COLONIAL BOOTS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4869, 19 March 1887, Page 3

COLONIAL BOOTS.

Sir Julius Vogel has received the following report of the London Chamber of Commerce on the exhibits in the leather trades section of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. The report says : —" New Zealand sends two exhibits—a case, from Messrs Michaelis, Hallenstein, andFarquhar of Dunedin. containing 11 pairs of useful serviceable boots, made partly from leather of their own tanning. The pair of men's half-watertights, pegged and nailed shoes, are well put together, and strong ; and the men's plain calf Derby pegged are most useful boots. The men's calf galoched button and Balmoral, both hand and machine-sewn, are good specimens of warehouse work, but want a little more taste about the toe-caps. The two pairs of ladies' calf Polish and Amazon Balmorals, sewn, are plain well-made boots ; but the pairs of ladies' calf Ohelseas, leather lined, look more Eke a youth's boot than a woman's. Altogether they look more like a case of medium-class English boots than New Zealand manufactured. Messrs Lightband, Allan and Co. nave the largest and most varied exhibit of boots in

the exhibition. Many are made only for show. Several pairs are perforated all over the uppers, and coloured silk is laid under the leather, and beautifully stitched—a capital advertisement for a sewing machine, but hardly to the point in the boot trade, as goods so elaborately stitched would never be worn. There is a good show of ladies' elastic-side block fronts cut from glace, calf, Irid, and Levant seal. The ladies Levant galoched and glove leg elastic boot, and some ladies' boots with cloth legs, are very effective. The ladies' button and lace boots, cut from Levant kid, Sec, are well machined, but some of the Balmorals have a quantity of flowering work up the facings, and across the vamp ; they are too elaborate for this country. Linings and fittings are very good, and the top bands, many in blue anu pink kid, give a bright appearance to the goods ; they are bottomed and finished after the stylo of the Staffordshire boots. The. walking shoos are firm and stout, both for the ladies and children, and are cut from patent calf, calf kid, and wax calf, and are very nicely lined and finished. The men's and youths' boots are well made, and consist principally of elastic-sides and Balmorals, calf galoched; some have fancy cloth legs, and nearly all 'fair sewn.' There were only two pairs of men's nailed boots, one pair being calf Derbys, with nuggets, and the other, a pair of high watevtights, whiclnvere much too well made for trach a boot, but the nails were too light, and not in keeping with the upper. The gentlemen's shoes out from Levant seal, wax calf, calf kid, and patent kid, both in Oxford and Derby shape, and elastic-side, were neatly and very cleanly finished. The prices of these goode were not to be obtained, so it was impossible to compare the value with English goods. The .leather employed in the tops is principally of European manufacture, but it is a very creditable display, and the variety and novelty of styles coming, from one firm deserve great commendation."