of professionals have been working on the project to clean, document, repackage and photograph our historic shoe collection. We now have a photographic record of over 7,000 shoes predating 1979, and […]
The “Youth must be served”, the development of the Teenage range
The Teenagers range was a true reflection of Clarks capitalising on a period of dramatic social change reflected by the evolution of the ‘teenager’ into mainstream society. The range itself, aimed specifically at girls, has its roots in the Craftsewn range. The term ‘Teenagers’ made its first appearance in the April 1948 trade and price […]
Lions and Buffaloes and Bears
The Alfred Gillett Trust recently acquired a set of three plywood animals which had been used for displays in Peter Lord shoe shops in the 1970s. They make a lovely addition to the shop furnishings and retail display material that we collect alongside the footwear and archive collections.
Shoes on Loan for New Georgian Exhibition
Recently, five shoes from the collections travelled to Bath for installation in the new exhibition at No. 1 Royal Crescent, Portrait of a Lady? Ruin and reputation in the Georgian Era. Of the five, three had been in storage for many years. The shoes were selected by the team at Bath to complement the display […]
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