BOOTS AND SHOES J 



From Ancient to Modem Forms. The Egyp- 

 tians of ancient days wore sandals of woven 

 papyrus or grass, a custom which yet prevails 

 in many parts of China, India and other 

 Eastern countries. The Romans wore sandals, 

 the soles of which wore sometimes protected by 

 metal plates. Shoes shaped out of a piece of 

 wood are now worn in parts of France, where 

 they are called sabots. The same kind of shoe, 

 known as a clog, is the favorite footwear of 

 the mill workers of Yorkshire and Lancashire, 

 England. In the Middle Ages boots began to 

 assume most fantastic shapes. With wide flaps 

 coming well above the knee, the leather was 

 embroidered and highly ornamented, and at 

 one time the upward length of a man's footwear 

 signified his rank. 



In modem days men and women often take 

 pride in small feet. This was not so in France 

 in the latter part of the seventeenth century. 

 At that time a member of a royal family wore 

 shoes two feet and a half in length; a baron 

 could not have more than two feet of shoe; 

 a mere knight had to be content with eighteen 

 inches of foot covering. The long, pointed 

 toes of such boots were usually looped up 

 and tied at the knee. In some parts of Ireland 

 a primitive form of boot survives, and a few 

 peasants still wear brogues, or foot coverings 

 many sizes too large, stuffed with hay or moss. 

 The boot in all its shapes is fast giving place to 

 the more rational shoe of to-day, reaching just 

 above the ankle. In the lumber camps of the 

 United States and Canada a boot reaching to 

 just below the knee and often called a shoepack, 

 is worn. The British horseguards still wear the 

 jackboot, which comes above the knee. This 

 boot may be regarded as the father of all mod- 

 ern forms of boot In England it is still cus- 

 tomary to call a shoe reaching just above the 

 ankle, a boot, a shoe being one which is of 

 a lower cut. 



The Industry in America. The shoemaking 

 industry was introduced into America in 1629 

 when Thomas Beard, a shoemaker, arrived on 

 the Mayflower with a supply of cowhides. 

 Within a few years from that time the town 

 of Lynn, Mass., then a primitive settlement, 

 became the center of the shoe trade. For 

 many years, however, journeying shoemakers 

 continued to travel from farm to farm making 

 shoes out of the hides provided by the settlers. 

 Comfort and utility were more sought in those 

 days than style and appearance. 



The boot and shoe industry in America had 

 its beginning in Massachusetts, and to-day that 



g BOOTS AND SHOES 



state leads so greatly in production that no 

 other state produces one-fourth as great an 

 output. The value of Massachusetts footwear 

 of all kinds is $240,000,000 a year (factory 

 prices) ; Lynn makes more women's shoes than 

 any other city in the world, and Brockton en- 

 joys the same supremacy in the manufacture 

 of men's shoes. After Massachusetts, in order 

 of rank, is Missouri, with a product of $50,000,- 

 000, Saint Louis being the producing center. 

 The next five states in order of importance are 

 New York, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsyl- 

 vania and Illinois. 



Over 250,000,000 pairs of boots, shoe* and 

 slippers are made in the United States every 

 year. 



Shoemaking in Canada. The shoemaking in- 

 dustry is of great importance in all Canadian 

 cities, but it has not yet been sufficiently devel- 

 oped to meet all the requirements of the 

 market. Boots and shoes are imported from 

 the United States and England. As a general 



CUTTING LEATHER 



Showing how patterns are laid to prevent 

 waste in stock. 



rule, shoes are sold in Canada for a slightly 

 higher price than is received for the same 

 quality in the United States. 



The 1911 census of Canadian manufactures 

 gives the following particulars of the boot and 

 shoe industries: There are in all Canadian 

 provinces 180 establishments manufacturing 

 boots and shoes. The total capital invested is 

 $23,630,649. The wages and salaries paid to 

 employees reach an annual total of nearly 

 $8,000,000, and the value of the product is 

 estimated at $34,000,000. This output would be 

 sufficient to provide every inhabitant of Can- 

 ada with one pair of shoes costing $4.75. 



How Modern Shoes Are Made. In the making 



