Im- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LASTS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough
Park, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LASTS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES."-A.
communication from abroad by John C. Plumer, M.D., of Portland, in
the United States of America.
ealed the 7th June 1861, and dated the 30th January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 30th January 1861.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSPIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in
the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LASTS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES," to be
as follows:-
The human foot in its natural form may be considered as composed of two
principal portions, the ball of the foot and the heel, which are connected
together. The transverse section of the ball is concave on its lower side, or
in other words this part of the foot has the form of a transverse arch; the
transverse section of the heel is convex on its lower side, the two principal
portions are connected by an intermediate portion having the form of a longitu-
dinal arch supported upon the heel and ball of the foot as abutments, and the
concavity of the bottom of the foot extends forwards to the toes and back-
wards under the arch towards the heel. The foot is made up of a system
of bones and ligaments which change their positions under every different

page_text: set of circumstances; when the foot rests upon level ground, the bones and
ligaments impart a certain contour to the foot, but when the position of the
foot is changed by the interposition of a block of the thickness of a boot heel
beneath the heel of the foot, the bones and ligaments changing their positions
to support the weight of the body, under this change in the circumstances assume
a more arched form longitudinally, and change in a corresponding manner the
contour of the foot. Now it is advantageous to give the exterior of the sole
of a boot or shoe a convex form, although this convexity is sometimes reduced
beneath the ball of the foot until the sole at that part is nearly flat, and it has
been the universal practice, previous to my Invention, to make the bottom of
the last convex, so that the inner surface of the sole of a boot or shoe shall be
concave to correspond with the exterior of the sole; it has also been customary
to make no material change in the form of the last longitudinally to conform with
the change in the position of the parts of the anatomical structure of the foot when
the heel is elevated above the level of the ball of the foot, as it is in a boot by
the boot heel. This old system of constructing lasts is radically wrong, as it is
based upon an arbitrary conception of what should in a shoemaker's opinion be
the proper shape of a foot, instead of being based upon a consideration of its
admirable anatomical structure, for the purpose of supporting the body
under all circumstances, and as might have been expected the whole system has
been attended with serious disadvantages to the wearers of boots and shoes
constructed upon such lasts. The concave form of the interior of the boot or shoe
beneath the ball of the foot, resulting from the convexity of the last, instead of
supporting the transverse arch at this portion of the foot furnishes a space into
which the arch is depressed by the lateral constriction thereof by the upper
leather of the boot or shoe, so that it frequently happens that the transverse
arch of the foot is broken down; moreover there is nothing except the pressure
of the upper leather to hold the foot fairly over the sole of the boot, hence the
strain produced by walking in a boot that does not conform to the foot, and in
which there is a constant struggle of the foot to change the form of the boot,
causes the foot to bear laterally against the upper leather at one side of the boot
or shoe with greater force than at the other side so that the boot or shoe
becomes disfigured by use, and the sole thereof is worn unequally, the part
adjacent to the side where most pressure takes place being worn the most. All
these disadvantages are enhanced by the erroneous longitudinal form of the
ast, and as the boot or shoe conforms with the last, the heel of the foot instead
of resting upon a sole that supports it as a step without permitting the foot to
slide forward in the boot or shoe rests upon an inclined plane sloping towards
the ball of the foot, hence the foot is constantly tending to slip forwards, and

