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

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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 .

One would think , from their clumsy appearance ! Fig . that it must be rather awkward work to walk in them , but the peasants do not seem to find it so , and

1 4— 2

even indulge in the ! light fantastic with considerable

grace and freedom of motion .

Their chief obj ection , however, is the noise they ! make . aving lived for some time in the close vicinity of a public school in Brittany , where some one or two hundred children were in daily attend ance , wearing these wooden sabots , I have a very dis tinct recollection of the din and clatter these little ones would make , as they raced each other down the hill on

N ot a their release from school . many years ago an t tempt was made to introduce wooden shoes into the

! nited States , but it met with so little success that its pro! ectors were forced to abandon the scheme .

In Venice we fin d that the custom in olden times was to have the shoes of the women mounted very high , w so as to make alking as difficult as possible . By this means j ealous husbands thought they would be able to keep their wives at home but the plan did not succeed very well , I believe .

1 1 8 Figs . 7 and show the Venetian shoes of this p e r i od , the sixteenth century . The first one , of white

- leather, is cut out in a delicate lace work pattern , fur n i s h ed with a broad sole , and would have been comfort i t able enough , were not for its high support .

' c/za zfl e s These supports , or p y , as they were called by

m o the Venetians , were ade of wood and c vered with ff M w e leather of di erent colors . any re curiously l painted , while the richest were of gi t . The height of

’ these cfiap zzzf ys was determined by the rank of the

- wearer, the noblest ladies often having them one half yard or more high . Of course no woman could walk s uc h easily , hampered with appendages , so all that could at all afford it would have one or two attenda nts to support them on either side when they walked abroad ffi and even thus supported , walking was extremely di cult . D Finally , the daughters of one of the oges came to the conclusion that the fashion was abominable , and they would stand it no longer . It was not long before ff their su ering sisters became of the same mind, and the fa h s 1 on gradually died out . ! fi D hen Charles I . rst met his future wife at over, n he seemed surprised to find her so tall , and , havi g made some remark to that effect, she answered him as

! S . follows ire , I stand upon my own feet I have no

Or help of art . Thus high I am 5 I am neither higher ! w to lo er , wishing him understand , it seems , that her

fin e sta ture was not due to artificial means .

1 Fig . 5 represents a highly ornamented clog of this 1 period , while Figure 9 shows another style of Venetian pattern .

1 t w o ! 2 1 O n page 3 we have shoes from frica, Figs .

n 2 2 . fi w i a d The rst, of yello leather, is quite simple n

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o design , but the latter is more elaborate in dec ration .

2 . 2 P Fig . 4 shows an Indian shoe , while Fig 3 is a ersian boot, whose pointed front is supposed to have been de signed for th e purpose of preventing the wearer from kicking up the dust, so unpleasant in hot countries .

In France the clothing of the foo t has always been a S s subject of pecial con ideration , and many have been ! the styles that have emanated from there . mon g the ' ou la zn e first was the long pointed shoe , called thep ! Fig . n cm é ow es ou in E gland named . ! This name , p ' l a zfze - , seems to indicate that the fashion came from P to oland , though the pointed shoe is supposed be of

Eastern origin . ! These shoes gre w both in favor and

ou la i n e length , for a number of years , until the p had reached such proportion s that it was necessary to fasten it to the knee by means of a chain of gold or silver, w hile in order to keep it in shape it had to be stuffed

. ou with hay , straw , or fine moss The length of the p ' Za zn e was determined in the same manner as the height ' c/za zfl e s r of the p y , by the ank of the wearer, and it was no uncommon sight to find a n obleman with his p ou ' l a zzze some twelve inches or more in extent , while the upper part of his shoes would be cut out to imitate the windows of a church .

! e N i c o oli s e h n the crusading army was before p , thes

' u la zn es l p o astonished the Turks very much , who probab y ! wondered h ow fighting was to be done in them . hen it came to decisive action , however, it was found that the

’ pou/a zfl es impeded the m ovements of the knights so o much that an order was given to cut them ff .

There was also made , at this time , in order to avoid ' tr a il m ozt la zfzes th e g the p in the mud of narrow streets ,

d - a kind of woo en clog ! Fig . with cross bars edged with iron ; this was fastened to the foot by an em br oi dered leather strap . By means of this contrivance the pow/a i m s were kept from contact with the ground . This fashion flourished for a long time despite the

bi sl1 0 s w h o z i m anathemas of the p , stigmati ed them as i ofli c a ls . moral , and the denunciations of

P 1 6 By an act of arliament , in 4 3 shoemakers were w w prohibited from making , for the lo er classes , shoes ith points more than two inches long ; and afterwards ex communication was pronounced on any person found wearing them ; so they were forced to retire , after a vig

r u o o s reign of almost three centuries .

ou la i n e n From the p , fashion ran i to the opposite ex treme , and in the sixteenth century people wore shoes m with square toes as broad , and so etimes broader , than they were long ! Fig . They had no straps, and were only h eld on the foot by the narrow piece rising above

the heel . I t was shoes of this kind th a t were worn by ! Francis I . of France , and enry VI I I . of England .

In the latter country they were abolished durin g the M reign of aryTudor . The examples given are believed to be German , and must have belonged to a person of high rank , from their decoration .

! 1 3 2 nother early example of a French shoe Fig . 9 . I t is of whi te stuff ornamented on the instep with a large rosette of silver lace and a long metal point . The heel is so high that the wearer must have literally walked on ! her toes . nother female shoe of interest is from the

M 2 8 . wardrobe of Catherine de edicis , Fig . The shoe , n o n of white leather, lo ger has the toe pointed but is i square in shape , covered to the nstep with silk , on which are worked figures in silver lace , giving to it the appearance of a metal surface . This shoe is peculiar, in having a sole which connects the toe and heel together in the form of a pattern .

