Shoemaker's Hammer, New England, 1800s. Maine State Museum. Gift of Lewis J. Sheafer, 72.166.3.46.
Shoemaker's Hammer, New England, 1800s. Maine State Museum. Gift of Lewis J. Sheafer, 72.166.3.46.
Shoemakers used hammers, such as this, to fasten shoe's soles to their uppers. Hammering small wooden pegs or metal tacks into the sole proved to be a faster, labor-saving technique than stitching the soles in place. This hammer could also be used to repair shoes.
This hammer is part of a collection that passed down in the Hazzard family of Gardiner, Maine. Robert Parks Hazzard owned the city's largest shoe company in the early 1900s.