The Boot and Shoe Trades in London and Paris in the Long Eighteenth Century

production are examined. The eighteenth-century productive systems in the two
nations did not present substantial differences. Discrepancies in retailing are
highlighted in chapters 6 and 7, while chapter 3 shows how consumption practices
in the two cities benefited from a high degree of interchange of information, visual
material and products between France and England. Chapters 6 and 7 present a
direct comparative analysis of the two productive spaces through an overall
concern on their interaction.
The focus on London has allowed a deeper understanding of the evolution of the
sector in the ion gue durée. One of the focal points of my research has been an
attempt to highlight a series of complex changes preceding the mid-nineteenth-
century industrialisation of the sector. My study has also tried to propose a series of
connections between consumer practices, retailing and marketing strategies and
productive and organisational structures in the sector. I have used what can be
considered a 'business perspective' to the study of this sector. However I feel I
must point to the fact that I did not use a particular notion of firm. Starting from
consumption, I found that consumers' imperatives were much more important in
shaping business practices than is normally accepted. The presence of thousands of
small producers permits us the notion of the firm that has not one but many
different meanings.
4. Terminology
The use of a long-period perspective creates several problems in relation to the
terminology used. As from the title of my thesis the term 'boot and shoe' instead of
'footwear' is used. The latter is a twentieth-century American expression including
not only boots and shoes, but also slippers, clogs and every other apparel suitable
for the feet. My choice was to concentrate on boots and shoes avoiding the use of a
broader term that contemporaries would have not utilised. I therefore prefer to talk
about 'the boot and shoe trade' - perhaps in a very antiquated way - but suitable to
maintain precise distinctions and to avoid misunderstandings. Following these
subtle differences, another two words are of fundamental importance: 'sector' and
'industry'. They are both generic words, used in economic history with a wide
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