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Tyler Beard, known as the foremost expert on cowboy boots until his death
last year, became friends with Jim in the early 1990s in Santa Fe, when the two
men bonded over their love of all things Western.
“As a child, I had to be
coaxed out of my Roy Rogers boots nightly,” wrote Tyler, a native Texan. Jim,
another child of the ‘50s, got his first pair of boots when he was 6 years old.
Both boys, like many of their post-World War II generation, wanted to grow up to
be cowboys.
(g) Among women boot makers today is Lisa Sorrel of Oklahoma, who
created these leather lovelies. (h) These 1950s women’s peewees (short
boots) have under-slung heels and crisp wingtip styling on the toes.
Tyler and Jim teamed up for their first joint effort, The Cowboy Boot Book, in
1992, “thinking it might have a small cult following,” Jim says. “We included
just a half-dozen collectors and about a half-dozen custom boot makers.”To
their surprise and delight, the book sold more than 100,000 copies around the
world. Boot aficionados came out of the woodwork to share their collections and
names of their favorite boot makers. That led to the creation of 100 Years of
Western Wear in 1993, The Art of the Boot in 1999, and Cowboy Boots (from which
the photographs here were taken) in 2004, all published by Gibbs Smith. More
than 400 color photographs of vintage and contemporary boots grace the pages of
the most recent book. “Every pair,” Jim says, “is a wearable work of art.”
Contemporary boot makers like Tex Robin, (i) and Lisa Sorrel, (j)
borrow inspiration from vintage leatherwork. (k) The famous Nudie of
Hollywood made these flamboyant peewees in the ‘40s or ‘50s. Later, he outfitted
dozens of “rhinestone cowboys,” from Roy Rogers and Johnny Cash to Elvis and
Cher.
Urbane Cowboys
 Though vintage boots are hard to come by, Jim Arndt says
they can still be found at estate sales and high-end auctions specializing in
Western wear. But they aren’t cheap. Expect to pay several hundred dollars to as
much as serious five figures for extraordinary pairs.
For a list of
resources, see dimlights.com/boots.
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