Méliès Boots: Footwear and Film Manufacturing in Second Industrial Revolution Paris

Solomon, Matthew

doi:doi:10.3998/mpub.12196353

Line drawing of a man's foot in a round-toed boot, stepping forward.

“Essai de Peinture Mouvementiste”

From Introduction

FIGURE I.1. Bridet, “Essai de Peinture Mouvementiste,” Catalogue Illustré de l’Exposition des Arts Incohérents (Paris: E. Bernard et Cie, 1884), 51, Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Blue booklet with red, hand-stitched binding; a current price list of men's shoes by Méliès, at 3 and 5 rue Taylor, Paris.

Manufacture de Chaussures Pour Hommes et Pour Dames: Prix Courant des Chaussures d’Hommes

From Introduction

FIGURE I.2. Manufacture de Chaussures Pour Hommes et Pour Dames: Prix Courant des Chaussures d’Hommes, 21, Cinémathèque Française.

Line drawing of a prototype movie camera on a table. Film reel, hand crank, lightbox, and other parts are labeled with letters.

La Photographie et la projection du mouvement

From Introduction

FIGURE I.3. Georges Brunel, La Photographie et la projection du mouvement: Historique — Dispositifs, Appareils, Cinématographiques (Paris: Charles Mendel Éditeur, 1897), 94.

Tattered flyer advertising Méliès Kinétograph films and photographic views. A film strip with three frames is attached.

Méliès film flyer

From Introduction

FIGURE I.4. Méliès film flyer, 1896, private collection, rights reserved.

Closeup of three full blown roses in white and pink, on a dark green leafy background.

Painted roses from the interior decoration of the Théâtre Robert-Houdin

From Introduction

FIGURE I.5. Painted roses from the interior decoration of the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, private collection, rights reserved.

Advertising flyer for the film, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, 12 scenes in 12 minutes. The cost was 480 francs, or 360 francs more, in color.

Le Petit Chaperon Rouge flyer

From Introduction

FIGURE I.6. Le Petit Chaperon Rouge flyer, private collection, rights reserved.

Man standing in a sparsely furnished hotel room. His knee-high boots are placed beside the bed.

L’Auberge ensorcelée frame enlargement

From Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.1. L’Auberge ensorcelée digital frame enlargement.

Stationery letterhead for Méliès shoe manufacturers, Paris 1878, displaying two rows of first place medals from various expositions.

Header used in printed materials distributed by the Société Méliès

From Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.2. Header used in printed materials distributed by the Société Méliès, private collection, rights reserved.

Color drawing of well-lit, vaulted factory room. Work stations run along both long walls and in a row down the center.

Méliès’ drawing of the Société Méliès factory

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.3. Méliès’ drawing of the Société Méliès factory, Cinémathèque Française.

Line drawing of two shoemakers at work. Left, sewing by hand, 3 paires par jour. Right, on a belt-driven machine, 300 paires par jour.

Moniteur de la Cordonnerie advertisement

From Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.4. Advertisement, Moniteur de la Cordonnerie (December 16, 1884), Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Pair of women's cream-colored satin wedding shoes, with modest heels, tone-on-tone floral embroidery, and a buttoned strap across the instep.

Eugénie Méliès’ wedding shoes

From Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.5. Eugénie Méliès’ wedding shoes, Musée du compagnonnage.

Cover of Le Courrier Français, shows two figures posing at a costume ball, watched by another. Tiny, suited men cavort around the edge.

“L’Entrée du Bal et la Fuite des Habits noirs”

From Chapter 2

FIGURE 2.1. H. Gray, “L’Entrée du Bal et la Fuite des Habits noirs,” Le Courrier français (March 12, 1885): 1, Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Georges wearing a bicorne hat, striped jacket with broad white collar, knee pants, and white stockings, leaning against a cane.

Méliès in costume as l’Incroyable

From Chapter 2

FIGURE 2.2. Méliès in costume as l’Incroyable, c.1879, private collection, rights reserved.

“No. 1 Bouts très pointus, extra, No. 2 Bouts très pointus”

From Chapter 2

FIGURE 2.3. “No. 1 Bouts très pointus, extra, No. 2 Bouts très pointus,” Manufacture de Chaussures Pour Hommes et Pour Dames: Prix Courant des Chaussures d’Hommes, unpaginated illustration, Cinémathèque Française.