These cast iron shoes were probably worn by a chemist, and probably date from the 18th century. The donor believed they once belonged to the famous French chemist, Antoine Lavoisier. But, as there is no way to verify this claim, we value these shoes for what they can tell us about early French scientific and cultural history.
Each shoe weighs over 1-1/2 lbs! There are rivets all around the top of the heels, sides, and insteps. On one shoe, some remnants of leather remain under the rivets. Whether this leather was strictly decorative or served some practical purpose is unknown.
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