BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE. Scarcely any handicraft employment engages the attention of so many persons in this country as boot and shoe making. From the artist of aristocratic circles to the cobbler who rolls himself up in a stall under a pot-house, is a wide interval ; and this interval is filled up by numerous grades. At Northampton boots and shoes are made on a very large scale for the London market ; they include chiefly the cheap varieties ; but at some of the recent Exhibitions of Manufactures the North ampton boot.makers have exhibited specimens of workmanship which are considered to fall in no way behind those of London or Paris. At Edenbridge in Kent, and at other places, the strong coarse 'hob-nailed' shoes are made, which are so much worn by waggoners and others. The Loudon makers import from Paris very large quantities of boot fronts, which when combined with other parts of English manufacture, constitute many of the boots ' which now glitter in the windows.
Of the circumstances of the trade, so far as regard the relations between masters and workmen, the most ample and interesting, perhaps, are those prepared a few months ago by Mr. H. Mayhew, for the Morning Chron icle.' The London work, and the more wretched features of it, are at any rate here depicted with much vividness.
The mechanical details of the manufacture have been well described by Mr. Devlin ; who, in his Shoemaker,' forming one of the ' Guides to Trade; has contrived to throw a general interest into that which would other wise he merely technical.
Of the improvements or suggested improve Iments recently introduced into the manufac ture, our patent records contain many exam ples. One inventor has suggested that the different parts of a boot or shoe should be sewn together with wire-thread instead of hempen thread. Another has proposed the use of revolving circular heels, which may be turned round in order that every part may re ceive equal wear. A third proposes heels to be made of an iron rim, with the vacuity filled up with g,utta, percha. A fourth has directed his attention to a mode of introducing a layer of gutta percha between the outer and inner soles. A fifth has introduced elastic pieces
into the side of the boot to ensure a close fit round the instep. A sixth has invented a simple apparatus to assist in blocking' the fronts of boots. With respect to making boots and shoes by machinery, Sir M. I. Brunel in vented a comprehensive plan, to be adopted for soldiers' shoes in the time of the war; but it has not acquired a permanent utility.
It has often seemed strange to persons not engaged in those trades, that boot and shoe makers should adopt such a cramped attitude as those to which we see them accustomed. In most eases of this kind there is a good reason for the adoption of that which has be come very general. But be this as it may, a contrivance was introduced a few years ago, with a view to enabling a shoe-maker to ply his avocation either sitting or standing, with out necessitating the stooping position which appears to he (and perhaps is) so painful. Mr. Warne, practically engaged in the craft, regis tered the contrivance in question. It consists of a kind of high stool, something like a desk stool, covered with a hard leather cushion. Another round cushion is placed upon the lower. There is a hole through both cushions, through which a strap passes down to an axle, wheel, and ratchet beneath. A last being placed upon the upper cushion, can be in stantly bound tightly by the strap; while the last and the upper cushion can easily be moved round horizontally. A hinged seat is attached to the frame. The inventor states that every operation of boot and shoe making can derive aid from this contrivance.
Notwithstanding the large number of per sons employed in these avocations in Eng land, and the abundant supply of leather, there is still a considerable import of boots and shoes from abroad, chiefly France. In 1849 these imports amounted to 100,900 pairs of boots and shoes, and no less than 540,000 pairs of boot-fronts. The clue to this differ ence is, that boot fronts pay a much smaller import duty than boots and shoes.
We may expect to see a rich supply of these commodities at the forthcoming The boots of All Nations are worthy of com parison one with another.