A Short Treatise on Boots and Shoes Ancient And

m a - O e 13001 ho nd s- ml M d r n 5 S es, fi S far back as we can trace the early history of man , z l under civili ed conditions of ife , we find that shoes of some kind have been worn . ! t h first they were very crude and simple , being not ing more than soles fastened to the foot by means of a thongs or str ps , which passed between the toes and around the ankle , like Figs . 3 . Shoes of this de an d a n scription were called sandals , were worn by the s . cient Egyptians , Greek , and Romans h a s It been discovered , by means of paintings on the w alls of Thebes , that shoemaking formed a distinct and quite lucrative trade away back in the reign of Thoth ‘ fi e mes I I I . , some fteen hundred years b fore Christ , so that followers of the awl and last can truthfully boast of the great antiquity of their profession . The material chiefly employed in the manufacture of shoes , from the earliest times to the present , has been f leather, though stuf s of various kinds and colors have a t d iffer en entered into their composition l t periods . The sandals worn by the priests of ancient Egypt were generally made of palm and papyrus leaves fast - ened together . Some well preserved specimens of these sandals , obtained from tombs , can now be seen at the M e . British us um , in London t h e Such were shoes probably worn by Rhodope , the N th e Cinderella of the ile . Rhodope was said to have d a sh ew a s a n loveliest foot in all Egypt . One y, as t ki g a ! off her bath , an e gle stooped from eaven and carried h er Sh e h i m sandal . watched as he soared on high i n a until he finally disappeared the dist nce . ! h l et d d en , after a time , he the san al rop , it fell at the e ! t f et of the ing , who was so charmed wi h its beauty that he commanded that a search be made immediately for its owner . Rhodope was soon discovered , and s a a bec a hortly fterw rds m e the Queen of Egypt . ' R om e w e t In both ancient Greece and find hat , while it was common for the women to wear some kind of a foot w r covering , shoes were not generally o n by the men or o . youth , the latter always being taught to g barefooted But later on , on ceremonial occasions , the magistrates a began to wear a red shoe , while the soldiers took to b i k oot reach ng almost to the nee , very elaborate in de in sign , and in a short time the custom of wear g a cover ing for the feet was adopted by all classes . The shoes of the women were always white in color, the senators l e th e i e b ack , whil mag strat s kept to themselves red . n cou w fin h a e in I . eastern ntries e d t e Jap nes wear g a shoe of rice and stra w woven together ! Fig . This material is very light and soon wears out so , when c starting on a j ourney of any length , it is ustomary to n v take a umber of pairs of shoes with one , lea ing the old ‘ ones along the roadside as they become unfit for use . The Japanese , on entering a house , observe the same a s rule the Turk on going into his mosque , always tak ing off their shoes and leaving them at the threshold , - l o , est they might soil , the d or mats for which they have a peculiar and marked respect . The military in Japan wear a kind of clog , covered with movable metallic a tta c h ed a plaques ! Fig . To this is sole of wood or plaited straw , which is held on the foot by means of a roll passing between the toes . The Chinese , we all know , have , for ages past, relig i ou sly devoted themselves to d w a r fin g the feet of their un women of the higher classes , so that it is not at all common to find a full - grown woman with a foot as small ’ as a child s of four or five with us . Of late years this barbarous custom has been gradu ally dying out, and now one can occasionally come v across a woman whose feet ha e not been distorted , l l z sti l , when they are al owed to wear shoes of natural si e a n d e fi ’ form , th y are usually xed on high , conical soles , ' ‘ ' ‘ ‘ e r 8 a d fii c ult. lik Figu e , which renders w lking very i ! Bu t the C se o n ot e to w al m c hine w men are expect d k u h , as their lives are passed in seclusion and retirement . Some of the shoes worn by the ladies are very beauti n 6 t ful , i deed ! Figs . being made of delica e pink and fl blue satin embroidered with birds and owers . ' i The men generally wear bl a c k s a tin boots with white off soles , which they lay in summer for shoes made of plaited bamboo , with cork soles . In India , shoes are worn only by the higher classes , few and a of the lower castes . This habit of going shoeless seems to render the toes of the ! indoo almost fi . S as lissom as ngers itting at his work , if his hands are employed he can use his feet to pick up any article he may require , as the big toe becomes quite prehensile . ! mong the P ersians we find that in ancient times one oflow stature was generally looked upon with dishon or ; hence arose high heels to repair the deficiency of ! fi nature . t rst they were worn only by actors and actresses on the stage , but were afterwards adopted by all classes , even those whose stature required no addi ti on a l height blindly conforming to the prevailing fash ! ion , as many people do at the present day . Some of the shoes worn in Eastern countries , at dif fer en t 1 0 times , have been very interesting ! Figs . 9 , , 1 1 1 2 , , ’ Figure 1 1 shows a lady s shoe richly painted with fl small owers . In front is a knob of brilliant color, di v id ed fl into segments to imitate the petals of a ower , a n d at every step the wearer takes she presses a sprin g concealed under the sole , which causes the petals to alternately open and close . One can easily imagine r om en a d the sensation such a shoe would cause , seen p ing along any of our prominent thoroughfares for the first time . The shoes worn by the wealthy are of the richest de scription , being overlaid with gold and silver , and em 1 broidered with precious stones . Others , like Figure 4 , are adorned with inlaid work of pearls or delicate shells ' c/ozs sm m e set in gold , closely resembling enamel , while many employ the wings of gorgeous insects in their decoration . The color of shoes in the E ast seems to be a matter of importance , indicating the rank or caste of the wear er , red and yellow being the favorite shades . In olden times the M ohammedans were very j ealous that none should wear yellow but themselves , wishing it to be preserved as their distinctive mark ; and there ‘ is an old story which tells how some charitable person a i r ' of gave a Christian beggar an old p yellow slippers , and the Sultan happening to see them had the old man thrown into prison , and despite his explanations and protestations of innocence would not spare his life . Leaving the East , and coming back to Europe , we fin d that in the early days of th e C h ur ch at Rome there — 1 2 1 lived a p ous man named Crispin , and his brother , who i became converted to Christianity , and leav ng their na tive village traveled into France and Britain . ! hile on their travels they supported themselves by making shoes , which they sold to the poor at very low prices . !There is a legend which says that an angel supplied for them with all the leather, which probably accounts ! a . t n their moderate charges ! y rate , they are said to have done a great deal of good among the poor , but fi i . were nally martyred for their faith , n the third century Ever since their memory has been celebrated by the faithful of their craft with great r e] 01 c m g and merriment ’ a th St. on the s of October , which is known as Crispin s D a a ll y, while he is considered the patron saint of shoe makers . a n d fin d In the ninth tenth centuries , we the use of s a éots wooden shoes , or , very general throughout Eu of . rope , princes all degrees wearing them Their reign w a s r s of short duration , however , as they we e oon rel e a ted a s a e g to the poorer cl sse , by whom they h v been worn ever since .

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