The cowboy boot book / Tyler Beard ; photographs Jim Arndt.

Wearing cowboy boots can be a fashionable whimsy or a statement of identification with the American Western tradition. The author and the photographer, both avid wearers and collectors of cowboy boots, have produced an engagingly written introduction to an article of dress that evolved from the strictly utilitarian into a unique American folk art. After a brief nostalgic history, the bootmaking process and a survey of custom and factory manufacturers are presented. Color photographs enhance the descriptions of exotic skins and of intricate leatherworking techniques - overlay, underlay, tooling, stitching, piecing - that combine to make either one-of-a-kind or mass-produced boots. Visits with Western-wear store owners and collectors contribute to the text's enthusiastic tone. The glossary will be helpful for neophytes.

English