The Book of the Feet, A History of Boots and Shoes - Joseph Sparkes Hall (1847)

KOOK OF THE FEET,HISTORY OF BOOTS ATsD SHOES, AyO ROMAKS.. HISTORY OF B00T3be seen in the British Museum, and are both busilyemployed, intheformation ofthe sandalsthen usuallywornin Egyp

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847

X

KOOK OF THE FEET,

HISTORY OF BOOTS ATsD SHOES,

AyO ROMAKS AKD THEPSETAILIHG8TTI.ETHHOI'GHOITEVKOrEDCBISeTHE MIDDLEAGESOOWK TOTHEPRESENT PERIOD;

AI^O

HINTS TO LAST MAKERS AND REMEDIES FOR CORNS.

ETC., ETC

PATENTELASTIC BOOTIIAB.SR

THB OCEBX DOWAGER,AVD THEal'EEN OFTHE BELGIANS

LONDON:

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO.

1 000

«T. MARYAXE,CITY,

>-PREFACE,

Inthe following pages I have endeavoured to

Shoes in all ages The illustrations of thefashionsofthe Egyptians, Persians,Greeks, and Romans, are all taken from the highest autho-

his-torical

1have alsogiven the result of myexperience,derivedfrom an intimate practical acquaintance with this department of trade for twenty

years, and have endeavoured to correct muchthatwas badin form and material, and I trust

have not only foundfault inmanyinstanceswitli

pastandpresentfashions,but have alsoenforced and provided the remedy.

308, RegentStreet

HISTORY OF BOOTS & SHOES.

CHAPTER I.

ONTHE MOST ANCIKNTCOYBRINJJSFORTHBFEKT

F WE investigate the monuments of the

remotest nations of antiquity, we shall

forthefeet, partook ofthenature of

we possessofscenes in ordinarylife,arethe sculptures and paintings of earlyI

Egypt,andthese the investigations of

have, by their descriptions and dehneations,made

familiarto us, so that the habitsandmanners, as well

as thecostumeofthisancient people,have beenhanded down tothepresenttime, by theworkoftheirown

hands, withso vivid a truthfulness, thatwefeel a

HISTORY OP BOOTS

conversant withtheirdomesticmanners andcustoms,

aswiththose ofany modernnationtowhichthebook

of the traveller would introduce us Not only do

kinds,fromthetools of theworkmen, tothe elegant

ago, are treasured up in the museums, both public

With these materials,it is in no wise difficult to

carry ourhistory ofshoemaking back to the earliest

times,andevento look upon the shoemaker at his

work, intheearlydays ofThothmes the third, who

ascendedthethroneof Egypt, according to

Wilkin-son, 1495 years before Christ, and during whose

firstofour.platescontains acopyofthisvery curiour

painting,asitexisteduponthe wallsofThebes,when

work on Egypt The shoemakers are both seated

HISTORY OF B00T3

be seen in the British Museum), and are both

busilyemployed, intheformation ofthe sandalsthen

usuallywornin Egypt, thefirstworkmanispiercing

withhis awl the leather thong, at the side of the

secured the sandal to the foot; beforehimis a low

sloping bench, one end of which rests upon the

ground: hisfellow-workmanisequally busy, sewing

a shoe,andtightening the thong with his teeth, aprimitive mode of working which is occasionally

indulgedinatthepresent day Abovetheirheadsis

a goodly row of sandals, probably so placed, to

beingthen, asnow, entirely open and exposed to

every one who passed As the ancient Egyptian

workmenthatlie around, are here represented above

them: they bearinsomeinstances a resemblance to

those used in the present day; the central

instru-ment, abovetheman whopiercesthetieof the sandal,

havingthe preciseshapeof the shoemakersawlstillin

use,soveryunchangingarearticlesof utihty Inthe

ancientEgyptians between 3,000 and 4,000 yearsago,isprecisely similartothat ofourmodemcurriers,

andisthusrepresentedina paintingatThebesof that

remoteantiquity The workman, it willbenoticed,cuts the leatherupona slopingbench, exactlylikethat

