The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-02-28
"THE GENTLE CRAFT"
shoes, Ancient and Modern-ShO hOemnkers
who Have become Famous.


shoes, Ancient and Modern-shoemnkers
who Have become Famous.
Shoes date from very remote period,
and the shoemaker is relic of antiquity
who lived and had his being in very
early times. The Jews wore wooden
shoes long before the age of Augustus,
and sometimes leather shoes are men,
toned. The Jewish soldiers covered
their feet with copper or with iron. The
shoes of the Egyptians were OF pdoyrus;
the Chinese and the Indians manufac-
tured theirs of silk, of bark of trees, of
brass, gold or silver, according as their
fortune permitted or their fancy die
tated. At Rome, as in Greece, leath-
or was the material which covered
the feet of most every one. In classical
times the Romans wore cork soles in
the shoes to secure their feet from water,
especially in winter, and as high heels
were not then introduced, the Roman
ladies, who wished to appear taller, put
plenty of cork under themselves. The
Roman ladies wore white shoes; the
common people wore black, and the
magistrates and those of exalted rank
set their feet off with red shoes and en-
ployed the crescent as an ornament
they were often very costly. The GUS
tom of making shoes right and left was
common in classical times. Only one
instance is drawn of an ancient monu-
ment exhibiting shoes with separate
heel pieces. The streets of Rome in the
time of Domitian were blocked up by
cobbler's stalls, which he therefore
caused to be removed.
The fashion of boots and shoes has
undergone innumerable changes. Under
William Rufus, son Of the Duke of
Normandy, who conquered at Hastings
in 1866, fashion was introduced by
wearing long pointed shoes with up
turned toes curved like a rams horn
and stuffed with tow. In the fourteenth
century they connected these points
with the knee by chains of gold and sill
ver-they were called cracows. Buckles
were also worn in this century. The
laboring classes wore them of copper.
Other persons had them of gold and
, silver. Not long after shoe rosettes
came in fashion. In the last century,
the high heels of ladies' shoes became a
, monstrosity. In our day the general
disuse of the shoe proper, and the in
PRODUCTION of short ankle boots, form
the chief change of fashion.
About century ago it was no uncom-
mon practice on the part of " fast men y
to drink bumpers to the health of lady
out of her shoe. The Earl of Cork, in
an amusing paper in the Connoisseur,
| relates an incident of this kind, and tc
, carry the compliment still further he
: states that the shoe was ordered to be
dressed and to be served for supper.
"The cook set himself seriously to
work upon it; he pulled the upper part,
which was of fine damask, into shreds,
l and tossed them up in ragout, minced
the soles, fried them in batter, and
\ placed them round the dish for garnish
, The company testified their affection
: for the lady by eating heartily of this
1 exquisite impromptu." Within the las
! score of years, at a dinner of Irisf
+ squires, the health of beautiful girl
D whose foot was as pretty as her face
. was drunk in champagne from one o
her satin shoes, which an admirer of tht
lady had cont1ived to obtain posses
= sion of.
8 The patron saints of shoemakers ar,
/; st. Crispin and his brother Crispian
who supported themselves by making
shoes while they preached to the peopl,
of Gaul and Britain. In compliment t,
these saints, the trade of shoemaking i
T called "the gentle craft" The craft i
rich in names which have become il
!; greater or lesser degree household prop
erty, among which may be found Han
Sachs, the poet of Nuremberg and tn
4 friend of Luther, the eccentric Lacking
ton, Who, in the title page of his auto
biography, says that he came to Londol
y with $5 in his pocket, and rose to be
: bookseller, having an annual sale O
: 100000 volumes Richard Savage, th
Q poet Bloomfield and his brother, and
r whole constellation of minor bards
9 headed by James Lackington, of tn
Temple Of the Muses. Sir Cloudesl
u Shovel, the redoubtable admiral !; 81
!, William Reed, the powerful Clifford G
8 the Quarterly; the radical Hardy an
= the astrological Partridge, Sir Simo
Eyre, Benedict Bandora, Jacob Boeh
0 man, Samuel Drew, George Fox, til
!, real original Friend, William Hunting
ton, John Pounds, John Brand, Han
Christian Andersen, DR.. Carey, Dl
I. Morrison, DR.. Ebenezer Henderson, d.
P Marshman, DR.. John Kitto and man
J. others al shoemakers before the
turned their thoughts and energies int
l. literary channels.
Among the Anglo-Saxons the trade {
q shoemaker was somewhat comprehensive
He manufactured and supplied ankl
g leather, shoes, leather hose, bottles
q bridle-thongs, trappings, TASKS, boilin
vessels, leather neck pieces, halter
o wallets and pouches.
In the United States the manufactul
of shoes has attained the highest PEI
s fectien, chiefly in Massachusetts,, and i
Philadelphia, also, the shoe manufactui
has attained considerable importanc,
and the sole leather and the morocco
Philadelphia are far-famed.
g The antiquity of the art of leathe
II dressing dates far back. The sever
a teenth book of Iliad speaks of tanner
], preparing skins to make leather of then
Over three hundred years ago the tan
7; ners composed very important body
a England. An account is given of
furious quarrel which broke out
81 Queen Elizabeth's time, between the
a and the shoemakers.-IrOy Times.