page_text: the pressure of the body is constantly tending to force the foot forwards down
the inclined sole and compresses it in the converging portion of the boot that
precedes the ball of the foot. The compression of the foot in the toe of the
boot or shoe by the pressure from behind frequently causes the formation of
callous excrescences on the toes, or the dislocation of the bones of the great too
thereby producing bunions, mercover as the foot is placed upon an inclined
surface instead of being arched longitudinally to a greater extent, as it is when
the naked heel rests upon an elevation higher than the level of the foot, the
bones of the leg are either inclined forward, or the tendons that hold the leg bones
in their erect positions are strained unequally, so that the muscles become tired
more rapidly then they would if the sole of the foot were properly supported.
The object of my Invention is to obviate the defects of preceding lasts for
boot and shoe makers! use, and to produce a last which shall conform to the
bony and ligamentous structure of the natural naked foot when the heel is
elevated above the ball of the foot a distance equal to that produced by the
rise of the boot or shoe heel, and the several parts of my Invention can be
most readily made obvious by describing them as variations in the distribution
or amount of the material of the old form of last, these variations resulting in
a last of new contour.
To this end the first part of my Invention consists in a new distribution of
the material of the last in that division of it which corresponds with the front
portion or ball of the foot, the material at the under side of the central portion
of the sole of the last at this part thereof being removed, and material being
added at the sides of this central portion, so that the sole of this division of
the last is composed of a longitudinal concavity or broad shallow groove
corresponding with the rise of the transverse arch of the foot, combined with
convex longitudinal protuberances that correspond with the ball of the great
toe on the inner side of the sole, and the ball of the two smaller toes at the
outer side of the foot, and that the insole of the boot made upon the last can
be made convex at its centre to support the transverse arch of the foot; and
prevent its depression.
The second part of the Invention consists in a new distribution, of the
material of the last at that division thereof which corresponds with the hollow
of the foot beneath, and the instep above, the material at the under side being
removed, so that the boot may be made to correspond with the more arched
form of the foot due to the elevation of the heel, and material being added
upon the instep of the last in a corresponding ratio to that removed from the
under side, so that the instep of the foot can rise in the boot or shoe as the
foot assumes a more arched form.

page_text: The third part of the Invention consists in shortening the sole of the last to
correspond with the shortening of the foot, accompanying its assumption of a
more arched form by removing the material of the lower and posterior corner
of the heel of the last so that the last is rounded at this part, and the seat
upon which the heel of the foot is supported in the boot is thrown
forward.
The object of the fourth part of the Invention is to prevent the too great
stretching of the boot by use at the parts thereof beneath the ancle bones;
lasts, as previously constructed, are either flat or convex at those parts which
correspond with these portions of the foot; this part of the Invention consists
in forming the last concave at these portions, so that the boot or shoe may be
restricted to conform with the concavity of the side of the foot in advance of
the butt of the heel bone, and beneath the ankle bone.
Lasts constructed previous to the Invention have heels whose cross sections
are but slightly rounded, while the transverse section of the heel of the 1
-material-foot is highly-convex; and as the interior of the heel of the boot
corresponds with the last, lateral spaces are left that permit the heel of the
wearer to flatten and move from side to side in the boot or shoe, and the
pressure of the body instead of being equally distributed over the whole
breadth of the heel, is concentrated upon the central portion thereof.
The object of the fifth part of the Invention is to obviate this defect, and it
consists in forming the heel of the last transversely with a circular curve, so
that the boot or shoe made upon it may be made to conform with the form of
the heel of the foot, and the latter bc, as it were, socketted in the former.
The best last will be produced by employing all parts of the Invention in
combination.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special licence that I the said George

page_text: Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time-
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention.
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LASTS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES," a
communication to me from abroad by John C. Plumer, M.D., of Portland,
in the United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors or administrators, by.
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme--
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The following is a full, clear and exact description of the said Invention,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1
represents a side elevation of a shoemaker's last constituted according to
the principles of this Invention; Figure 2 represents a plan of the bottom
or sole of the same; Figure 3 represents a transverse section of the same
at the line X, X, of Figure 1; Figure 4 a transverse section of the same at
the line of Figure 1, and Figure 5 a transverse section of the same at
the line t, t, of Figure 1; Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, represent corre-
sponding views of lasts of the ordinary construction, to afford a means
of comparing it with this Invention; Figure 11 represents a longitudinal
section of the foot in a boot made upon this improved last, and Figure 12
a similar view of a foot in a boot made upon an old last; Figures 13 and 14
represent corresponding transverse sections of the feet and boots at the lines
X, X, of Figures 11 and 12 respectively.
The human foot in its natural form may be considered as composed of
two principal portions, the ball of the foot and the heel, which are connected
together. The transverse section of the ball is concave on its lower side;
or in other words this part of the foot has the form of a transverse arch;
the transverse section of the heel is convex on its lower side, the two principal
portions are connected by an intermediate portion having the form of a

