After 1815 a large range of French goods could enter Britain free of duty. Many London trades had to face new French products that had fashionable status and were often considerably cheaper than the equivalent British products. This article analyses the relationship between the Parisian and the London shoemaking trades during the rst half of the nineteenth century. Its aim is to understand the economic transformations that posited London in direct competition with Paris. Starting with a quantitative analysis of the competition between the two cities, the article focuses on the diVerences of products, materials and the selling and marketing techniques of the Parisian and the London boot and shoe trades. The article aims to show how diVerences in the way products were marketed played an important role in the success story of French shoemaking.At the beginning of the nineteenth century the London shoemaking trade was no longer the undisputed leader in Europe. This position -achieved and maintained during the eighteenth century -was challenged by the rise of Paris as a new and dynamic European shoemaking centre.1 The French Revolution provided new cultural and material stimuli that in uenced fashion and had a considerable impact on footwear.2 Notwithstanding the climate of political uncertainty dominating France at the end of the ancien régime, Paris maintained -and perhaps even strengthened -its role as a city of taste and fashion.3 The geographical synergy between the production of new political, philosophical and social ideas and the creation of a new mode in clothing, objects and decor, created a series of opportunities that allowed the owering of the Parisian consumer trades.4 London, on the other hand, lagged behind in several consumer trades, increasingly relying on the latest Parisian fashion advertised and publicized through Almanacs and fashion plates (Fig. 1). British emulation of French fashion was particularly diYcult due to the commercial blockade between the two countries and the absence of any travel from one country to the other between 1802 and 1815.5 British attempts at emulating French fashion were often so unsuccessful that they became the subject of many satirical prints and cartoons.6By the end of the Napoleonic wars all barriers against the free circulation of goods and people suddenly came to an end. After more than two decades a large range of French goods could freely enter Britain. Many London trades had to face new French products that had fashionable status and were often considerably cheaper than the equivalent British products. This article aims to analyse the relationship between the Parisian and the London shoemaking trades during the rst half of the nineteenth century in order to understand the economic transformations that posited London in direct competition with Paris. Starting with a quantitative analysis of the competition
