A tiny baby's right shoe made of leather, possibly pigskin. It is bound in faded red silk thread. The shoe was found beneath the floorboards of a building at 46 Leadenhall Street, London, around 1870. It may have been lost there at some point, or could have been deliberately concealed when building work was done.
The practice of hiding items of clothing behind walls, up chimneys and under floorboards is very old, and believed to have protective properties. the garment carries some of the spirit of the wearer and is a kind of sacrifice. Children's clothing was especially popular. Deliberately concealed garments have been found in buildings all over Britain.