of theshoemakeralreadyengraved

The warmth andmildness of the East,rendered a

close warm shoe unnecessary; and, indeed, in thepresentdaythey partaketheremoreof the character

shoes, andalwaysfreeinits motion,retained its full

power andpUabUity; and the custom still retained

in the East, of holding a strap of leather,or other

substance between the toes, is represented in the

Thebanpaintings; the footthus becoming anuseful

Manyspecimensof the shoes and sandals of theancient Egyptians, may be seen in our national

museum WUkinsoUj inhiswork onthe "Plannersand Customs"ofthispeople says, "Ladies,and men

of rank, paid great attention to thebeauty oftheirsandals: buton someoccasions, thoseofthe middle

pre-ferred walking barefooted; and in religious

cere-monies, the priests frequently took them oflf whileperformingtheirdutiesintheTemple."

Thesandals varied slightly in form; those worn

by the upper classes, and by women, wereusually

pointedandturnedupattheend,like ourskaits, and

had a sharp flat point, others were nearly round

Theyweremade of asortofwovenor interlacedwork,

ofpalmleavesand papyrus stalks, or other similarmaterials; sometimes of leather, and were fre-

quentlyhnedwithinwithcloth, on which the figure

of a captive was painted; that humiliating position

being thought suitable totheenemiesoftheir

coun-try,whomthey hatedand despised,an idea agreeing

perfectlywiththe expressionwhich so often occurs

in thehieroglyphic legends, accompanying a king's

name, wherehisvalour and virtues are recorded on

the sculptures: " you have troddentheimpure tilesunder yourpowerfulfeet."

Gen-The example selected for pi 1, fig 1, is in the

BritishMuseum, beneath the sandal of amiunmyofHarsontiotf; andthe captive figureisevidently,from

featureandcostume, aJew: itthusbecomesacurious

two fine examples of sandals formed as above scribed, of the leaf of the palm, theywerebrought

de-from Egypt bythelateMr. Salt, consulgeneral, and formedpartof the collection sold in London, afterhisdeath, andarenowinthe BritishMuseum They

andareof thatkind worn bythe poorerclasses; flat

of twisted leaves securesandstrengthens the edge, athongof the strongfibres ofthe sameplantis aflfixed

to eacli sideof theinstep, and wassecuredround the

the aridclimate inhabited by the people for whomsuchsandals-wereconstructed, the knotat each side

towhichthethongwasaffixed,stillremains

The sandals with curved toes, alluded to above,

and whichfrequentlyappearuponEgyptiansculpture,

andgenerallyuponthe feet of the superior classes,

are exhibitedin thewoodcuthere given: and in the

Berlinmuseum, oneispreserved of precisely similarform, whichhas been engravedbyWilkinson, and is

herecopied,pi.1, fig 1. Itisparticularly curious, as

shewing how such sandalswere heldupon the feetthethongwhichcrossesthe instepbeing connected with

another,passing overthetop of the footandsecured

80 that thesolewasheldfirmly,howeverthe footmoved,

Wilkinson says that "shoes or low boots, were

alsocommonin Egypt, but these I believe to have

for sincenopersonsarerepresented in the paintings

wearing them, except foreigners, we may concludethey were not adoptedby the Egyptians,at least in

aPharaonicage Theywereofleather, generally of

green colour, laced in frontbythongs,whichpassedthroughsmall loops oneitherside; and were princi-

pally used, as in GreeceandEtruria,by women." Oneof the closelaced shoes is given inpi 1, fig.

4,from aspecimen in the British Museum; it

em-braces the footclosely,andhasathongortwoovertheinstep,fordrawingit tightlyover thefoot,something

like the half boot of the presentday: thesole and upperleather areallinonepiece,sewn uptheback and down the front of the foot, a mode of constructionpractised in this country, as late as the fourteenthcentury

rilSTOEY OP BOOTS AND SHOES 9

The elegantly ornamented boot here given, is

copiedfromaThebanpainting, andisworn byagaily

dressed youth from one of the countries bordering

on Egypt: it reachesveryhigh, andisa remarkablespecimen of thetaste fordecoration,whichthusearly

