THE AMERICAN SHOE 317 



that a planter named ]\Iatthews employed 8 shoemakers 

 upon his OT\Ti premises. Legal restraint was placed upon the 

 business of the cordwainer in Connecticut in 1656, and in 

 Rhode Island in 1706, while in New York the business of 

 tanning and shoemaking is known to have been firmly es- 

 tabhshed previous to the capitulation of the province to the 

 English, in 1664. In 1698 the industry was carried on profit- 

 ably in Philadelphia, and in 1721 the colonial legislature of 

 Pennsylvania passed an act regulating the materials and the 

 prices of the boot and shoe industry. 



During the revolutionary' war most of the shoes worn 

 by the continental army, as well as nearly all ready made 

 shoes sold throughout the colonies, were produced in Massa- 

 chusetts, and we find it recorded that for quality and ser\dce 

 the}' were quite as good as those imported from England. 

 Immediately after the revolution, in consequence of large 

 importations, the business languished somewhat. It soon 

 recovered, however, and was pursued with such vigor that in 

 1795 there were in L}Tin 200 master workmen and 600 jour- 

 ne>Tnen, who produced in the aggregate 300,000 pairs of ladies' 

 shoes. One manufacturer in seven months of the year 1795 

 made 20,000 pairs. In 1778 men's shoes were made in Read- 

 ing, Braintree, and other towns in the old colony for the whole- 

 sale trade; they were sold to dealers in Boston, Philadelphia, 

 Savannah, and Charleston, a considerable portion being ex- 

 ported to Cuba and other West India islands. 



About the year 1795 the business was established in Mil- 

 ford and other Worcester county towns, where brogans were 

 made, and sold to the planters in the southern states for negro 

 wear. The custom at this time was for the manufacturer to 

 make weekly trips to Boston with his horse and wagon, taking 

 his goods in baskets and barrels, and selling them to the 

 wholesale trade. 



Prior to 1815 most of the shoes were hand sewed, a few 

 having been copper nailed ; the heavier shoes were welted and 

 the lighter ones turned. This method of manufacture was 

 changed, about the year 1815, by the adoption of the wooden 

 shoe peg, which was invented in 1811 and soon came into 

 general use. Up to this time little or no progress had been 



