Jennifer June, Cowboy Boots: The Art & Sole

Rizzoli/Universe, New York, 2007

A beautiful hardcover book with more than 300 color photographs. Jennifer June borrowed new and vintage cowboy boots from private top-shelf collections and closets …representing the work of some of America’s finest bootmakers.

Learn the “hidden meaning” of cowboy boots. Discover what the inlay and stitching on a pair of boots can tell us about their owner …and about the history of our country. Photos by Marty Snortum. Foreword by country star, Dwight Yoakam!

Tyler Beard, Cowboy Boots

Gibbs-Smith Publisher, Salt Lake, 2004.

Tyler Beard’s book, simply called Cowboy Boots is the third and final in this author’s cowboy boot “trilogy” …containing 381 never-seen-before vintage and contemporary boots from many of America’s finest makers. The book’s small format (6″x6″ pages) is just the right size to sit on the nightstand…perfect for dreaming about your next pair.

David Stoecklein, The Cowboy Boot: History, Art, Culture, Function

Stoecklein Publishing, 2004.

David Stoecklein’s motive is simple: to tell the story of the West as it is today for future generations to enjoy. This book stands right along side The Spur and The Buckle in this photographer’s Cowboy Gear series. A “must have” for every Western enthusiast’s library (or coffee table.)

Tyler Beard, The Art of the Boot

Gibbs-Smith Publisher, Salt Lake, 1999. (Available in hardcover and paperback.)

Since the publication of The Cowboy Boot Book in 1992, the number of bootmakers across the country has nearly doubled, waiting lists have compounded, and the art of the boot has risen to mind-blowing proportions. The men and women who create our fancy footwear are both fascinating and funny. Their tales and artworks exhibited here are testament to the high-minded dedication of a down-to-earth contingent of craftspeople.

Tyler Beard, The Cowboy Boot Book

Peregrine Smith Books, Gibbs-Smith Publisher, Salt Lake, 1992.
(Still available from the publisher and from abebooks.com.)

This is the ultimate source book for wearers and collectors. More than 300 artistic boot styles are included along with text on boot history, fit and care, a glossary of boot terms, and sources for factory and custom-made boots. The section with personal and professional profiles of some of the country’s finest bootmakers is one of this book’s best features.

Sharon Delano, Texas Boots

Penguin Books, 1980.

(Out of print, but available from abebooks.com.)
This book was published at the start of the Urban Cowboy years, and is still influential in bootmaking nationwide. Sometimes referred to as the original “boot bible,” it commemorates the work of Texan independent custom bootmakers, many of whom have, unfortunately, since retired or passed on.

Barbara Brackman, Cowboy Boots: The Kansas Story

Kansas State Historical Society, 1994. (Out of print, but available from
abebooks.com)

This short book was developed in conjunction with the travelling exhibit “Cowboy Boots: The Kansas Story.” The chapters cover topics like Kansas and the cattle trade, a history of the cowboy boot, folklore and facts about boots and the ongoing tradition of custom-made bootmaking. 47 pages.

Thierry Benayoun, Mexicana Western Boots Made in Mexico

Editions Vers Les Arts, 1994. (Out of print, but available from
abebooks.com.)

This oversized folio-type of book features many color and black & white photographs of Mexico and the cowboy boots manufactured by the boutique, Mexicana. Please note all the text is in French. Preface by Jean-Marc Theveney. Photographs by Richard Aujard. 115 pages are 12″ wide and 15″ tall.

Irvin Farman, Standard of the West: The Justin Story

Texas Christian University Press, 1996. (Out of print, but available from
abebooks.com.)

This detailed history follows a family and a business from a little one room boot shop to the big ‘ol corporation known today as Justin Industries…a more than $500 million enterprise. Illustrated with black & white photos. 260 pages.

