[10] Pictures by Courtesy of United Shoe Machinery Co.
Who Made the First Shoes?
~WHERE SHOES COME FROM~
The making of shoes is one of the oldest arts of which there is any
human knowledge. Long before primitive man devised any method of
recording his exploits or thoughts, he contrived--through necessity--a
method of protecting his feet from the rough way or hot sands over
which he was obliged to travel in his search for food and shelter.
That foot covering antedates clothing or ornaments is shown from the
fact that the primitive savage to-day, devoid of clothing or ornament,
is almost invariably found with a crude form of foot protection and
there is scarcely a tribe or nation without it’s traditions of the
shoe--its mysterious power for good or evil.
What Was the First Foot Covering Like?
The first foot covering devised was undoubtedly a simple form of
sandal--a rough bit of hide, wood or plaited grass held to the foot by
means of thongs, generally brought up between the toes and tied about
the ankle. This form of foot covering is depicted in records of the
greatest antiquity: in the ruined temples at Thebes Egypt, the ancient
sandal maker is shown at his task; the Assyrian bricks show the ancient
warriors and people of that time wearing the simple sandal.
The dispersion of the human races and the wandering of tribes into
colder climates brought the necessity for more thorough protection
for the feet and body, and that this was accomplished was shown in
the gradual increase in the number of straps or thongs which held the
sandal in place and, in the colder climates, in the contrivance of
a bag-like foot covering--traces of which are found even now in the
Indian moccasin and the foot covering of the Eskimo. In all colder
countries this type of footwear is still in evidence, the seam around
the outline of the foot being a relic of the puckering string which
held the bag-like covering to the foot.
[Illustration: Ancient sandal showing puckering string and thongs for
holding it on foot.]
[Illustration: JAPANESE “ZORI”
A flat sandal with felt sole. Also showing “Tabi” or glove-like sock
worn by Japanese.]
The sandal was developed and adorned by the Greeks, but it was not
until the days of the Roman Empire that anything approaching the
present form of shoes was designed. In this period a form of foot
covering was developed--that was appropriated by the Emperor and worn
by him only--which covered the entire foot with the exception of the
toes.
[Illustration:
THE
EVOLUTION
OF THE
SANDAL
TO THE
SHOE]
[Illustration: ANCIENT AND MODERN FORMS OF SANDALS