Book Signing (Napa, CA)

Can't decide whether or not to buy a pair of custom boots? Here, let me get you a glass of wine.

Come to the Napa Valley. Visit Terri Courtney in her red-barn-bootshop. Buy my book, or bring your well-worn copy. I'll sign it. It'll be swell.

September 26, 2009 • 1-3 pm
Napa Valley Open Studios Tour
3151 Sunnydale Drive, Napa CA (map)

For more info,
read this flyer ...or contact:
Courtney Custom Boots
Terri Courtney, Bootmaker
(707) 501-8050 and terri@courtneycustomboots.com

Free Downloads

Big news. I've decided to start giving away my eDirectory as a free download.

I think it might do some good... might stimulate a few sales for some hard working bootmakers and get some customers into some new well-made and well-deserved custom boots.

I've also decided to give away my "Missing Index." Why not?!

(If you've bought these items in the past, and would like part or full refund, I am happy to do it. Please email me at jenn@dimlights.com.)

I hope you find these downloads and my website helpful.

Cowboy Boot Collecting: eBay Pick

Cowboy Boot Book poster signed by author, Tyler Beard.

Ever seen one of these? I didn't think so.

Today's eBay Pick: My Cowboy Boots

You can now own a bit-o-history. These 1970's patchwork Justin boots are straight from the pages of my book. Yep... shown in a full-page color photo on p. 45 to be exact.

This week, I'm selling them on eBay, accompanied by a signed copy of my book and a hand written letter of authenticity. These boots are truly neato, cool, groovy, fab, bangin', gnarly...one could even say "foxy."

(Keep your eye on my eBay selling for more cowboy boot collectibles coming up!)

eDirectory of Cowboy Bootmakers

You’ve read my website and my book. You’ve gotten advice from friends and colleagues. This eDirectory is the next step in your careful cowboy boot research.

This is a directory of all the talented bootmakers featured in my book, Cowboy Boots: The Art & Sole (Universe 2007.) This pricing and delivery information is not available anywhere else online. I spent hours on the phone, calling bootmakers one-by-one, so you don’t have to. (I hope someday to create a directory which includes the nearly 300 bootmakers listed on my Cowboy Boot Web Page.)

Yep. Here's the information you need to be an educated and confident custom cowboy boot buyer.

This downloadable directory includes starting prices, delivery times, years of bootmaking experience, and whether the bootmaker will accept measurements through the mail, or if he/she must measure your feet in-person. You'll get up-to-date bootmaker contact information, and (when available) live web links to each maker's website.

$29 digital, free shipping

Return to products page.

Over the last ten years, I've called hundreds of custom makers looking for information about cowboy boots... I know, it's not always easy to get your calls and questions answered.

This directory will save you a pile of time and trouble. You can...

• Quickly narrow your search to custom bootmakers in your price range.
• Understand typical delivery times before you make a single call.
• Look in my book, or use the web links, to see photos of each maker's work.
• Print a copy of the directory and annotate it with your own notes.
• Get a jump-start on all your travel plans!

And finally, these are the custom bootmakers included in the directory: Arditti Alligator Accouterments & Handcrafted Footwear · Austin-Hall Boot Company · Back at the Ranch · Big Star Boots · Blucher Custom Boots · Bob McLean Custom Bootmakers · Brian Thomas Boots · C.T. Boot Shop (Carl Chappell) · Capitol Saddlery · Caboots (Champion Attitude Boots) · Coe Custom Boots · Cowboy Boots by George · Cunningham's Lone Star Boots · Custom Boots by Morado · Daly Boots · Dave J. Hutchings' Boots · Devote Bootist (Tlo Lowry) · Dew's Custom Handmade Boots · Duck Menzies Bootmaker · Gina C. Guy · Gjelstein Custom Cowboy Boots · James Leddy Boot Company · Janet Stoddard Custom Boots · Jass Boot Shop (Pablo) · Jim Babchak Bootmaker · Jim Covington Bootmaker · J.P.'s Custom Handmade Boots (Joe Patrickus) · Kimmel Boots · Lariat Gang Boots & Shoes · Liberty Boot Company · Little's Boots · Lonesome Ace Boot Company · Lucchese Boot Company · Luis' Custom Cowboy Bootmaking · Manuel · McGlasson Custom Boots · McGuf?n Custom Boots · Meanwhile... Back at the Ranch (Heather Joy) · Melody's Custom Boots · Olsen-Stelzer Boot Co. · Paul Bond Boot Company · Richard Cook Custom Boots · Riff Raff Leatherworks (Pascal) · Rocketbuster · Schwarz Custom Boots · Slickfork Boots · Sorrell Custom Boots · Spikes Custom Boots · Stallion Boot Company · Stephanie Ferguson Custom Boots · Tex Robin Boots · Texas Traditions / Boots by Lee Miller · Tres Outlaws · Weinkauf Boots & Leatherworks · Wheeler Boot Company · Wild Bill's Custom Boots · William Shanor and Julie Bonney · Young's Custom Boots

