Sonny Cincinatus is the old shoemaker in the town of Serenia.
Background[]
He worked with his wife (whom he affectionately calls Mama) make shoes in the Corner Cobbler Shoe Shoppe in Serenia. Sonny Cincinatus uses only the finest leathers, and spends weeks making sure that each pair of shoes or boots he crafts fits perfectly and meets his high standard of quality. As a result, he and his wife were among the less prosperous merchants in town, most potential customers preferring less of a wait for their merchandise. Graham gave a pair of elven shoes to the poor couple at the shoe store. He received Sonny's cobbler's hammer in return. At the time, the shoemaker and his wife declared they would retire on the money they'd get for selling the elven shoes, but later changed their minds. Their business is still meager, but it does provide them with a substantial tax write-off.
Behind the scenes[]
This character and his wife are known simply as the 'Shoemaker and Wife' in the KQ5 Hintbook, and within the game. He refers to his wife as "Mama". He was given the name Sonny Cincinatus in the King's Quest companion, 2nd Edition. The name of his shop is given as the Corner Cobbler in that book, and simply Shoe Shoppe in KQ5.
He is based on the shoemaker in the fairy tale, The Elves and the Shoemaker. While in the story the elves make shoes for the shoemaker directly, Graham acts like a middleman between the elves and the shoemaker.
Cincinatus is likely a reference to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (519 BC – 430 BC). He was a Roman aristocrat and statesman whose service as consul in 460 BC and dictator in 458 BC and 439 BC made him a model of civic virtue. He is most famous for his immediate resignation of absolute authority after defeating the Roman enemies during a crisis. This has often been cited as an example of outstanding leadership, service to the greater good, civic virtue, lack of personal ambition and modesty. As a result, he has inspired a number of organizations and other entities, many of which are named in his honor. The city of Cincinnati, Ohio was named after the famous consul. George Washington is often compared to Cincinnatus for his willingness to give up his power once the Revolution had been won. However, how this applies to a poor cobbler in Serenia, is anyone's guess.
It appears at one time Cincinnati was famous for shoe production, with some claiming to have made the best shoes in the United States. “...Cincinnati, the Queen City of the great West, is headquarters for quality, fit, and style. In other words, the best shoes in the United States are made in Ohio, and the best shoes in Ohio are made in Cincinnati.”
As it turns out, Cincinnati was one of the largest manufacturers of boots and shoes in the United States for much of the early 1900s. Factories in Boston, Lynn, and Haverhill, Massachusetts were the main centers of production, but they could not compete with Cincinnati when it came to shoe manufacturing, particularly fine women’s shoes—in this category, the Queen City took the lead. The June 1909 issue of The Cincinnati Magazine lists 24 factories (17 of which made ladies’ shoes), noting a total output of 30,000 pairs a day! Salesmen traveled all over the country to get Cincinnati-made footwear into various retail locations. Hedberg Brothers in Tacoma, Washington, for example, sold the Red Cross Noiseless Shoes mentioned above. Cincinnati flourished as a shoe town for many reasons. For one, the Queen City produced much of the country’s leather. In 1886, it even claimed to have “the largest tannery in the world.”[1]