Vintage, Bespoke
HENRY MAXWELL
New Bond Street
info@henrymaxwell.co.uk
Lanyard Bow Loafer
Original, Custom Fitted Maxwell Shoe Trees
Euro 420

Henry Maxwell was founded in 1750 and is the oldest of the remaining bootmakers in London. The first of its several Royal Warrants was awarded in the mid-19th century by King George IV. In the 20th century the firm absorbed Faulkner & Son and operated shops in both London (Dover Street) and Paris, later trading in Savile Row and New Bond Street and, finally, since 1999, under the same private ownership with its sister firm, Foster & Son, itself in continuous tradition for 172 years, Henry Maxwell trades at 83 Jermyn Street opposite Fortnums. Henry Maxwell is well know for its wide range of hunting and riding accessories, boots and shoes, supplied to both cavalry regiments and for civilian use.

Even those gentlemen prepared to pay £4,350 for shoes or rather more for boots may not have been willing to go barefoot for the 8 months Maxwell info@henrymaxwell.co.uk or Foster require for delivery. Ref:http://foster.co.uk/our-products/bespoke-services/ Those clients were accommodated uncompromisingly by Foster’s then ready-to-wear line made for them by Edward Green into the 1990s. See:http://foster.co.uk/our-products/ready-to-wear/oxfords/thornham/

The present pair of loafers, bespoke-custom-made by Maxwell while still at the old New Bond Street location is an unusual variation on the classic loafer, a “lanyard bow” replacing the usual tassels. You have before you a shoe with a great history behind it, a history that cannot be bought out of a shop window, a history that is richly evident in its patinaed surfaces and depth of colour, signs of the passage of time, signs of bygone times. For the advanced collector or consummately well dressed gentleman.

Condition is another matter. This is a well worn shoe, best described as a “noble ruin”, showing damage and repairs where the vamp meets the sides, and some light checking at the outside-front, all this visible in the pictures. The shoes are perfectly wearable as they are but priced in accordance with these imperfections, indeed, priced at less than one tenth of their replacement cost today.  The included, original, custom fitted, Maxwell shoe trees would cost almost the asking price here.

This is a terribly handsome shoe, destined for the advanced collector, a gentleman who prizes antiquity, a shoe offering the additional advantage, too, of not requiring you to have the gardner break them in.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

Fitted with all-weather, non-slip rubber soles, lightly worn.