Charles Russell "Charlie" Dunn (1898-1993) was an
American bootmaker of handmade Western, or cowboy, boots for more than 80
years. Dubbed the "Michelangelo of cowboy boots," he first gained
widespread notice in the wake of Jerry Jeff Walker's song "Charlie
Dunn" (1972). By the time he retired in 1988 from Texas Traditions, his
shop in Austin, he routinely charged up to $3000 for a pair of boots, had a
waiting list of hundreds of interested buyers willing to wait three years for
delivery, and had made boots for a long list of celebrities, including Arnold
Palmer, Mary Kay Place, Gene Autry, Slim Pickens, Don F Brooks, Harry
Belafonte, Ernest Tubb, Peter Fonda, and Carole King.
Known for his colorful language and broad sense of humor,
Charlie in his customary black beret and cobbler's apron measured out at
5'4" and 135 pounds of pure imp. Folks may have come to him wanting his
boots but they stayed because they wanted his affection. All who knew him well
fell under his spell.
When Charlie died at 95 from complications arising from a
stroke, he had passed along his bootmaking mastery to Lee Miller, his
heir-designate, thus assuring the survival of exceptional bootmaking in the
traditional, handmade manner. As with four generations of Dunns before him,
Charlie had persevered in and prolonged the production of custom boots, despite
the general trend toward bootmaking in factories.
One of a handful of survivors
of an endangered species—the half artisan, half artist maker of once-common
items—Charlie managed, in passing his skills to a new generation, to make sure
that the world continued to enjoy prized bootmaking.
Thanks Richard
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