Trying Out Edwardian Shoe Blacking
- Aisha
- Mar 22
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 1
Hello darlings!
A few months ago I made my own shoe polish from an Edwardian book. This month, I'm going to try it out!
I followed the tutorial from The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Everything written by Agnes M. Miall, first published in 1916.
Below I have transcribed the 'Cleaning Boots and Shoes' segment, which I read out in the video.
Cleaning Boots and Shoes
It is easy to spend several shillings on an elaborate outfit for boot cleaning, most of which is quite unnecessary. Everything required for both black and brown footwear may be bought for ninepence or less. You will need (for black shoes) a brush for applying the blacking, a tin of blacking or polish, and a black velvet polishing pad; for brown shoes, a rubber for applying the polish (or a second brush), a tin of brown cream and a brown velvet polishing pad. By having the equipment for each kind of footwear the same colour as the shoes for which it is intended, you run no risk of inadvertently using the black brush for brown shoes, or vice versa. You will also need a tiny sponge and a bit of pointed firewood for use when boots are very muddy. The velvet pads can be made at home of old bits of velvet stuffed with rags, or bought at a Penny Bazaar, as can the brown rubber.
Girls living in the country and doing much walking over bad roads, often get their boots wet through and caked with mud. In this case, the boots should be left in a warm room (but not near a fire) to dry. It may be as long as twenty-four hours, in winter, before they are ready to be cleaned.
Scrape off as much mud as possible by gentle use of the pointed stick. A knife must never be employed, as sooner or later it is sure to slip and cut the leather. Dip the little sponge in water, wring it nearly dry, and wipe over the boots with it, to remove the last traces of mud. It is ruin to footwear to put on polish over mud.
Dip the brush into the blacking and rub it all over the boot, not forgetting the heel. Then polish vigorously with the velvet pad until a good shine appears all over.
Boots which are not muddy do not need the stick and sponge treatment, but can have the blacking or cream applied straight away. If boots are very dusty, as often happens in summer, begin by wiping them over with a duster.
An economical substitute for brown boot cream is the inside of a banana skin, rubbed all over the leather and then polished.
Boots and shoes keep their shape much better if they are put on trees as soon as they are taken off the feet. Failing trees, the toes may be well stuffed with soft paper.
For the cleaning of white shoes, see page 104.
I assembled my 'boot cleaning kit' in a pretty box I found. In it, I put:
A small brush
A velvet polishing pad
My knitted dishcloth for wiping the boots down
I also had a scrap of fabric which I was going to use to apply the blacking, but I was planning on replacing it after it was used so I haven't included it in my 'kit'.
How to make a velvet polishing pad:
If you have, or can find, any velvet scraps you can very easily make a velvet polishing pad. I cut two squares of velvet, sewed around three sides, stuffed it with toy stuffing (fabric scraps can also be used) and then hand-sewed closed.
Unfortunately we don't have the Penny Bazaar to source a velvet pad nowadays; If you can't make your own, you can also find shoe polishers in shops that are blocks of foam or sponge that still work nicely.
Preparation
Before beginning to polish, if you want to thoroughly clean your shoes you can remove the laces and give them a rinse.
Then give your shoes a wipe down with a damp cloth to remove any dust or dirt.
Polishing Shoes
Rub the polish in using a scrap cloth.
If using 'wet polish' (like in part 2 of my shoe blacking post), you can use a brush to apply the polish- and you probably want to wear far more protective gear!
I would also recommend that you use a cloth that has finished edges if you don't want fluff and threads deposited on your shoes.
Brush in shoe polish.
Brush in the polish vigorously.
Polish shoes with a velvet polishing pad.
You can be more gentle with the velvet pad than the brush.
Voila!
An Economical Substitute
Agnes Miall suggests the skin of a banana as an 'economical substitute' for brown boot cream. If you want to try this out with your brown shoes, replace the 'shoe polish' step by rubbing your boot over with the inside of a banana peel. I thought it worked quite well!
I hope you've enjoyed my experiments with Edwardian shoe care! Let me know in the comments if there's any other historical tutorials you'd like me to look into/experiment with.
Until next time,
Aisha x
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