American white kid side-laced boots, unlabeled,c. 1850-55.

“Side-laced boots were always shown laced in a ladder fashion using a single lace, but the woman who originally owned this pair used a more practical cross-lacing style. Her practicality did not extend to buying boots wide enough to fit her foot as the dirt on the side attests.”

- From Jonathan Walford, “The Seductive Shoe.”