Inside is the manufacturer’s label of a London firm: 'BRUCKNER – shoe-maker To Her Royal Highness the Princess Amelia'. Bruckner was bankrupt by 1809 and the princess (the youngest daughter of King George III) died in 1810, suggesting these shoes date to turn of the 19th century. Shoes with low U- or V-shaped throats were fashionable at this time. Influenced by antiquity, they were sometimes called ‘Grecian slippers’ and were coloured to match a lady’s accessories such as sash, hat or gloves.
Purchased in 1898.
Accession number: 1898.57.3