began tobe displayedupon this articleofapparel

In SacredWrit are many early notices of shoes,

when Moses exhorts the Jews to obedience (Deut.chap 29,) heexclaims "yourclothesare notwaxen

olduponyou,andthy shoeisnotwaxenolduponthy

foot." IntheBook of Ruth (chap 4,3 wehave a

curiousinstanceof theimportantpart performedby

theshoeinthe ancientdays ofIsrael, in sealingany

importantbusiness: " Nowthis was themanner in

former timein Israel,concerning redeeming,andcerningchanging,for to confirm allthings; aman

con-pluckedofi"his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour

andthis was a testimonyin Israel." Ruth, andall

the propertyof three other persons, are given over

toBoaz, bythe act of the nextkinsman,whogives to

him his shoe inthepresenceof witnesses The

an-kinsman byherlatehusband'sside,tomarryawidow,

if her husband died childless The law ofMoses

providedanalternative, easy in itself, but attendedwithsome degreeofignominy The woman was in

public courttotakeoffhis shoe, spitbefore hisface,

saying, "soshallitbedoneuntothatmanthatwillnot

builduphisbrother'shouse:" andprobably, thefact

inconnectionwithhisname;whichisprobablywhat

ismeant byhis "nameshall becalled in Israel, the

houseofhimthathathhisshoeloosed." (Deut 25.)

TheEditorofKnight's Pictoi'ial Bible, who noticesthese curious laws,also adds that theuse of theshoe

in the transactionswith Boaz, are perfectly

intelli-gible; the takingoff the shoe, denoting the

relin-quishmentof the right, and the dissolution of theobligation in the oneinstance, anditstransferintheother Theshoeisregarded asconstituting posses-

conveyed in the homely proverbial expression by whichoneman is said to "stand in the shoes of

HISTORY OF BOOTS ANDSHOES 1

another," andthevulgar idea "of throwing an old

temporalgiftsorgoodfortunemayfollowyou The

authorlastquoted says,thatevenatthepresenttime,theuse of the shoeasatokenof right or occupancy may be traced very extensively in the East; and however various and dissimilar the instances may

seematfirstview,the leading idea may be still tected in all. Thus amongtheBedouins, whenaman

de-permitshis cousin tomarryanother, orwhen a

hus-band divorces his runaway wife, heusually says,

"shewas myshpper, Ihavecasther off."

(Burck-hardt's "Bedouins," p 65). Sir F. Henniker in

speaking ofthedifficultyhe had in persuading thenativestodescendintothe crocodilemummypits,in

consequence ofsome menhavinglosttheirlives there,

says: "ourguides, asifpreparing for certain death,

tur-ban fromhisown head, andputituponthat of his

son; orput himin hisplace,bygivinghimhis shoes,

'adead man'sshoes.' " InWestern Asia, shppersleftat the door of an apartment, denote that the

masteror mistressisengaged, and no one ventures

onintrusion, not evenahusband,though the

speaJdng of the termagants of Benares say, "ifdomesticorotherbusiness calls offone of the com-

batants before the affair is duly settled, she cooUy

thrusts hershoebeneath herbasket, and leavesboth

meaningtodenotebyleavinghershoe, thatshekept

possession of theground and the argument, duringher unavoidableabsence

Fromalltheseinstancesitwouldappear thatthis

employment of the shoe, may, in some respects, beconsidered analagoustothatwhich prevailed in the

middleages, of giving a glove as atokenof

investi-turewhenbestowinglandsanddignities

It shouldbe observedthatthesame Hebrew word

{naat) signifies botha sandal and a shoe, althoughalways rendered shoe in our translationof the Old

Testament Althoughtheshoeismentionedin

Gene-sisandotherbooksof theBible, little concerning itsformormanufacture can be gleaned—that itwasan

HISTORY OF BOOTS AND SHOES 13

mayinferfromthepassagein Genesis, chap,xiv., v.

23, thefirstmention"wehaveof this article, where Ahraham makesoathtotheKingofSodom "thathe wiU not takefrom a thread eventoa shoe-latchet,"

thusassuming itscommoncharacter

TheGibeonites (Joshua,ix., v.5—13),"camewith

old shoesand clouted (mended) upon their feet"

—

the better to practice theirdeceit, andthereforethey

verylongjovimey."