Books about Bootmaking

Dennis Cottle and Dave McKinny, How to Make Western Boots

This 160 page book was written so that the art of bootmaking would be passed on and live forever…(that’s what the dedication says). This spiral bound book provides a useful introduction to the steps of bootmaking, as well as to the materials, tools and patterns needed. Nearly every step is illustrated with a black and white photo. To order contact Mr. McKinney at (817) 688-2289. …updated phone number! (Sept 2005)

D.W. Frommer II, Western Bootmaking: An American Tradition

Redmond, OR 1990.

This book is a complete tutorial on the creation the classic western
(cowboy) boot. Originally published as a series of 14 articles in Shoe Service Magazine, this book is a step by step guide through the construction of a pair of boots. It discuss tools, materials, and construction techniques in full detail.

[To inquire further, or to order a copy, contact the author at www.bootmaker.com.]

Sam Lucchese (& Tad Mizwa), A Lifetime with Boots

(Available from Lucchese, call 1-800-239-5925 or check online at
abebooks.com.)

Originally printed in Western Outfitter magazine throughout 1969. This classic boot book is entertaining and opinionated…it’s a great “owner’s manual” whether you wear Luccheses, or not. The book provides an in depth and illustrated description of the bootmaking process, as well as separate chapters on exotic leathers, boot styling and boot care. 89 pages.

Vass Laszlo & Magda Molnar, Handmade Shoes for Men

Konemann, Cologne, 2000. (Out of print, but available from abebooks.com.)

This book is for those with a sense of both fashion and tradition, for those who love shoes. It is a worthy introduction, for both the professional and the layman, to the wealth of tradition that exists within a custom pair of shoes. A expected, there are many similarities between the making of custom shoes and boots. This book is outstanding in its use of detailed photography to document shoemaking step by step.

Western Fashion &Â Cowboy Gear

Mary Lynn Cabrall & Jamie Lee Nudie, Nudie: The Rodeo Tailor.

Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2004. … new listing!

Using more photos than words, this book “illustrates” the life and work of Mr. Nudie Cohn …the man who brought sparkle and glam to country music by outfitting rising star like Elvis Presley, Dale Evans and Roy Rogers, Elton John, Gene Autry, John Wayne, John Lennon, Steve McQueen, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton….(the list goes on.) Today, where would we be without him?

Steven E. Weil, Western Shirts: A Classic American Fashion

Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2004. … new listing!

This book was written by the folks at Rockmount Ranch Wear Mfg. Co. and includes a complete list of 250 western shirt labels, helping collectors identify their finds and hand-me-downs. This artistic “field guid” showcases the art and design of snaps,stitches and a little fringe. Lots of photos!

Debby Bull, Hillbilly Hollywood: The Origins of Country Western Style

Rizzoli International Publications, July 2000. (Out of print, but available from abebooks.com.)

Some folks say you can’t judge a book by its cover…but sometimes that’s just not true. Hillbilly Hollwood with its rhinestone-studded and die-cut cover is dazzling inside and out! To be honest, there’s not a whole lotta of boots in it, but boy howdy!…it’s got a lot of sparkle! Most of the text is made up of quotes from folks like Buck Owens, Rose Maddox, Manuel and Marty Stuart…all folks who know their Western wear. It’s a “must have” for those interested in the roots of Western fashion.

Tyler Beard, 100 Years of Western Wear

Gibbs-Smith Publisher, 2001. (Out of print, but available from
abebooks.com.)

This book has been updated and revised for another go around! Here the author/photographer team that created three popular cowboy boot books answers the why, who, and what that made the functional clothing of the West turn fashionable.

With 125 dazzling color photographs, and 45 black and white pictures—Tyler Beard examines how function inspired what cowboys, and cowgirls (both big and small) wore out West (and East) from 1890 to the 1990s…Western wear from the boot on up.

Holly George-Warren, Michelle Freedman, and James H. Nottage. How the West Was Worn

Harry N. Abrams, 2001.

The Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles literally wrote the book on Western fashions. Rolling Stone press editor George-Warren and clothing designer Freedman revisit 200 years of Western clothing (in 240 pages!)… from working wear, to rodeo duds… to the sparkles of Hollywood and Nashville. Featured are the “off-the-rack consumer incarnations produced by companies like Rockmount Ranch Wear and H Bar C”, and fashion stand-outs like Manuel, Katy K, and Nudie. (Foreword authored by Marty Stuart.)

Hamley Company, Cowboy Clothing and Gear: 1942 Hamley Catalog Reprint

1995

This complete reprint of a 1942 Hamley catalog is a must have for anyone interested in one of the great saddle companies of the 1900s. Features saddles, bits, chaps and clothing of the day.

Jane Pattie, Cowboy Spurs and Their Makers

The Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University, 1991.

A history of the spur and a tour through a contemporary maker’s shop. This illustrated reference book with eighty-five black and white photos and twelve color plates illustrate cowboy spurs and their makers both past and present. An alphabetical appendix lists many other artisans with locations of their shops and the identifying characteristics of their products.

Tom Lindmier & Steve Mount, I See by Your Outfit: Historic Cowboy Gear of the Northern Plains

High Plains Press, 1996.

This book is a must for Old West re-enactors and the like. A comprehensive guide to real working cowboys’ clothing and equipment…diagrams and details from the boots on up. Hundreds of black and white photos and drawings.

C.J. Hadley, Trappings of the Great Basin Buckaroo

University of Nevada Press, Reno, 1993. (Out of print, but available from
abebooks.com.)

This book is a celebration of the buckaroo’s extraordinary talent for creating beautiful handmade gear–reins, reatas, ropes, boots, saddles, blankets and spurs. Each of the 21 chapters, in text & photos, describes the work and life of an artist/craftperson…bootmakers D.W. Frommer and John Weinkauf are among them.

For the Little Buckaroos…

Scott Emerson, Howard Post (Illustrator), The Magic Boots

Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1999. When a boy named William Wilkins puts on his red cowboy boots, his imagination can take him anywhere…to the Amazon River or the Wild West or the moon. When his feet outgrow the boots, William is understandably despondent….(NOTE: I’m not givin’ away the happy ending).

Susan Lowell, Tom Curry (Illustrator), The Bootmaker and the Elves

Orchard Books, 1997.(Out of print, but available from abebooks.com.)The cowboy bootmaker is so poor that even his shadow has holes in it. Trouble is, the bootmaker makes terrible boots. No self-respecting cowboy wants to buy them. But then one night when the beleagured bootmaker is down to his last piece of leather, a miracle occurs!

Jan Brett, Armadillo Rodeo

Putnam Publishing Group, 1995.

A rodeo is no place for an armadillo, but that is where Bo, the adventure-seeking, near-sighted armadillo, ends up…after he mistakes a pair of red cowboy boots for a rootin’, tootin’ red armadillo. In this book, little Bo is thrown off a bucking bronco, tastes red-hot chili peppers, and does the two-step with newfound friends. Yee Haw!

Cards, Journals & Gifts

Jim Arndt, Book of 21 Postcards

Brown Trout Publishers, 2001

21 high quality cowboy boot postcards, perforated for easy removal and bound into an attractive gift book. These postcards illustrate some of photographer Jim Arndt’s best studio work…whether you actually send them to friends or simply save this book to enjoy yourself.

Jennifer June, A Vintage Cowboy Boot Mousepad

Cafe Press

Now you can “boot up” your computer in style! Groovy inlay design…great vintage colors.

This mousepad is a “Jennifer June original” using a photo from my trip to Rocketbuster Boots in El Paso, TX.

Jennifer June, Abstract Thought Journal

Cafe Press

Like vintage cowboy boots? Use this journal for keeping track of your travels and adventures …or maybe sketch up a design for a new pair of boots custom-made!