page_text: longitudinal arch supported upon the heel and ball of the foot as abutments,
and the concavity of the bottom of the foot extends forwards to the toes and
backwards under the arch towards the heel. The foot is made up of a.
system of bones and ligaments which change their positions under every
different set of circumstances; when the foot rests upon level ground the
bones and ligaments impart a certain contour to the foot, but when the
position of the foot is changed by the interposition of a block of the thickness
of a boot heel beneath the heel of the foot, the bones and ligaments changing
their positions to support the weight of the body, under this change in the
circumstances assume a more arched form longitudinally, and change in a
corresponding manner the contour of the foot. Now it is advantageous
to give the exterior of the sole of a boot or shoe a convex form, although
this convexity is sometimes reduced beneath the ball of the foot until the
sole at that part is nearly flat, and it has been the universal practice,
previous to this Invention, to make the bottom of the last convex so that
the inner surface of the sole of a boot or shoe shall be concave to correspond
with the exterior of the sole as shown at Figure 14; it has also been customary
to make no material change in the form of the last longitudinally to conform
with the change in the position of the parts of the anatomical structure of
the foot when the heel is elevated above the level of the ball of the foot
as it is in a boot by the boot heel. This old system constructing lasts is
radically wrong, as it is based upon an arbitrary conception of what should
in a shoemaker's opinion be the proper shape of a foot, instead of being
based upon a consideration of its admirable anatomical structure for the
purpose of supporting the body under all circumstances, and as might have
been expected the old system has been attended with serious disadvantages
to the wearers of boots and shoes constructed upon such lasts. The concave
form of the interior of the boot or shoe beneath the ball of the foot, resulting
from the convexity of the last, instead of supporting the transverse arch at
this portion of the foot furnishes a space into which the arch is depressed
by the lateral constriction thereof by the upper leather of the boot or shoe so
that it frequently happens that the transverse arch of the foot is broken down,
moreover, there is nothing except the pressure of the upper leather to hold
the foot faily over the sole of the boot, hence the strain produced by walking
in a boot that does not conform to the foot, and in which there is a constant
struggle of the foot to change the form of the boot, causes the foot to bear
laterally against the upper leather at one side of the boot or shoe with
greater force than at the other side, so that the boot or shoe becomes
disfigured by use, and. the sole thereof is worn unequally, the part adjacent

page_text: to the side where most pressure takes place being worn the most. All these
disadvantages are enhanced by the erroneous longitudinal form of the last,
and as the boot or shoe conforms with the last the heel of the foot instead
of resting upon a sole that supports it as a step without permitting the foot
to slide forward in the boot or shoe rests upon an inclined plane, sloping
towards the ball of the foot, hence the foot is constantly tending to slip
forwards and the pressure of the body is constantly tending to force the foot
forwards down the inclined sole and compresses it in the converging portion
of the boot that precedes the ball of the foot. The compression of the foot
in the too of the boot or shoe by the pressure from behind frequently causes
the formation of callous excrescences on the toes, or the dislocation of the
bones of the great toe, thereby producing bunions, moreover as the foot is
placed upon an inclined surface instead of being arched longitudinally to a
greater extent, as it is when when the naked heel rests upon an elevation higher
than the level of the foot, the bones of the leg are either inclined forward,
or the tendons that hold the leg bones in their erect positions are strained
unequally so that the muscles become tired more rapidly than they would
if the sole of the foot were properly supported.
The object of this Invention is to obviate the defects of preceding lasts for
boot and shoe maker's use, and to produce a last which shall conform to the
bony and ligamentous structure of the natural naked foot when the heel is
elevated above the ball of the foot, a distance equal to that produced by the
rise of the boot or shoe heel, and the several parts of the Invention can be
most readily made obvious by describing them as variations in the distribution
or amount of the material of the old form of last, these variations resulting in
a last of new contour.
To this end the first part of the Invention consists in a new distribution of
the material of the last in that division of it which corresponds with the front
portion or ball of the foot, the material at the under side of the central
portion of the sole of the last at this part thereof being removed and material
being added at the sides of this central portion substantially as herein-after
described, so that the sole of this division of the last is composed of a
longitudinal concavity or broad shallow groove corresponding with the rise
of the transverse arch of the foot combined with convex longitudinal pro-
5 tuberances that correspond with the ball of the great toe on the inner side
of the sole, and the ball of the two small toes at the outer side of the foot,
and that the insole of the boot made upon the last can be made convex at its
centre to support the transverse arch of the foot, and prevent its depression.
The second part of the Invention consists in a new distribution of the