Isaiah"walkedthreeyearsnaked andbarefoot,"he went forthislong periodwithout shoes contraryto

thecustom of the people, and as "a wonder unto

Egypt andEthiopia."

Thatitbecame anarticleofrefinementandluxury

isevident from themany other notices given, and

the Jewish ladies seem to have beenvery

14 HISTORY OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

with the exclamation— " Howbeautiful are thyfeet

withsandals, prince's daughter!"

Theancient bas-rehefsatPersepoUs,andthe

neigh-urhoodof Babylon, second onlyin their antiquity

ex-amples ofthebootsand shoesof thePersiankings,

asappears fromhistorical,aswell as internal evidence,

in thedays ofXerxesandDarius

iNo 1 Xo 2 No 3.

Fromthese sources we hereselectthe three

speci-mens above No I, is a half-boot, reaching

con-derably above the ancle, and it is worn by theattendantwhohas charge ofachariot, uponabas-re-liefnowinthe BritishMuseum, broughtfromPerse

engravedanddescribed inhis interestingvolumes of

HISTORY OF BOOTS AND SHOES 15

andengravedin theworkjustquoted, delineates

ano-therkindof bootorhigh shoe, reachingonlytothe

front in a knot, thetwo ends of the band hanging

beneathit ; thisshoeisverycommon uponthefeetofthesefigures, andisgenerallyworn bysoldiersor the

upperclasses, the attendants or councillorsround the

throneof these early sovereigns frequentlywearsuch

shoes No 3, seenupon the feet of personagesinthesame rankoflife, ishere copiedfroma Persepo-

it is a remarkably interesting example, as it very

andin the instance beforeus, thepartwe now term

"upper leather" consists of little more than thelacings of the sandals rendered much broader than

usual,and fastenedbybuttons alongthetop of the

foot; the shoeisthus rendered peculiarly flexible,

asthe openings over the instep allow of the freest

16 HISTORY BOOTS

Close bootsreachingnearlytotheknee where they

aremet byawidetrowser, are not uncommon upon

and appearance as those worn by the modem

Cos-sacks Indeed, thereisnothingintheway of bootsthatmaynotbefound uponthe existing monuments

of early nations, preciselyresemblingthemodernones

Thelittle figure here given mightpass for acopyof

the bootsworn byone ofjihesoldiersofKingWilliam

the Third's army, and would not be unworthy ofuncle Tobyhimself, yetit is carefuUy copied from i

most ancient specimen ofEtruscansculpture, in thepossession of Inghtrami, who has engraved it in

HISTOKY OF BOOTS AND SHOES 1/

original represents an Augur, orPriest, wliose chief

dutywastoreportandexplainsupernaturalsigns

Withthe ancientGreeksand Romans thecoveringsfor thefeetassumedtheirmostelegantforms, yet in

noinstancedoesthecomfortof thewearer appearto

hare beensacrificed,or the naturalplay of the footinterferedwith

—

that appearstohave beenespeciallyreserved for " marchofintellect" days Vegetable

sandals,termedBaxa, or Baxea, were worn by the

lower classes,andas asymbolof their humility, by

the philosophersandpriests Apuleius describes a

youngpriest aswearing sandals of palm, they were

no doubt similar in construction to the Egyptian

ones, of which we have already given specimens,

and whichwerepart of the requiredandcharacteristic

dress of the Egyptian priesthood Such vegetablesandals were, however, occasionally decorated withornamentsto a considerable extent, and they then

becameexpensive The makingofthemin aUtheir

variety was the business of a class of men calledBaxearii; and these with the Solearii, (or makers

of the simplestkindof sandalworn, consisting ofa

18 HISTORY OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

sole withlittlemoretofasten it to the foot than astrap across theinstep), constituted a corporation or

coUegeofRome.

