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The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on many industries, and the world of footwear was no exception. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, shoes were typically made by hand, with each pair tailored to the individual wearer's foot. But with the advent of mechanised production techniques, footwear manufacturing was transformed. One of the key developments in footwear manufacturing during this period was the creation of the shoe last. A last is a form that is used to shape and mold a shoe during the manufacturing process. Before the Industrial Revolution, lasts were typically made from wood and were carved by...

Step Back in Time: The Hilarious History of Medieval Europe's Love Affair with Pointy Shoes! In 1463, London made a bold move against fashion overkill. The city banned the shoes of its most stylish men who had taken their flair for fashion to the extreme. These fashionable lords were walking the streets with shoes that tapered to impish, elongated tips, some reaching a length of 5 inches beyond their toes. These shoes, known as "crakows" or "poulaines," caused such a stir that the court of King Edward IV eventually passed a law prohibiting shoe tips that extended over 2 inches...

Locke, the hands that treated 2,500 feet per day!  About Locke: Mahlon Locke was a Canadian physician who attracted international attention in the 1930s with an unusual therapy. Through a process of foot manipulation, popularly known as "toe-twisting," Locke seemed able to . relieve many intractable cases of arthritis as well as a variety of related afflictions. Sufferers flocked to his clinic in Williamsburg, Ontario and, at the height of his fame, he was tending literally hundreds of people each day. Despite this spectacular public reaction, however, Locke is an obscure figure in Canadian history. People who lived through the...

About this book: An absolute must read for functional feet enthusiasts! This is one of the oldest books we physically own & for some time we struggled to get hold of a digital version, we could not copy ours as its too fragile. We are happy to upload this file for you here to download & share!  Introduction from this book:  Our ideas as to what is elegant and proper in regard to the feet being so radically bad, I have no hope that the promulgation of the proper shape of the shoe will have any sensible influence in reforming the fashions of the...