[Illustration: Ancient Turkish Bath Slipper.]
[Illustration: The Crakrow or Poulaine showing clearly traces of the
oriental origin of this design.]
[Illustration: Home made sandal of Siberian Peasant. Showing puckering
string and key strap.]
[Illustration: JAPANESE WARY
A primitive form of foot covering very generally used by Japanese at
the present time.]
[Illustration: Modern sandal issued by the Mexican Government for wear
of soldiers.]
The Boot Developed from the Sandal.
It was but a step from this form of foot covering to the boot which
covered not only the foot but the lower leg as well and which came
widely into use afterwards in the form of the Jack-boot.
Up to the fourteenth century there had been little in the way of
development of foot covering, but it is well established that in the
year 1408 there were shoemakers’ guilds in Europe. Some of these
were semi-religious in character, the members working in communities
and sharing in the general product of their toil. Guilds of this
period were very generally dedicated to either Saint Crispin or Saint
Crispianus (the patron saint of shoemaking), and even to this day
the birthday of Saint Crispin is celebrated in some of the English
shoemaking guilds on October 25. The ceremonies attending the
celebration in the olden days were of a very elaborate nature.
~THE SHOE WHICH THE CHURCH AND LAW FORBADE~
In the process of time the shoes began to lose the crude nature and
design in which the Dark Ages had held them and developed a style the
first of which was apparent in the gradual elongation of the toes,
the custom said to have been introduced by Henry, Duke of Anjou,
and these shoes were known as “Crakrows” or “Poulaines.” The style
finally ran to such extremes that effort was made to stop it by the
church and government, but with indifferent success until finally its
end was accomplished by the imposing of summary fines and threat of
excommunication by the church.
[Illustration: THE CRAKROW OR PEAKED SHOE OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY]
Immediately the style went to the other extreme and the toes became
very broad, as evidenced in the period of Elizabeth, and in some
instances the shoes were as broad as six inches at the toe. They were
made of velvet and were slashed to show the satin lining.
Who Made the First Shoes in America?
The first shoemaking in America is recorded when Thomas Baird arrived
on the second voyage of the Mayflower in 1628. Baird was under contract
with the Plymouth Company to make shoes for the colonists and brought
with him divers hides, etc., for this purpose. It was recorded that in
1636 a planter in Virginia employed six shoemakers to make shoes for
his slaves.
That in the early history of the country the art of making shoes had
become of considerable importance is shown by the very summary laws
passed by the different colonies regulating the industry. Particularly
was this so in the Province of Pennsylvania which, in 1721, placed upon
its statute book most drastic laws regarding the making of shoes and
regulating the prices to be charged therefor.
Shoemaking in New England early received impetus from the arrival of
one Phillip Kirtland, a Welshman, who came to Lynn, Mass., in 1636.
He was an experienced shoemaker and taught his art to many of the
colonists in his vicinity.
Shoemaking in this locality was further advanced by the arrival of
John Adams Dagyr, who settled in Lynn in the year 1750. Dagyr was a
celebrated shoemaker and was enabled, from his own means, to secure the
best examples of work from abroad. He possessed the peculiar quality
of being able to teach the art to those who came under his charge.
The fame of New England made shoes was due largely to the teachings
of these men and the industry has continued to be one of the first in
importance. In Massachusetts alone, according to the census of 1910,
over 40 per cent of the entire value of shoes in the United States was
produced.
The young man of this period, who essayed to learn the shoemaking
trade, was ordinarily apprenticed for a term of seven years under the
most rigorous terms, as shown in some of the indentures of that period
which are still in existence. He was instructed in every part of the
trade and, upon completion of his term of service, it was the custom
for the newly fledged shoemaker to start what was known as “whipping
the cat”--which meant journeying from town to town, living with a
family while making a year’s supply of shoes for each member thereof,
and then leaving to fill other engagements previously made.
It was soon found that the master workman could largely increase his
income by employing other men to do certain portions of the work, while
he directed their efforts, and this gradually lead to a division of
the labor and was the beginning of a factory system--which has been in
process of development from that time.
In the year 1795 it is recorded that there were in the city of Lynn,
Mass., over two hundred master workmen, employing over six hundred
journeymen, and that they manufactured shoes at the rate of about one
pair per day per man.
Factory buildings, as the words would be known to-day, were practically
unknown at that time. The small buildings, about ten feet square, were
in the back yards of many homes and in these little shops were employed
from three to eight men.
Strange as it may seem, prior to the year 1845 there had been little
change in the tools employed in making shoes. The workman of that
period, seated at his low bench, used practically the same implements
that were employed by his prototype, the ancient sandal-maker of
Egypt. The lap stone, the hammer, the crude needle and the knife being
practically the only tools used. Not that there had been no effort to
perfect machinery for this purpose; Napoleon I, in his endeavor to
secure better shoes for his soldiers, had offered great rewards for
the perfecting of shoe machinery that would accomplish this purpose,
but although great effort had been made there had been no successful
machinery produced.
In this year 1845 the first machine to be widely adopted by the
industry was perfected. It was a simple form of rolling machine, which
took the place of the lap stone and hammer used by the shoemakers for
toughening the leather, and it is said that a man could, in half an
hour, obtain the same results from this machine that would require a
day’s labor on the part of the hand workman employing the old method of
pounding.
This was followed in 1848 by the very important invention by Elias Howe
of the sewing machine--which was not adapted for use in connection with
sewing leather until several years later. It started, however, an era
of great activity among inventors and in 1857 there was perfected a
machine for driving pegs, which came into successful operation.
The First Machine for Making Shoes.
This was shortly followed by a very important invention by Lyman E.
Blake, of Abington, Mass., of a machine for sewing the soles of shoes
and this afterwards became famous as the “McKay Sewing Machine.” This
invention of Blake’s was purchased by Gordon McKay, who spent large
sums of money in perfecting it, and the first machine was established
in Lynn in 1861. The results obtained in the early stages of the
machines were of an indifferent nature and it was only after large
expenditures and the hiring of a number of different inventors to work
upon it that a successful machine was produced.
[Illustration: BOOTS OF THE CAVALIERS AND POSTILLIONS