SHOE HISTORY
THE HISTORY OF YOUR SHOES
Introduction
Shoes have always held a special status for humans. Whether as symbols of wealth and status or as simple protection from jagged rocks, freezing snow, or other rugged terrain, the history of modern human development goes hand in hand - or would that be foot in shoe - with the history of shoes.
According to scientific research, our ancestors, the first modern humans, walked out of Africa between 100,000 to 200,000 years ago and as they moved north into colder, more inclement climates of Europe and Asia, a need arose for foot coverings to protect the feet from the environment. Scientists believe that the first shoes were made during the Ice Age, although insulating foot coverings may have been in use as early as 500,000 years ago in the northern climates by other early hominids, such as Neanderthals and homo erectus. The idea of protective footwear or shoes came much later and shoes were not in widespread use until approximately 26,000 to 40,000 years ago. Science can't say for certain why humans stopped going barefoot, but the use of shoes does show in the skeletons from the time period. Prior to shoes, humans had large, strong, flexible toes used for gripping and balance. When hard-soled, protective footwear began to provide greater grip and balance, those regularly shod people lost the muscles and heavy bone structure in their feet, resulting in weaker, smaller toes.
There is much evidence that a foot covering was one of the first things made by our primitive ancestors. Necessity compelled them to invent some method of protecting their feet from the jagged rocks, burning sands, and rugged terrain over which they ranged in pursuit of food and shelter.
The history of human development shows that the importance of protecting the foot was early recognized. Records of the Egyptians, the Chinese and other early civilizations all contain references to shoes. The shoe is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible and the Hebrews used it in several instances with a legal significance, notably in binding a bargain.
The shoe, even up to the present time, continues to figure in those stories, which have come down to us. The stories of the wonderful Seven League Boots, Mercury's Winged Sandals, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, and others, all existed in some ancient and often nearly forgotten tongue, but are still well known to all children. The custom of throwing the shoe after the newly wedded couple is but one of the many instances in which the shoe, when used according to formula, was supposed to bring luck.
In its first form the shoe was just a simple piece of plaited grass or raw hide which was strapped to the feet. Among the relics of early Egyptians are some sandals made from plaited papyrus leaves, beautifully and artistically wrought. Records show that sandal making had become a well-recognized art early in the history of that country. The sandal still is the most generally worn type of footwear in many warm countries. In some countries the sandal continues to be the same simple kind worn since the dawn of history, while in others the multiple form of the straps and beautiful decorative work reflect the artistry, progress and prosperity of the wearers.
The Japanese, long a sandal wearing people indicated the social status of the wearer by making distinctive sandals for the Imperial Household, merchants and actors, in fact, for the whole range of vocations and professions.
The Greeks emphasized design and beauty, while the Romans devised a military type of sandal that enabled their legions to travel on foot throughout the then known world. In the more luxurious days of the late Empire the sandals were often beautifully wrought with ornaments of gold and precious stones.
In ancient Egypt, the sandal demonstrated a person's rank in society. Slaves either went barefoot or wore crude sandals made from palm leaves. Common citizens wore sandals of woven papyrus, consisting of a flat sole tied to the foot by a thong between the toes. But sandals with pointed toes were reserved only for the higher stations of society, and the colors red and yellow were taboo for anyone below the aristocratic rank.
Shoes have been regarded as a sign of dignity since well before the Christian era. In the book of Exodus, when God appears to Moses in the burning bush, His first command is "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground."
Conversely, going barefoot has often demonstrated humility and piety in the presence of God. Hindu documents, thousands of years old, warn worshippers to remove their footwear before entering a shrine; and Muslim tradition demands today that shoes be removed before entering a place of worship.
In the days of ancient Greece, aristocratic women owned as many as twenty pairs of shoes, with a style to match every occasion. Slaves were employed solely to carry a supply of their lady's shoes when she left home, assuring that she would be appropriately shod throughout her travels.
The Chinese custom of binding women's feet to keep them small is many centuries old. Originally, the practice owed little to pedal aesthetics, bound feet were thought to insure faithfulness, since with such deformed feet the wife would supposedly find it difficult to travel very far on her own.
In the West, shoes have had a place in marriage ceremonies for many centuries. In some cultures, the bride's father threw his shoes at the newlyweds to signify the transfer of authority from father to husband. In Anglo-Saxon ceremonies, shoes were as indispensable as the wedding ring is today. Instead of exchanging rings with her betrothed, the bride customarily passed her shoes to her husband, who then tapped her on the head with a shoe.
But the rush toward outlandishly long shoes went on unabated. Fashionable shoes were soon so long that their toes had to be stuffed to prevent the wearer from constantly tripping over the ends. In the fourteenth century, the points of shoes grew to such monstrous lengths that some had to be fastened to the wearer's leg just below the knee.
