Literary notes about Vamp (AI summary)
In literature, “vamp” is a remarkably versatile term that bridges technical description, character archetypes, and even process verbs. It appears in precise contexts such as the construction of footwear, where it denotes the leather or fabric piece covering the front of the shoe ([1], [2], [3]), and is detailed further in accounts of intricate stitching or repair ([4], [5]). Simultaneously, “vamp” is employed to evoke images of the seductive, manipulative woman—ranging from the “baby vamp” to the more seasoned, enigmatic figure—thus coloring character portrayals in social and dramatic narratives ([6], [7], [8]). The word also functions dynamically as a verb meaning to transform or improvise, especially in musical or creative settings, underscoring its adaptability in various literary and colloquial registers ([9], [10], [11]).
- Cutting the leather parts of the shoe, as vamp, tip, top, etc. Outside Tap.
— from A Manual of Shoemaking and Leather and Rubber Products by William H. (William Henry) Dooley - The rear part of upper when a full vamp is not used.
— from A Manual of Shoemaking and Leather and Rubber Products by William H. (William Henry) Dooley - The upper parts of a shoe, the "uppers," as they are called, are the vamp or front of the shoe, the top, the tip, and (in a laced shoe) the tongue.
— from Makers of Many Things by Eva March Tappan - Sew vamp up the center by catching corresponding loops together.
— from Spool Knitting by Mary A. McCormack - He bound it up, and taking an old boot, cut out the vamp, and was by this means enabled to wear it.
— from The Turning of the Tide; Or, Radcliffe Rich and His Patients by Elijah Kellogg - Irene, continuing to baby-vamp him, waved him into the chair beside that into which she had sunk.
— from Lonesome Town by E. S. (Ethel Smith) Dorrance - “‘Lois Miller was not a vamp by choice but by force of circumstances.
— from Polly and Her Friends Abroad by Lillian Elizabeth Roy - The “belle” had become the “flirt,” the “flirt” had become the “baby vamp.”
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - "Can you vamp a few chords, do you think?" I heard him say to the accompanist.
— from Happy-go-lucky by Ian Hay - “As soon as I could get in to vamp the tunes on the banjo a little, I went at it, too.
— from London Labour and the London Poor (Vol. 3 of 4) by Henry Mayhew - Meanwhile, Paris was attempting to vamp up some interest in her new King, who walked the streets with an umbrella under his arm.
— from Lady John Russell: A Memoir with Selections from Her Diaries and Correspondence