page_text: material of the last at that division thereof which corresponds with the hollow
of the foot beneath and the instep above, the material at the under side being
removed so that the boot may be made to correspond with the more arched
form of the foot due to the elevation of the heel, and material being added
upon the instep of the last in a corresponding ratio to that removed from the
under side, so that the instep of the foot can rise in the boot or shoe as the foot
assumes a more arched form.
The third part of the Invention consists in shortening the sole of the last to
correspond with the shortening of the foot, accompanying its assumption of a
more arched form by removing the material of the lower and posterior corner
of the heel of the last, so that the last is rounded at this part and the seat
upon which the heel of the foot is supported in the boot is thrown forward.
1. The object of: the fourth part of the Invention is to prevent tlio too great
stretching of the boot by use at the parts thereof beneath the ankle bones;
lasts as previously constructed are either flat or convex at those parts which
correspond with these portions of the foot. This part of the Invention consists
in forming the last concave, substantially as herein-after described, at these
portions, so that the boot or shoo may be restricted to conform with the con-
cavity of the side of the foot in advance of the butt of the heel bone and
beneath the ankle bones..
Lasts constructed previous to the Invention have heels whose cross sections
are but slightly rounded, while the transverse section of the heel of the natural
foot is highly convex, and as the interior of the heel of the boot corresponds
with the last, lateral spaces are left that permit the heel of the wearer to
flatten and move from side to side in the boot or shoe, and the pressure of the
body, instead of being equally distributed over the whole breadth of the heel,
is concentrated upon the central portion thereof. The object of the fifth part
of the Invention is to obviate this defect, and it consists in forming the heel of
the last transversely with a circular curve, so that the boot or shoe made upon
it may be made to conform with the form of the heel of the foot, and the latter
bo as it were socketed in the former.
The best last will be produced by employing all parts of the Invention in
combination, and the sixth part of the Invention consists in the combination
of the preceding fivo parts thereof in the same last. An improved result,
however, when compared with the old form of last, will be obtained by the
employment of any one of the first five parts of the Invention alone, or of any
two of them, without the remainder.
The seventh part of the Invention consists in the combination of the first
aud second parts thereof in the same last.

page_text: And the eighth part of the Invention consists in the combination of the
first, second, and third parts thereof in the same last without the remainder.
The accompanying Drawings represent at Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, a
standard last embodying all the improvements. The central portion of the
under side or bottom of this last is concave, as shown at a, and this concave
portion is embraced laterally by two longitudinal protuberances b and c, tho
former of which corresponds with the ball of the great toe of the foot, and the
latter with the ball of the two small outermost toes. The concavity extends
forwards to the toe d of the last, and backwards towards the heelf, the lateral
protuberances decreasing in prominency as they extend toward the toe and
heel of the last. The under side g of the middlo division of the last, in advanco
of the heel, is highly arched upwards, and the instep h is mado prominent in a
corresponding degree to suit the girth of the foot at this part thereof. The
butt of the heel is rounded off, as shown at i, with a circular curve, and the
transverse section of the heel is rounded off as shown at e, e, Figure 5. The
sides of the last at the line n, n, are made concave, the concavity gradually
vanishing into the convexity of the heel as it extends backwards, and into the
part of the last anterior to the line n, n, as it extends forwards.
It is well known to last makers that the feet of no two persons are abso-
lutely identical in form, and consequently the proportions of the parts of each
pair of lasts should be varied to suit the person whose boots or shoes are to be
made upon them. But as the proportions of the human foot follow certain
general rules, lasts are usually made in classes, from which a boot maker can
readily make a selection that with slight alterations will suit any particular
person. From the want of identity in the feet of all persons it is not possible
to give within the limits of a Specification precise information as to the con-
struction of every last required in making boots or shoes; but inasmuch as tho
proportions of the human foot follow certain general laws, I shall proceed to
give certain general rules which, taken in connection with the present state of
the art of last making, will enable last makers to carry out the Invention, the
rules being modified as experience shows to be expedient to suit particular,
cases.
The standard last above described being an example of a last of the best
form, the proportions thereof should, as a general rule, be as follows:-The
breadth of the last across the ball of the foot being taken as a standard, and,
being divided into three equal parts by the lines and t, the greatest concavity
should be at the dividing line t, which is one-third of the breadth from the
inner side of the last, and the concavity should be about th part of the total
breadth. The concavity should extend transversely towards the outer side of