Thesoleaweregenerallyworn bythehigher classes

only, for lightness and convenience, in the housethe shoes (calceus) being worn out of doors The

Soccus was the intermediate covering for the foot,

being something betweenthe soleaandthecalceus,it

could becast off atpleasure,asitdidnot fit closely,

and wassecuredby notie. This,like the solea and

crepida, was worn bythelower classes and countrypeople; andhence, thecomedians wore such cheap

and commoncoverings for thefeet, to contrast with

the Cothurnus or buskin of the tragedians, which

theyassumed, asitwasadaptedtobepart of agrand

specimens,ofbothare here givenfromantique

autho-rities. The sideandfrontviewof theSock,(Nos.1,2)

HISTOEY OF BOOTS

in looseyellowslippers,oneof thecommonestcoloursin

whichthe leatherusedfortheirconstructionwasdyed

No 3.

but the more finished boots and shoes were made

Cothur-nus, (fig.3) was a bootofthe highest kind,reachingabovethe calfof theleg, andsometimesasfarastheknee It was laced as the boots of the ancients

always were, down the front, the object of suchan

arrangement beingtomake themfitthe leg as closely

was dyed purple, and other gay colours; the head and pawsofthe wild animalwere sometimes allowed

tohangaround the leg fromthe upper part of thecothurnus, towhichitformedagraceful addition; an

aside-view of such an ornamented boot, decorated

alloverwith apatternlike theGrecianvolute

The sole of the cothurnus was of the ordinary

thickness in general, but it wasoccasionally made

touchthickerbythe insertionofshoes of cork, when

thewearer wishedtoaddtohisheight, and thus the

Atheniantragedians,who assumed this boot as the

mostdignifiedof coveringsforthefeet, hadthesoles

madeunusuallythick, in order thatit might add tothemagnitude anddignityoftheirwhole appearance

The unchangingnatureof a commodious fashioncapableofadoptionbythelowerclasses, maybewell

shoeorsandalworn bytherusticsof ancient Rome.

It is formed of a skin turned over the foot, and ,

secured by thongs passing throughthe sides, and

over the toe,crossingeachother over theinstep,and

secured firmlyroundthe ancle Anypersonfamiliar

with the prints of PineUi, pictures of the modembrigands of the Abruzzi, or the models of the

HISTOKT OF BOOTS

as being of thesame form The travellerwhohas

them on the feet of the peasantrywho traverse the

Pontine marshes; andthe olderIrish, and the

com-paratively modem Highlander, both wore similarones, they were formedof the skin of the cow or

feetbyleatherthongs Theywerethesimplest and warmest kind offoot-covering to be obtained when

everyman washis ownshoemaker

Therewasaformofshoeworn at this early time

inwhich the toes were entirely uncovered, and of

which an example is given in pi 2,fig.3 It is

copiedfroma marble foot in the British Museum.

This shoe appears to be made of a pliable leather,

whichfitscloselytothe foot, for it was considered

Thetoes inthisinstance areleft perfectly free; theupperleatheris secured round the ancle by a tie,

while a thong,ornamented by a stud in its centre,

secondtoe,issecuredtothesolein the mannerof a

sandal In order that the ancle-boneshould not bepressedonorincommodedinwalking, the leather is

sloped away, andrises around it to a point at the

backof theleg

None but such as had served the office of Edile

were allowed to wear shoes of ared colour, which

we may thereforeinfer tohave been as favorite colorfor shoes, as it appears to have been among the

Hebrews, and as it is stUl in Western Asia The

Roman Senators wore shoes or buskins of a black

colour,with acrescent of gold or silver on the top

wearred, yellow, white, or green shoes, permitting

themto beworn by women only, and Heliogabalusforbadewomen to wear gold or precious stones intheir shoes, afactwhichwillaidusinunderstanding

the sort of decoration indulged in by the earhest

Hebrew women, of whose example Judith may be

quoted as an instance, to which we have already

referred

of sandal similarto the example giveninpi 2, fig.

