Church's Custom Grade - Cordovan or Bookbinder Leather?

[JohnnyLaw]

I picked up a pair of Church's custom grade and I'm trying to figure out what leather they're made of. I searched the forum and found a thread from 3 years ago where a user listed the following types of leather used by Church's:

BC = black calfskin or vealskin
TC = brown calfskin or vealskin
WC = burgundy calfskin
BCB = black bookbinder
TCB = brown bookbinder
WCB = burgundy bookbinder
BRH = black full grain ranch oxhide
TRH = brown full grain ranch oxhide
RC = brown suede calfskin (usually cape buck)
WCA = dark burgundy appaloosa calfskin (a matte finish typically)

I can't find any of these codes inside my shoes. I'm thinking that they are bookbinder (a glossy, corrected grain leather from my understanding), which seems more common than cordovan. I would like get some opinions from more knowledgeable members though. Here are some pictures:

The leather has a reddish tint to it and polishes up very nicely. It also seems to have some wavy creases. What do I have here?

 

[SirSuturesALot]

Can you take a bird's-eye view of the creases with better lighting?

 

[CunningSmeagol]

What is that, arabic?

 

[JohnnyLaw]

I'll get some more pictures up tomorrow.

The handwriting is pretty bad. Here's what I make of it:

IWF93
??K-7 2K4175
F12?/?
Arlington (Aslington?)

 

[Tarmac]

No need to deciper the chicken scrawl of a legally blind nonagenarian Church's factory cobbler. Just take a better pic and we can tell you.

In my experience, Shell Cordovan is exceedingly rare in Church's shoes. I have seen one vintage pair. They were stamped "genuine cordovan" as well.

 

[DocHolliday]

Hard to tell, but I think I see fine creasing, which would suggest they're not shell.

 

[jcusey]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

In my experience, Shell Cordovan is exceedingly rare in Church's shoes. I have seen one vintage pair. They were stamped "genuine cordovan" as well.

Herring Shoes lists the Grafton model as being made in burgundy crup, which is what some British makers call shell cordovan. I have no idea whether this shoe was ever made in shell cordovan, and it's hard to tell from the pictures (although, like Doc, I think that I see fine creasing that is indicative of calfskin).

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by jcusey

Herring Shoes lists the Grafton model as being made in burgundy crup, which is what some British makers call shell cordovan. I have no idea whether this shoe was ever made in shell cordovan, and it's hard to tell from the pictures (although, like Doc, I think that I see fine creasing that is indicative of calfskin).

Well, the burgundy crup Graftons are certainly priced like cordovan.

 

[distinctive]

In the Italian store they had one pair of Cordovan shoes (in burgundy). It said cordovan on the insole. Generally, the only cordovan you'll find made from Church's is Royal Tweed (and I don't believe they make this line anymore).

Those you have pictured are not cordovan

 

[JohnnyLaw]

Thanks everyone. Here is a better picture:

From other threads, I can see that poor handwriting is one of Church's trademarks.

 

[Tarmac]

No way in hell that's cordovan. It could even be as bad as 'bookbinder'. I would consider myself lucky if it was just calf leather.

 

[bachatando]

Hi everyone from Italy.
this is my first post in this forum, hoping to be useful.
being a shoe's collector, I know the last 10 years of Church's production.
I guess the shoes in question is the style ARLINGTON in brown appaloosa calf on last 93 (the same last of penny loafer DARWIN). In the 1999 brochure the style is part of appaloosa collection. We know that this kind of calf is quite different, and much better, than polished bookbinder.