page_text: the last, and at the dividing line s, which is one-third of the breadth from the
outer side, its depth should be th of the total breadth. The concavity
should rapidly vanish from the dividing line t inwards, and from the dividing
lines outwards, the curvature of the former vanishing line being about twice
as abrupt as the latter. The concave groove thus described should gradually
diminish in concavity as it extends forwards, vanishing at the toe d of the last.
It should diminish in breadth as it extends towards the heel of the last, but
less rapidly than the last diminishes in breadth; it should diminish slightly in
concavity as it extends backwards up to a point u at the middle of the length
of the last; thence its concavity should decrease more rapidly until it vanishes
at a point v, about of the length of the last from the toe thereof. The
longitudinal arching of the under side of the last is proportioned to the eleva-
tion of the heel of the boot above the level of the ball of the foot. Taking
this elevation as a standard, the greatest elevation of the longitudinal arch of
the bottom of the last above a flat surface, on which the heel and pro-
tuberances of the last rest, should occur at a point-r two-thirds the length of
the last from the toe d thereof. At this point the last should be elevated on
the outer side of its sole as at m, Figure 4, two-thirds the elevation of the beel
above the flat surface, and on the inner side of the sole, as at w, the whole
elevation of the heel from the flat surface. When the arching of the under
side of the foot is determined, the rise of the instep should be such as to give
the requisite girth of the last at this portion thereof. The rise of the toe d of
the last above the flat surface should be at least equal to the elevation of the
heel of the foot above the ball thereof in the intended shoe, as shown at x,
Figure 1. The radius of curvature of the butt of the heel longitudinally.
should be about one-eighth of the length of the last, as shown at i, and the
radius of the transverse curvature of the most protuberant parte of the heel
of the last should be about fifteen twenty-fourths of the greatest breadth of
the heel. The diagonal line n, n, of greatest constriction at the inner side of
the last should extend upwards and backwards from a point on a flat surface
on which the sole of the last rests, distant four-tenths of the length of the last
from the butt of the heel to a point in a line 2, 2, drawn at the butt of the
heel perpendicular to the flat surface on which the last rests, distant one-third
the length of the last above that flat surface. The diagonal line of greatest
constriction on the outer side of the last should extend upwards and backwards
(as shown by the dotted line o, o, Figure 1) from a point on the flat surface
transversely opposite the point at which the inner diagonal line n, n, com-
mences to a point in the heel perpendicular line z, z, distance half the length
of the last from the flat surface on which it rests. The constriction or con-

page_text: cavity of the sides of the last should gradually vanish as the last extends in
front and behind these diagonal lines. The depth of the concavity or perpen-
dicular distance between the line n, n, and a straight edge applied to the last
in the direction of the line 1, 1, should be about one-sixteenth of the greatest
breadth of the heel of the last for the inner sido of the last, and about half this
quantity for the distance between the line o, o, at the outer side of the last
and a straight edge applied to the outer side of the last in the direction of the
line l, l.
.2
Having thus described a last suitable for the manufacture of boots and
shoes, and embodying all parts of the Invention, what I claim as the Invention
and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
i.
First, the combination of a central longitudinal groove at that part of the
bottom of a last which corresponds with the ball of the foot with lateral
protuberances, substantially as described.
Secondly, the combination of a longitudinal arch at the central portion of
the bottom of the last, in the proportion substantially as described, with a
protuberant instep, substantially as described.
Thirdly, the heel of a last rounded at the lower hinder corner, substantially
as described.
Fourthly, the concave sides of the last beneath the position of the ankle
bones of the foot, substantially as described.
Fifthly, the heel of the last rounded transversely, substantially in the
manner described.
Sixthly, the combination in the same last of the parts specified in the
preceding five claims.
Seventhly, the combination in the same last of the parts specified in the
preceding first and second claims.
Eighthly, the combination in the same last of the parts specified in the
preceding first, second, and third claims.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L8.)