0 i Fig 3 shows a shoe of this per od , of delicate work manship . The toe has now become quite round, while the leather is slashed to show the stocking underneath .

i 1 F g. 3 represents an Italian shoe of the seventeenth century ; Fig . 3 3 is another style of the peaked shoe , of

. 2 i n or the same date . Fig 3 is thought to be Flemish igin , and of the eighteenth century . The heel and back are not unlike in shape the shoe worn during the R e

- geney in France , but the peculiar front piece makes us think that this shoe could never have been very popular

- for every day wear .

D a w a s uring the Revolution in Fr nce , there quite a mania for classic styles in shoes , and many ladies in high society adopted the Greek and Roman san dals , which w - eol or ed ere fastened on the foot by gay ribbons .

llien M m e. T a once appeared at a ball in such sandals , with her toes decorated with diamond rings . th e D Fig . 3 4 shows shoe of the unfortunate uke d e M v 1 c t1m ontmorency , a of the relentless animosity ofRich l h e i eu . I t is of black leat er , with a large red heel , and entirely covered w ith ornaments ; tr adition says it was gathered on the scaffold . Fig . 3 5 represents a highly ’ e 6 ornamented lady s shoe of this period , whil Fig . 3 is a shoe worn during the Regency . The heel is very high . ’ b a r ber s w i - n and not unlike a g sta d the front , however , i s rather graceful in shape . 8 Figs . 3 7 and 3 are samples of the curiously carved wooden shoes which were worn by lad ies at the end of h t e sixteenth century . Fig . 3 9 representsa black leather ! I ! shoe of Louis . , with red heel ; these were in high

c favor at ourt at this time .

The use of boots marks a conquering race . In Ger m n M ! r i a y , during the iddle ges , se fs vere forbidden to ! wear them and this probably e plains why , when they

s r ose for j ustice , after ages o f oppre sion , they chose for ’ t e s h s f h ir standard a great peasant s hoe, T e amples o

! I ! ! ! boots given are from the time of Louis . and .

0 s n Fig . 4 was called the cauldron boot ; thi had a pee

1 liar appendage around the ankle . Fig . 4 , the bellows boot , has an enormous top , so that a man could hardly ’ 2 wear a pair without straddling . Fig 4 , the postillion s boot ; these were generally made of very heavy material , so if the postillion , by chance , should fall from his horse , the wheels of the carriage might pass over his legs with o ut doing him any injury .

! e have now followed the various changes that shoes h e ave und rgone from the earliest times to the present , and would bring our remarks to a close with a notice of

- some of the shoes of to day furnished by J. J. Slater, which , if not as fantastic in shape as some that we have d treated , cannot be excelled for grace or urability . ’ of Fig . 43 is a Ladies Riding Boot , made morocco and patent leather . This style is the only correct one at t present, and no riding costume is comple e without them . ’ Fig . 44 represents Ladies Button Boot . The mate rial employed is kid top , with patent leather foxing . This makes not only a very stylish but comfortable walking boot . ’ i s f Fig . 4 5 shows Ladies Toilet Slipper . It made o h 11k i Suéd e kid lined wit s . This mater al is now the latest style for dress or toilet slippe rs .

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6 ’ k id Fig . 4 shows Ladies Oxfords , made of French ,

- with patent leather tips . This is a delightful summer . walkin g shoe , either for city or country wear . ’ Fig . 4 7 is a Gentleman s Riding Boot , the only proper boot for park riding . ’ 8 m Fig 4 , Gentleman s Button Boot , ade with kid top , f 0 calf oxing, with tips , for walking , or cloth t ps and

- patent leather foxing , for dress wear. ’ Fig . 49 , Gentleman s Oxfords , or summer walking

- a shoe ; very easy and comfortable for every day we r . The above are but a few of the various styles intro d uc ed by them , and a visit to their establishment will convince all of the high reputation their goods have

n - fiv e , achieved in the last twe ty years

h Shoes have not only been used for t eir. natural pur pose of coveri ng the feet but from remote time have played a part in many of the important actions of life . Y ears ago it was the custom in Ireland to elect a per son to a certain ofli ee by throwing an old shoe over his e c . on h head But on oc asion an excited elector, w ose tool ow place it was to throw the shoe , aimed , so that th e hi t th e a di d a on e n i shoe c n te the h ad , in sta tly k lling '

. ! e 1 oc e t e r c e him ft r th s curr enc h p a tic fell in todisrepute . I n E ngland it was once customary to bin d c on trac ts b th e e! c w e a ll i y hange of old shoes , while are fam liar with the practice of throwing an old shoe after a bride for good luck ; but I wonder how many know what it

fi u originally signi ed . I t is a custom that has come to s a u from the Saxons , and with them denoted that the ’ th or i ty under which the bride lived while in her father s home was now delivered over to the husband , who was privileged to exact implicit obedience from his wife .

Shoes have also had their share of superstition attached to them , it being considered to portend great evil , if by d chance one shoul put the right shoe on the left foot ,

i ce er s a n or v v . Eve one of the Roman Emperors is said to have run the greatest risk from j ust this cause alone .

’ ! u u u ha v n b o er s i h t g st s i g y g , P u t on h l eft h oe f or h r h is s is ig t, ! a d l ik e t o ha v e b een sl a i n th a t d a y m n n for h By s old ier s u ti yi g t eir p a y.

But in this day of button shoes the dangers to be i n curred from this cause are very slight .