1 or 2 pc. boot fronts?

[hawkeye2]

        When did the "tombstone" or keystone" on the front of boots come into existance?  I seem to remember references to this type of construction being used prior to the Civil War but can't find any documentation now. 

[Major 2]

It dates back to 1815 called Wellington's for the The Duke of Wellington
three piece design was more costly to produce over the more common 2 piece design.
Less seen in the US it was the boot of the wealthy aristocrat and/or nobleman.

[hawkeye2]

     Major 2 thanks for the reply.  Moving on to the next question:  How common would the 2 piece front have been on the frontier?  Somewhat common, rare, never seen?  I have a feeling it would have become more commonplace as we approach the end of the century.

[ChuckBurrows]

well they were at least seen - a bit small but this pic of Wild Ben Raymond takne in the 1870's in IIRC Leadville, Colo has him wearing four piece boots:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWgunfighter2.jpg

[Major 2]

 
Pryor to 1870 the common boot was the two piece.
however....
By the 1870's many cowboys were wearing custom made boots.

The Hyer boot was one of the most popular with the old time cow hands. 
Early Hyer catalogs advertised a boot with Calf vamp and back, with Morocco kid extended up above the vamp; Round box toe; wrinkled and stitched front; scalloped top"  for the price of $14.00.

[hawkeye2]

Major 2 that's a great photo of Wild Ben.  It now seems that anyone doing a post Civil War persona would be historicaly accurate wearing boots with a two piece (or 3 piece) front joned with a tombstone seam provided the rest of the boot was correct.

[Major 2]

That would be Chuck's credit for Wild Ben's photo  


Note:  the advertised catalog price of $14 ....this was when a Cowboy earned about $1.00 a day or $30.00 month
That is kinda like a paying 1/2 your wades for a month for boots.

Lets say a guy today makes $600-700 a week or $ 2800 a month that's = around $ 1400 in today's dollars for boots  

[Shotgun Franklin]

They likely could afford boots what with no air conditioning or gasoline to pay for.

[Major 2]

This is gleaned from the Kansas Historical Society content copy & pasted here for your interest  

In 1875 a cowboy dismounted in front of a small shoemaking shop in Olathe and asked the proprietor if he could make the cowboy a first-class pair of boots. The shoemaker said he'd never done it before, but he'd try. After discarding two pairs of boots that didn't meet his standards for quality, the shoemaker presented his third attempt. The cowboy, quite pleased, headed west with his new pair of boots.

The cowboy became a walking advertisement for the little shoe-shop run by Charles H. Hyer. Before long letters began arriving from all over the West, requesting boots custom-made by Hyer and his brother, Ed. The Hyer Boot Company, described at one time as the largest manufacturer of handmade boots in America, was born.

Charles H. Hyer, the son of an immigrant German shoemaker, arrived in Leavenworth in 1870 and worked, for a time, building railroads. He soon moved to Olathe and got a job teaching shoe and harness making at the Kansas School for the Deaf. With money he saved, he opened his own shoemaking shop in Olathe and asked his brother, Ed, to join him in running the business. In the years that followed that first satisfied cowboy, the Hyers developed a measurement chart to send out with their flyers that enabled customers, even cowboys at the remotest ranches, to order custom made boots to fit their precise size and fashion preference. The business blossomed and, by 1900, it had grown from two employees to 15.   During World War I, the Hyers made boots for the officers at Fort Leavenworth and at Camp Funston.  By the 1960s more than 70 people were busy making boots for a worldwide clientele.

In 1903 the firm moved from its original location to a three-story brick building. In 1914 an empty hotel building next door was acquired and converted to factory space. In 1964 a new 23,000-square-foot facility was built to include all the modern requirements of employee comfort, manufacturing convenience, and economical operation.

From the beginning, customer satisfaction was the primary goal. Boots were available in a variety of styles, heel heights, leathers, and decorations. Boots could be ordered with anything from the simplest stitching to diamond insets and gold and silver inlays. Customers ranged from ordinary $30-a-month cowboys to the likes of Buffalo Bill Cody, Clark Gable, Will Rogers, and Dwight Eisenhower.

The Hyer boot company was operated by the sons and grandsons of C. H. Hyer until 1977, when the business was sold to the Ben Miller Boot Company of El Paso, Texas. The Miller Boot Company moved all of Hyer boot-making equipment to El Paso but brought back the name in the 1990s.

[Dead I]

That would be Chuck's credit for Wild Ben's photo 


Note:  the advertised catalog price of $14 ....this was when a Cowboy about $1.00 a day or $30.00 month
That is kinda like a paying 1/2 your wades for a month for boots.

Lets say a guy today makes $600-700 a week or $ 2800 a month that's = around $ 1400 in today's dollars for boots 

Fourteen bucks was about a month's pay for a cowpoke.  A new Colt model P cost the same.    A new Colt today costs about $1,300 or even $1,600.  A new pair of very nice boots today costs about $600.  That makes them pretty cheap! Cheaper than back then.