Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation has been made consistent.
The positioning of the 11 illustrations has been changed slightlyto accommodate each one between paragraphs, on every second page.
A SHORT TREATISE
ON
BOOTS AND SHOES
ANCIENT AND MODERN,
BY
Walter H. Goater.
Presented by
J. & J. Slater,
1185 Broadway,
N. W. Cor. of 28th Street. New York.
As far back as we can trace the early history of man,under civilized conditions of life, we find that shoesof some kind have been worn.
At first they were very crude and simple, being nothingmore than soles fastened to the foot by means ofthongs or straps, which passed between the toes andaround the ankle, like Figs. 1, 2, 3. Shoes of this descriptionwere called sandals, and were worn by the ancientEgyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
It has been discovered, by means of paintings on thewalls of Thebes, that shoemaking formed a distinct andquite lucrative trade away back in the reign of ThothmesIII., some fifteen hundred years before Christ, sothat followers of the awl and last can truthfully boast ofthe great antiquity of their profession.
The material chiefly employed in the manufacture ofshoes, from the earliest times to the present, has beenleather, though stuffs of various kinds and colors haveentered into their composition at different periods.
The sandals worn by the priests of ancient Egyptwere generally made of palm and papyrus leaves fastenedtogether. Some well-preserved specimens of thesesandals, obtained from tombs, can now be seen at theBritish Museum, in London.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Such were the shoes probably worn by Rhodope, theCinderella of the Nile. Rhodope was said to have theloveliest foot in all Egypt. One day, as she was takingher bath, an eagle stooped from Heaven and carried offher sandal. She watched him as he soared on high,until he finally disappeared in the distance.
When, after a time, he let the sandal drop, it fell at thefeet of the King, who was so charmed with its beautythat he commanded that a search be made immediatelyfor its owner.