All I can contribute to the "history of the boot" is that at least one (probably the pair) of the ESB boots is on the AOSW/C4 display.
[ATTACH=full]122741[/ATTACH]
I think there are alot of boots the design could have been based on. Wrestling boots, diving boots, chelseas... But I think at the end of the day you will not find something exact. I think they were certainly custom made. With respect to the boot makers on this board, we have yet to have a reproduction come very close to the real pattern.