4,and whichisasolea fastenedbythongs, yet ihej,

intheprogress of richesandluxury,wentwith thetimesand mergedinto foppery, so thatPhilopoemon,

inrecommending soldiers to givemore attentionto

andsandals,and morecarefulinobservingthat theirgreaveswere keptbrightandfittedwelltotheirlegs

WTienabout to attack a hill-fort or go on rugged

marches, theywore a sandalshodwithspikes similar

tothat inpi.2., fig.5, andat other times they had

fig. 6, whiche::^bitsthe soleof a Romansoldier's

sandalcovered with naUs, and which was discovered

inLondon somefewyearsago; it iscopied from an

engravingintheArchgeologicalAlbum, andtheshoe

itself which formsfig 7, shows the length of these

constructed of the sandal form, like those of thePersepolitan figures already alluded to The Greeks

and Romansusedshoesofthiskindasfrequently aa

the early Persians, andinfig 7, wehave an example

of such a combinationof sandaland shoe as theywore, the upper leather beingcut into a series ofthongs,throughwhichpasses abroadbandofleather,

which turnsnot inelegantlyround theupperpartof

the ancleandaboveit, whereit isbuckledortied

The Romanshoesthenhadvariousnames,andwere

wearer TheSolea, Crepida, Pero, and Soccus,

be-longedtothelowerclasses, the labourers andrustics,

the Caligawas principally worn bysoldiers, and the

Cothurnus,bytragedians,hunters, and horseman, as

wellasbythe nobles of thecountrj'

havealreadyhinted was indicativeof rankor office.Those worn by senatorswe havenoticed, anditwas

ajokeinancientRomeagainstmen who owedrespect

nobihtywasin his heels Theboots of theemperorswere frequently richly decorated, and the patterns

ornamentedinthemostelaboratemanner A

speci-men fromthe noblestatue of Hadrianin the British

iMuseum, formsfig. 8,of our plate, andit is

decoratetheirboots, andHeUogabaluswore exquisite

cameos on his boots and shoes Fig.9, isa lowerkind ofbootof the same make asfig.3, but beauti-

TheGrecianladiesaccordingtoHope,vrore shoes

or half-boots laced beforeand linedwith the fur ofanimals ofthe cat, tribe whose muzzles or claws

hung down fromthe top

Ocreawasthenamethisboot gotamongstthe mans; "Ocreas verdente puella" (Juv vi sat.)

Ro-which Dryden, ridiculously enough, translated

"Spanish leather boots," atermof his own time

forced todoservicesixteenhundredyears before

ThebarbarousnationswithwhomtheRomansheld

war, areupon the bas-rehefs of their conquerors,

Dacians wear the shoerepresented in fig 1 0,which

laced acrossthe instep and was securedaround theanclewithaband andornamental buttonor stud The

Gaulsweartheshoegiven below,ofthe same formas

that worn byournative ancestors whenJulius Csesar

madehis descentuponthe British Islands,

CHAPTER II.

THE HISTOEY OF BOOTS AND SHOES IN EN'GLAXB

have transmitted to us many valuable

manuscriptsaboundingin various tions of their dress and manners, we

atten-tionwhereit is o\irpresentobjecttodirect

it, the history of the coverings for the

therude skin shoes worn by the native Irish and

the country people ofRome wasthesimpleprotection

adoptedinthiscountryintheearliesttimes Shoes

ofthismaterial arefoundinaUnations halfcivilised

andthe ease withwhich theyare formed bymerely

covering the sole with the hide of an animal, and

securingitbyathong, must have had the efiect of

be preferred in fineweather, and when shoeswereworn, they were generally of a close warm kind,

adaptedtoourclimate; themostantique tionsof the Gaulishnativechiefsasgivenon Roman

representa-sculpture,and which maybe takenasgeneral sentations of Britishchiefs, may be received asgood

striking astodraw fromCaesar aremarktothatefiect.The Saxon figures as given in the drawings by

of our public libraries, display the costumeof this

people fromthe ninth century downwards; andthe

minute wayinwhich every portion of the dress is

given, afford us clear examples of their boots and

shoes According to Strutt, high shoes reaching

ueaily to the middle of the legs, and fastened by

lacing in thefront, and which mayalsobe properly

considered asa species of half boots, wereinusein

this countryas early as the tenthcentury; andthe

only apparent difference betweenthe high shoes ofthe ancientsand the moderns, seemstohave been