MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES. 



497 



of materials. The Egyptians used palm leaves and leather, while 

 the Hebrews preferred linen or even wood. Brass and iron were 

 not found objectionable by some, and in a few instances gold was 

 employed for that purpose. Like the sandal, the shoe grew out 

 of physical conditions, the fundamental purpose of it being pro- 

 tection for the whole foot. Among the early Greeks and Romans 

 shoes were not common, but the wearing of them once established, 

 an endless variety arose law and fashion dictating special styles 

 and finish for the several social ranks and classes. A single hide, 

 slit and looped into a purse-like pouch by a thong run through it, 

 seems to have been the primitive form of the shoe in Great Britain. 

 Boots and shoes became common in Europe between the ninth and 

 sixteenth centuries, and the fantastic forms which they assumed, 



Fig. 1. Ancient Egyptian Cobblers at Work. The familiar awl, lapstone, and thread 

 appear in this. Even the method of drawing the thread is not unknown to those who 

 have ever frequented an old New England cobbler's shop. 



and the laws in restraint of them, show the prominent place they 

 had come to occupy in the wardrobe and fashions of the day. 



It was not to be expected that there would be a serious demand 

 on the part of the early settlers in this country for these more fash- 

 ionable styles of boots and shoes. Those who could afford to do 

 so brought with them such articles for holiday and Sunday use, 

 just as they did their velvet breeches and brocade gowns and bits 

 of old lace. But there was a need from the first for stout boots 

 and shoes, both as a protection against the cold and against injury 

 on the rocks and rough soil. Some of the settlers were quick to 

 adopt the moccasin of the Indian ; but, though warm and easy to 

 make, it did not meet the ideas of the Europeans. Accordingly, 

 the shoemakers were among the first craftsmen to settle here, and 

 from the privileges that were accorded them from the start their 

 number and influence may be inferred. The early records of Vir- 

 ginia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts all bear evi- 

 dence to their presence and to the establishment of their trade. 



VOL. XLI. 



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