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18th Century Shoe Cleaning and Shoeblacks

The Linkspages at Larsdatter.com

Additional Resources

A Receipt to make Black-Balls for Boots (The Discipline of the Light-Horse, 1778)

Receipt for Making Black-Balls (Rules and Regulations for the Cavalry, 1795)

A shoeblack in The table book (1827)

Making History: Making the “Curious Black Ball”

Colonial Williamsburg: “Curious Blackball” with the Shoemakers

18th Century Material Culture

Cuthberton’s System for the Complete Interior Management and Œconomy of a Battalion of Infantry, 1776

Warner’s Regiment: Care of field accoutrements

How to clean gentlemen’s boots and shoes from Household Work, or, The Duties of Female Servants, 1850 (way late, but it's very detailed)

A History of the Cries of London

Washerwomen, Laundresses, Barbers and Boot Blacks: The Business of Cleanliness in 18th Century London

Blackball is available from Najecki Reproductions, Timbrell Cockburn Cunha, and Jas. Townsend & Son, Inc.

Last updated: Jan 7, 2024

In his Account of His Visit to England, Pehr Kalm describes the shoeblacks working in London in 1748:

In several places, especially in the larger streets, where the people stream backwards and forwards, there site either men or old women with shoe-brushes, blacking, and such like, ready to clean shoes for anyone who may require their services. Thus when one walks in the street, and gets muddy about the shoes, he turns to one of those who stand in the street, and allows him to clean his shoes. It is not necessary to take off one’s shoes for this purpose, but one sets the feet with the shoes upon a little table, which is put there on purpose, when they are cleaned. A halfpenny is paid for each shoe. This is a great advantage in this place, where the women are so very careful about their clean and white floors, besides that, one can go neat about the feet.

H/T to Ruth Hodges and Paul Dickfoss for several additions to this page.