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

urban retailers. 9 It is not uncommon to find in account books money given in
advance to 'codonnier petit' in order to allow them to buy leather and produce
footwear on commission.'° One particular inventory before death reveals an
insight that could be missed simply looking at figures. Pierre Raymond Tisson, a
shoemaker in rue de Capucinnes had in 1827 in his shop several hundred pairs of
shoes and boots, as well as leather and fabrics. His business was recorded in a
daily book, a book of minutes and a book for employees and other accounts. It
was surely a smart shop with a central location. The most interesting detail is
that all the goods were individually priced, a fact observed by the compiler of
the inventory who assumed goods to be worth what indicated."
Although these cases report the most dynamic examples in the trade, an
analysis of the acts of bankruptcy at the Archive de Paris, shows how the
retailing structure of the Parisian shoe trade was at the beginning of the
nineteenth century still fairly traditional. Retailing was dominated by a series of
small shops, buying leather to produce shoes or buying small stocks of ready-
made footwear from local producers. In most cases the fixed asset was very
small compared with the circulating capital. Heck, a marchand cordonnier in rue
du Temple had in 1807 not more than 160 francs worth in stock and furniture but
debts of more than 2,000 francs.' 2 It was only at the beginning of the nineteenth
century that cordonniers and marchands were becoming separate branches in the
trade:
les marchands cordonniers ne mettent point la main a 1 'oeuvre, us se contetent de
faire leurs emplettes, les rentrées de fonds, etc. Leur femmes vendent a la
boutique qui est convertie en un magasin de bottes et de chaussures de toute
espèce."3
8 Almanac des marchands, négocians et commerçans de la France et du reste de l'Europe
(Paris, '770't 160.
9 AP, D 5 B 4141: 3 June 1766'.
° AP, D 11 U3 cart 40 2581: 'Michel Conte, 10th October 1807'.
' AN, Minutier Cental V111680 - Michaux: 'Tisson, Pierre Raymond, 15th May 1827'.
' 2 AP D 11 U3 cart 40 2542: 'Heck, marchand cordonnier, rue du Temple, 1' July 1807'. On a
larger scale François Picard, a shoemaker in rue Fauburg St. Antoine had in the same year an
active balance for 1,200 francs, but debts (mainly for leather) of 5,000 francs. D 11 U 3 cart 40
2567: 'Picard François Germaine, rue Fauburg St Antoine, 1 September 1807'.
13
Nouvelle Encyclopédie des arts et métiers: art de la chaussure (Paris, 1824), p. 34.
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