THE SHOE-MAKER

Makes covering for the feet, usually of leather; but frequently also of other materials, as silk, jean, nankeen, &c. He also makes
boots of various kinds, both for ladies and gentlemen.

There are few trades more useful than that of a shoe-maker, and, perhaps, not many that are more profitable, when it is carried on to a considerable extent. Some shoe-makers carry on a snug private trade, without any show; others have large shops, and exhibit in them shoes of all sorts for ladies and gentlemen, together witlf boots, gaiters, and spatterdashes.

It appears from history, that the Jews, long before the Christian era, wore shoes made of leather or wood ; those of their soldiers were sometimes formed out of brass or iron. The Egyptians wore a kind of shoe made of the papyrus. The Indians, the Chinese, and other nations, wore shoes made of silk, of rushes, of linen, of wood, of the bark of trees, of iron, of brass, and of gold and silver ; and luxury has sometimes covered them with precious stones. The Greeks and Romans wore shoes of leather ; the Grecian shoes generally reached to the middle of the leg : the Romans used two kinds of shoes ; the calceus, which covered the whole foot, something in the shape of our shoes ; and the solea, or slipper, which covered only the sole of the foot, and was fastened with leather-thongs : the calceus was worn with the toga when a person went abroad, and slippers were put on during a joumey, and at feasts. Black shoes were worn by the citizens of ordinary rank, and white ones by women. Red shoes were put on by the chief Magistrates of Rome on days of ceremony.

In Europe, about one thousand years ago, the greatest princes wore shoes, having the upper part of leather and the under of wood.
In the reign of William Rufus, the shoes of the great had long sharp points, stuffed with tow, and twisted like a ram's horn. The clergy preached against these points; they continued, however, to increase till the reign of Richard the Second, when they were tied
to the knees with chains.of silver or gold. At length parliament interfered by an act in the year 1463, and prohibited the use of shoes or boots with pikes exceeding two inches in length: and the shoe-makers were forbidden, under severe penalties, to make them contrary to the statute.

To render this business profitable, a considerable degree of knowledge is required with regard to the properties of leather, and an accurate judgment to cut the leather in such a manner as to yield the greatest quantity with the least waste.

The master shoe-maker, or, if he be in a very large way, his foreman, measures his customers, and cuts out leather for his work people to put together. In some instances, especially in the country, he is the leather-cutter to all the little traders in the surrounding villages. In this case, he buys the leather in skins and half-hides from the dresser, and cuts them out into soles and upper-leathers,
which he either uses in his own business, or sells to those who cannot afford to go to a wholesale market.

In the plate is the representation both of the master and journeyman shoe-maker. The former is cutting out an upper-leather of a
shoe to a paper pattern, which lies upon it. A small leaden weight is placed on the skin at the corner to keep it from slipping : on his
left lies the hammer, which he uses to beat down any rough parts which stand on the inside of the leather ; and on his right-hand is
a pair of pincers, which are made with teeth, in order to hold the leather tight in the act of stretching it.

The journeyman is in the act of joining the upper-leather to the sole of the shoe : on his bench, near him, are his awl, his knife, and a lap-stone with which he sharpens his tools. Before him, on his right are the hammer and lap-stone, and, on the other side, a tub of water, in which he keeps a quantity of wax in balls. These are the principal implements of his trade. He sews the leather with thread, waxed over, and thereby made a strong and durable substance ; as, however, he makes no use of a needle, to the end of the thread is fastened a hog's bristle, which guides the thread through the holes made in the leather with an awl.

Shoe-makers' wax is commonly made by melting together about equal parts of pitch and yellow rosin ; but in warm weather, it is
necessary to have a greater proportion of rosin than in the winter, which proportion is best judged of by the workman himself. For ladies' light-coloured shoes, and other fine work, different wax is of course used.

The best and strongest thread for shoemakers' stout and firm work is made of hemp ; but latterly a good deal of flax has been used
in the trade, which is by no means so strong or durable a material.

Shoes and boots are made on lasts, which are manufactured of some soft wood, by means of an engine, or knife, such as that which we have described in the brush-maker's trade. The same man that makes the lasts makes also the wooden heels for women's shoes. The last for shoes is made of a single piece of wood to imitate the foot; but that for boots is slit into two parts, between which a wedge is driven when the boot-leg is desired to be stretched.

Shoe- makers use large quantities of Morocco-leather, which is the skin of a goat, dressed in sumac, or gall, and coloured at
pleasure.

Journeymen in this trade are distinguished into women's shoe-makers and those who make shoes and boots for men. Few can follow both branches with advantage; greater ingenuity is required in manufacturing women's shoes, because the seams must be
neater, as the materials are much finer.

A journeyman shoe-maker, if he be a good hand, sober, and industrious, will earn thirty shillings a week.

Women are employed to bind shoes of all kinds, and to sew the quarters together of those that are made of silk, satin, stuffs, &c.