 
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Photograph by Marty Snortum. Cowboy boot made by C.T. Boot Shop (Carl Chappell.) You'll recognize this boot from the cover of my book... now, without the book's cover text you can see all the beautiful stitching.

Cowboy Boot eBook

I love looking through Tyler's book, Cowboy Boots...nearly 400 pairs of cowboy boots.

Did you see all those great Dave Little Boots? What's that?! You say, you can't find them?

And those five pairs made by Joe Patrickus, you mean to tell me you don't know what pages they're on?

Well here you go, the "Missing Index" for Tyler Beard's book, Cowboy Boots. It's my first eBook.

I originally created this index for my personal use. It’s great, an indispensable reference tool for recognizing the individual styles and skills of America’s best known bootmakers. I used this index over and over again while I was writing my cowboy boot book, and now I am sharing it with you.

Tyler’s Cowboy Boots should be on every collector’s shelf. By purchasing this index you’ll get the most out of your book. Here’s why, it's...

• Fast. Less time hunting for a famous bootmaker’s work. Don’t miss a single boot!
• Accurate. Errors in the book’s captions (First Edition) have been corrected in this index. Nine pairs of cowboy boots were labeled with the wrong maker. Do you know which ones?
• Easy. A separate index means less page-flipping. And a larger font for more comfortable reading.
• Practical. There is a convenient space for note taking. By writing your notes on this index you can keep your book in a fine “collectable” condition.

Click here to download your free copy. (File size: 370 KB)

Elvis

Made by one of the Trujilio brothers in the 1950's, these cowboy boots are fondly known as the "Elvis Boots" ...although, really the name inlaid on the front is "Ellis."

They are beautiful and beat-up boots. The inlay is surrounded by tiny stitches in variegated thread. I can tell the design was carefully planned out by the tightly packed top, but the grassy green stitches along the edge of the vamp give it a playful improvised look.

The vamp musta been something to see, before some misguided soul inked over the red inlay. I guess he had his reasons.

Believe it or not, I own these boots. They were a generous gift from Bryce Sunderlin... who bought them from Tyler Beard years ago. These boots were photographed in The Art of the Boot (p. 37) and Cowboy Boots (p. 107.) I got them this summer, or they would have been in my book too.

Save the Date

I'll be doing a book-signing at the Boot Barn in Fairfield, California ...on Saturday, Dec. 8th ( 12-4pm.)

Stay tuned.

Win a Prize!

Thanks to everyone who's bought my book.

I'm eager to hear what you think of it. So ...I'm sponsoring a contest*.

Post a review of my book, Cowboy Boots: The Art & Sole on Amazon.com and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a HARDCOVER copy of the 1981 classic, Texas Boots (which, when you can find it... retails for $75-$200.)

This 1st prize hardcover copy of Texas Boots will be given away in a random drawing among those who post reviews. Criticism of my book will not hurt your chances of winning. Your chances of winning depends on the number of reviews posted and entries received. Short, one-line reviews are a-okay with me.

2nd prize will be a paperback edition of Texas Boots in excellent condition. This prize goes to my "favorite" review...which could be something instructional, insightful, funny...who knows?!

*Here are the rules:

1. Post a review of Cowboy Boots: The Art & Sole on Amazon.com.
2. Send me an e-mail with the name you used for your review and your mailing address .
3. Your review must be posted and you must e-mail me (jenn@dimlights.com) on or before Sept 15th, 2007. Midnight, PST.

