Galoshes of Fortune

In The Galoshes of Fortune by Hans Christian Andersen, Dame Fortune’s assistant and Dame Care herself, leave a pair of magic galoshes in a pile of boots at a party. The boots can take the wearer to any time and any place.

However, in each chapter of this tale, the person wearing the boots is taken somewhere they have romanticized only to find out it is not so wonderful after all. Thereby finding renewed contentment with their own life.

If I had to pick a moral for this tale, I would say “the grass is always greener somewhere else.” I would benefit from the experience of finding contentment in my life!

In my research to find out what exactly galoshes were like in the 1800s, I came across an example of Wellington boots made by John N. Hefford which won an award at The Great Exhibition in 1851. These boots are held by the Northampton Shoe Museum and are stunning. I used these as inspiration to create this lovely, tiny pair of boots.

They may not be galoshes, but Wellingtons are now (unless I’m mistaken as an American) what rain boots (aka galoshes) are called, so I figured it worked.

I love the detail and intricacy of the original boots. No wonder they won an award! The photo is, again, professionally captured by David Hawkinson. I used a ceramic detail knife to cut designs in the top layer before adding white details and gluing on top of a deep teal under layer. Then, I added a low heel and finally finished with the top part of the bottom of the boot. Phew!