If you were a wealthy or middle-class woman living in British America around the time of the Revolution, you probably owned a pair of calamanco shoes. Like sneakers or black pumps today, calamancos were the everyday footwear of early American life: practical clothing items that can reveal a great deal about the day-to-day lives—and aspirations—of their owners.
But first, what was calamanco, this special item coveted by women of wealth and women of the middling sort? Calamanco (also spelled callimanco, calamanco, or calamink) is a worsted wool textile finished with a glossy, glazed surface, created by forcing the cloth through hot rollers. Historians trace the earliest usage of the term back to the late 16th century. Some scholars attribute the derivation of the word from a modification of Spanish “calamaco,” and from the Late Latin word “calamaucus,” referring to a felt cap or skullcap.
Early American consumers got most of their calamanco from Norfolk, England. They appreciated the fabric’s ability to take bright colors, such as the vibrant reds and yellows fancied in the early part of the 18th century, and the elegant greens that became the fashion by mid-century. But calamanco also worked for plain, damasked, or brocaded weaves.
Early Americans adopted calamanco for clothing, including petticoats, waistcoats, and shoes, and for an assortment of household uses, such as bed coverings. Calamanco remnants from a petticoat or waistcoat could be repurposed for many items, including quilts, or stays (similar to what today is known as a corset). Because it was so adaptable, historians routinely find calamanco wool in probate inventories. It was tremendously useful, and thus, even though it was common, considered an item of value.
Calamanco shoes—especially popular between the 1730s and the 1780s—were practical in New England, as they offered more warmth and durability than silk. Their glazed surface could withstand a bit of dirt and poor weather, and could be surface cleaned on a regular basis. The shoes were also an affordable choice, available in differing qualities. Dozens of references to the shoes can be found in the account books of merchants and country traders in places such as Deerfield, Williamsburg, Boston, Portsmouth, and Lynn. When shoe scholar Nicole Rudolph examined New England newspapers between 1775 and 1883, she found 408 ads mentioning ladies’ shoes; of those, a quarter were for calamancos.
Numerous sources—including orders placed by George Washington with London shoe and bootmaker, John Didsbury, for Martha Washington—indicate that black calamanco shoes were perhaps the 18th-century equivalent to today’s black pumps: a wardrobe staple for women that crossed divides, whether political, social, or economic. For example, while Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dorothy Quincy, John Hancock’s wife, wore calamancos, so did Hancock’s serving girl, whose name was either Vilate or Vitale.