Here's the fine print: I will pay the shipping costs associated with these prizes. The hardcover copy of Texas Boots is in very good condition, but is missing its paper dust jacket.

Entertainment Weekly (20 April)

Hey gang...they wouldn't print it, if it weren't true. You must buy my book. Runner-up to Ira Glass (#3) ...how cool is that?!

Click here to zoom.

Lotto

I just bought a $3 copy of Texas Boots from abebooks.com.

When it showed up... it turned out to be a hardcover copy! Woo hoo!! JACKPOT!

I wrote a book

My book has gone to print. Yippee!!

According to Amazon.com, it will be available April 24, 2007.

336 pages
293 cowboy boot photos, featuring...
 82 boot companies
 62 bootmakers who are accepting new orders, and another...
 20 makers who've retired or passed on.

The cover features a pair of boots made by Carl Chappell (Saint Jo, TX.) Aren't they swell? Black vamps with a strong white toebug, bright pink leather tops and a longhorn inlay. You'll have to buy the book, so you can peek inside and see the detail in the stitchwork.

Book Buying

I'm a much happier person now, since I gave up trying to buy books on eBay.

If I do find a book on eBay (BUY NOW at $35.95)... I go straight over to abebooks.com to search for the same title.

This time, I was looking for a copy of "Shoe Repairing" by Henry Karg. At abebooks, I found multiple editions at reasonable prices for both hard and softcover copies.

I own one other shoe repair book. I picked this book because I want to read it's advice on "The repairman as a businessman." and...

Chapter 14: Operation and Maintenance of Shoe Machinery. (Including...curved needle stitcher, straight needle stitcher and patching machine) General operation, rules to observe, trouble chart, replenishing thread, causes or broken/stranded thread, and causes of broken needles.

I actually bought two copies... one 1947 edition and another 1975 edition. (I want to see if there are any differences between the two.) I paid less for my two copies, then the one on eBay.

Do you need a copy of that old Texas Boot Book?

Art of the Boot (in paperback)

Time to take your copy of Art of the Boot off the coffee table... and tuck it into the bookshelf. This hardcover classic is now out of stock and out of print.

Art of the Boot is now available in paperback and priced at $15.72 (That's less half it's previous cover price.) This book's full color pages measure a generous 8½ x 10½" ...which means the Jim Arndt photos inside give you details so clear ...you can count the rows of stitches on nearly every pair!

Originally released in 1999, this book profiles 28 of America's finest bootmakers, and includes examples from the work of many others. The cowboy boots were borrowed from museum and personal collections, and this book allows us a rare chance to stare, ponder and admire these intricate designs.

You can read a sample chapter of this book by visiting the Texas Monthly website.

Stay on the lookout. There are often reasonably priced hardcover editions of Art of the Boot available from Abebooks.com... or for for something truly special, contact Back at the Ranch which often has signed copies of Tyler Beard's books.

(The page shown below is a peek at the signed copy Tyler sent me.)

P.S. The book How The West was Worn is also in paperback. (Click here for more great books about cowboy boots)

Don't you love surprises?

Recently, I bought a copy of Miss Enid: The Lady Texas Bootmaker. I paid $30 'cuz it was rumored to be hardcover with its paper dust jacket still in very good condition.

When I got it I found it had been signed by the author, Dale Terry... also inside was a little slip of paper with Enid Justin's signature. Wow! (zoom)

Miss Enid founded the Nocona Boot Company in 1925... staying put in Nocona, Texas when her brothers took Justin Boots to Fort Worth. She ran Nocona Boots straight through wartime shortages and two failed marriages ...and yes, with every divorce sprang a new cowboy boot business competitor. (Okay, the gossip is about 70 years old now, but it sure is a good read.) Miss Enid was a brave and remarkable business woman.

With only a thousand copies printed, don't feel left out. Ask you local librarian if she/he can track down a copy for you.

While writing my book, I've rediscovered the power, economy and efficiency of the interlibrary loan. Books, past magazine articles...because you can't find everything you need on the web.

Gotta go, I'm off to the library.

Reference: JUSTIN, Enid, and Dale TERRY. Miss Enid: The Texas Lady Bootmaker. Austin: Nortex Press, 1985