Ted,
Well, shiny in the sense we think of it today probably would not have been available in the 18th century. A lot, maybe most, of those shoes were made with the flesh (rough) side out and the the leather itself was "stuffed" with lanolin and oil...which would have further confounded any attempt to polish them. Additionally, the leather was coloured with the black residue (the soot) that accumulated in oil lamps of the period.
Such leathers can be made shiny (very shiny) but it was done with sizing (something very like wallpaper paste). The sizing was rubbed in very thoroughly while it was wet, allowed to dry slightly, and then burnished up to a high shine with bones or hardwood sticks.
This technique was common throughout the 18th and 19th century.
What with the chimney black and the sizing it was a very dirty job. Which is why gentlemen always employed a servant to polish their boots.
Last edited by DWFII; 25th June 09 at 05:53 AM.
Reason: early morning errors
DWFII--Traditionalist and Auld Crabbit
In the Highlands of Central Oregon
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