CONTENTS 



tumes, p. 60 Some curious fashions and their explanation, p. 

 6 1 How the plagues affected fashions, p. 62 The age of wigs, p. 

 63 The follies of fashion, p. 64 The ruff, p. 65 Legislation 

 against the ruff, p. 66 Knitted garments, p. 68 Some remark- 

 able costumes, p. 69 Grotesque fashions of the Middle Ages, p. 

 70 Fashion versus comfort, p. 74 The return of the common- 

 sense age in clothing, p. 76 The wholesale manufacture of cloth- 

 ing, p. 78 Impetus given by the American Civil War, p. 79 The 

 "task system" introduced, p. 80 The "Boston" or "factory" 

 system, p. 81 Steam and electricity in factories, p. 83 The man- 

 ufacture of ready-to-wear garments for women, p. 85. 



CHAPTER IV 



THE SEWING-MACHINE 



What the sewing-machine has done for civilization, p. 87 The 

 sewing-machines of Weisenthal and Saint, p. 89 The first prac- 

 tical sewing-machine, p. 90 American inventors enter the field, 

 p. 91 The coming of Howe, p. 93 His early patents, p. 95 

 Sundry improvements, p. 96 The invention of Isaac M. Singer, 

 p. 97 The perfected machine and its conquest, p. 98 Litigation 

 over patents, p. 99 Machines with interchangeable parts, p. 102. 



CHAPTER V 



CLOTHING THE EXTREMITIES 



How did the custom of wearing shoes originate? p. 103 Early 

 sandals and buskins, p. 105 Barbarian shoes and Indian mocca- 

 sins, p. 106 Steel shoes, p. 107 The rise of the shoe industry, p. 

 108 Early methods, p. no Development of the factory system, 

 p. in The application of machinery, p. 112 Automatic heeling- 

 machines, p. 113 Automatic lasting-machines, p. 115 Lasts and 

 patterns, p. 117 Modern method of manufacturing shoes, p. 119 

 Gloves and gauntlets, p. 121 How the custom of wearing gloves 

 may have originated, p. 122 Glove-wearing in the Middle Ages, 

 p. 124 The manufacture of gloves, p. 125 First glove-makers 

 in America, p. 126 Early methods of manufacture, p. 127 In- 

 troduction of dies for cutting the leather, p. 128 Effect of the 

 Civil War on the glove industry, p. 129 Block-cutting and table- 

 cutting, p. 131. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE EVOLUTION OF THE DWELLING HOUSE 



Earliest known forms of dwellings, p. 133 Remains left by pre- 

 historic house-builders, p. 136 The Swiss lake dwellers, p. 137 



fiv] 



