We close our look at Salvatore Ferragamo with a name he would have known well, for this is Saint Crispin, the patron saint of cordwainers and tanners, as shown here, but also cobblers, glove makers, and saddlers - or, probably, more likely, the patron saint of leather-workers, as all these trades work with that material.
As to what a cordwainer is, well it is a shoemaker, but one who makes his shoes from brand new leather - whereas a cobbler repairs old or broken shoes, and if he cannot he breaks the leather down into parts and "cobbles" it together into a new pair of shoes, often in a smaller size.
There are actually two connected saints here, Crispin and his twin brother Crispinian.
They were Romans, who left their family to preach Christianity to the local Gauls, whilst, legend has it, repairing their shoes. They also repaired and made shoes for money, and gave that money to the poor.
However their goodly ways brought them to the attention of the local governor and he had them killed in 286 AD
This set was issued by many manufacturers, a quick course through the web finding :
- Chocolat d`AIGUEBELLE, Drome (chocolate) - descriptive text back
- De DROULERS Fils, Fresnes (chicory coffee and chocolate)
- Chocolat IBLED, Paris (chocolate)
- Paul MAIRESSE, Cambrai (chicory coffee)
- WIBAULT, Sin Le Noble (chicory coffee)