Cobbler
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Le Savetier | The Cobbler
A French cobbler’s workshop ("Le Savetier", 17th-century engraving by Abraham Bosse, Bibliothèque nationale de France).
Savetier is the old name given to cobblers. Until the 18th century, the cobbler only mended and repaired shoes, while the shoemaker (the cordonnier) manufactured new ones. Eventually, the two occupations became one and the same.
Known persons who had this occupation: Jean Blouf, Léonard Éthier.
A Parisian cobbler ("Le savetier", 18th-century engraving (unknown artist), Bibliothèque nationale de France).
Dutch street cobbler ("Cobbler working on the street", 18th-century oil painting by Matthijs Naiveu held at the Amsterdam Historisch Museum, Wikimedia Commons).
Satirical drawing of a French cobbler ("Habit de savetier", 1675 engraving attributed to Nicolas II de Larmessin, Bibliothèque nationale de France).
Source: Alfred Franklin, Dictionnaire historique des arts, métiers et professions exercés dans Paris depuis le treizième siècle (Paris, H. Welter, 1906), 631-632.