Lasting Machine Shaping Shoes in Shoe Factory, Lynn, Mass.

All civilized people wear some kind of covering on their feet. Many semi-civilized and savages also have shoes of some sort. You remember that our American Indian made his own deer skin moccasin. And excellent they were, too, for his purpose. They were soft to the feet and silent in the woods. On the other hand, the Hollander wears a wooden shoe. This is cheap, durable, and keeps his feet dry in his wet country. The Japanese wear a sandal so made so that they can slip them off easily when entering the house. It is necessary that they remove their shoes because the rugs on the floor serve at night for the beds. You are reminded of the above facts because we Americans come to look upon shoes as being made of two substances only, either rubber or leather. Where water-proof shoes or boots are needed, rubber is the better. But almost everybody in this country, as in western countries of Europe, wear leather shoes. This leather is tanned from the hides and skins of animals. It is shipped to the factories in bales and rolls, cut to its proper shapes, usually by machines, sewed by machinery, shaped by machinery, and eyeletted and pegged by machinery. In fact the American shoe is largely a machine-made shoe. One of these wonderful machines is here seen in operation. This is the lasting machine, sometimes called the Goodyear Pulling-Over Machine. It is said that it cost $1,500,000 and five years of trial to perfect it. The "upper" of the shoe is placed over the wooden last. The machine is clamped on this "upper" and draws the fore part of the shoe into shape. Thus, in a few seconds, is performed the most difficult task of the shoemaker. Keystone ID: 22189 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.