Shoemaker woodcut from "Little Jack of All Trades," published by Thomas Waite and Company and Charles Williams, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813. Courtesy of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Shoemaker woodcut from "Little Jack of All Trades," published by Thomas Waite and Company and Charles Williams, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813. Courtesy of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Before 1800 a shoemaker usually took orders to make entire shoes in his shop. One artisan made the shoes from start to finish. Later, shoemakers did "piece work" to speed production. One man cut the leather. Others performed tasks such as stitching and nailing soles at their work benches, like the one shown here.