The clergy objected vehemently to the fashion, claiming that the long-pointed shoes prevented the faithful from kneeling in church. In many communities, shoe-point length was eventually limited by law to about two inches.
In the sixteenth century, aristocratic French women began wearing high-heeled shoes so steep that the well-heeled wearer was literally standing on her toes when she wore them. Later, stiltlike wooden platform shoes became the rage in Venice. The heels eventually became so high that women could not walk in them, and servants were hired to help the ladies in and out of their gondolas. The fashion reportedly owed much to the Venetian husband's desire to make sure his wife didn't travel far while he was away, the same concern that motivated the Chinese to bind their women's feet.
Henry VIII initiated the vogue for wide-tied shoes in England, presumably to hide his gout-swollen feet. Shoes soon grew to such widths that Parliament passed a law limiting the width of a shoe to six inches. To a great extent, the king himself was often the trend-setter, the aristocracy was expected to follow suit, and the peasantry was forbidden to emulate their betters.
Many monarchs opted for shoes that would best veil their physical shortcomings. If the fashion didn't catch on naturally, well, laws could guarantee its implementation. For instance, the custom among men of wearing high-heeled shoes at the court of Louis XIV grew out of the Sun King's desire to mask his diminutive stature.
Compared to modern footgear, the shoes of earlier centuries were, for the most part, highly uncomfortable. It wasn't until the development of woven stockings in the seventeenth century that footwear could be made snug-fitting and shaped to the foot.
To give you an idea of the crudity of earlier shoes, it wasn't until the invention in 1818 of the left-shoe last and the right-shoe last that the left shoe was constructed differently from the right shoe. Prior to that, either shoe could be worn on either foot with equal discomfort!
Until the introduction of mass-produced footwear in the nineteenth century, shoes were usually handmade in the cobbler's shop, with nails or pegs used to bind the sole to the upper. As mechanization set in, machines were devised for sewing shoes together. By 1900, most footwear was being made, at least in part, by machine.
The first shoe manufactured in the United States was the handiwork of one Thomas Beard, a Mayflower pilgrim, who nailed together the first pair of American shoes in 1628. At that time, the colonists also learned how to make animal-hide moccasins from the Indians, and the moccasins became so popular in the mother country that the colonies began exporting moccasins to England as early as 1650. America's first factory for mechanized shoe production was established in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1760.
Tanned leather has been a favored material for footwear since the Arabs introduced fine leatherwork in Spain in the eighth century. The leather-making trade of the Spanish Arabs was centered around the city of Cordova, to which we owe the origin of the cordovan, a soft, fine-grained leather shoe. As leather becomes more and more expensive today, shoe manufacturers are turning increasingly to rubber and synthetic materials for their products.
By the way, the average American woman now buys about five pairs of shoes each year, and the average man, about two pairs, as a rule men's shoes last longer and remain in fashion longer than women's footwear.
Each model of a modern shoe is manufactured in some 150 sizes, with length designated by a number and width by a letter. But a size ten shoe is not ten inches long, so where does the number come from? Believe it or not, it stands for ten barleycorns!
Speaking of shoe size, the largest pair of shoes ever made, apart from those specially built for elephantiasis sufferers, were a colossal size forty-two, built for a Florida giant named Harley Davidson. (Yes, it's the name of a British motorcycle manufacturer.) Let's see, a size forty-two equals thirty-nine barleycorns plus twenty-nine, for a total length of some twenty-two and one-half inches!
The average person has literally thousands of styles to choose from today, from the modern machine-stitched leather shoe or the rubber-soled sneaker to such ancient favorites as the sandal, the clog, the platform shoe, and the pump.
The shoe has always had an important place in costume. Until recent years, many shoes were made to be worn only on occasions of great ceremony. Some of these were very lavish in design and ornament, lending importance and distinction to the official dress of proud wearers.
Through all this development, comparatively little attention was devoted to fitting qualities or comfort. When the medieval guilds controlled craftsmanship in Europe, perfection in workmanship and extravagance in style seems to have been sought in shoes rather than foot comfort and protection.
Among the more conspicuous oddities of style in this period was the peaked shoe or Crackow, with a toe so long that it made walking difficult if not impossible and the passage of laws to prohibit its wearing was necessary before it was discontinued. It was followed by the Duckbill shoe in Elizabethan times.
As late as 1850 most shoes were made on absolutely straight lasts, there being no difference between the right and the left shoe. Breaking in a new pair of shoes was not easy.
During the Civil War, many shoemakers were called into the armies, thereby creating a serious shortage of shoes for both soldiers and civilians. The introduction of the Mckay was speeded up in an effort to relieve the shortage.
