Lee Thomas
D block
12/13/2018
While shoes started off as hay stuffed in leather, they’ve
advanced as time has gone on but they took a massive leap forward amidst the
mid 19th century. Many shoes of the time were leather from animals sewn
together to make shoes. Wordpress.com shows us that 1832 came with the new
technique of putting rubber as the sole of the shoe. This process was patented
by Wait Webster, and following this Joseph William Foster, who was the founder
of Boulton or modern day Reebok, decided to put spikes on the bottom of the
rubber soled shoes. This was the birth of the track spike.
While Wait Webster kickstarted the movement of advanced shoe
making, it didn’t really take off until Charles Goodyear came along with the
invention of Vulcanization. While many know the name Goodyear for the tires on
their car, Goodyear actually started as a shoe company, really one of the most
important shoe companies because of their contribution to the industry.
Vulcanization is the process of heating up the rubber that you would put on
shoes. This makes the rubber stronger and more flexible, which allowed many
people to move away from stiff and uncomfortable shoes and instead wear
something much lighter and flexible. With this new technique of shoe making
Tennis shoes began to appear on the scene. Tennis shoes started as the new
vulcanized rubber with fabric attached to the sole. These shoes were also called
other names such as sneakers, trainers, or even felony shoes because of how
quiet they were compared to older stiffer shoes. These Tennis shoes became very
popular with the younger generation and gave way to different types of shoes
such as ones with a harder canvas but the same sole, these were more prominent
with higher class people who played sports such as Golf or Croquet. While
Tennis shoes were named “Tennis shoes” they weren’t specifically for tennis.
These shoes allowed for more movement in many sports like basketball or soccer.
The 19th century gave way to many sports, one of which being
America’s favorite pastime. Baseball. While baseball was played some before the
invention of vulcanization it began to rise in popularity. The first shoes with
the new vulcanized rubber varied more in the canvas of the shoe rather than the
sole. Many shoes would either be high tops or low tops, with leather being at
the rim or lip of the shoe. Early shoes were usually just fabric with the
leather at the top, but soon leather became to dominant material around 1882.
In the 1890s Spalding even took another step up when they went from $6 all
leather shoes, to $7 all kangaroo leather shoes. The new shoes were even more
durable than just plain leather ones which made them last longer.
Even though the canvas of the shoe was changed throughout most of
the late 19th century, the new vulcanization process stood the test of time for
at least 50 years. Compared to today, 50 years is incredible. Modern day shoe
companies are making different types of soles every couple of years now. They
make them lighter, more breathable, more flexible, more padded, and every
couple of years there’s something different. So for the the the process of
vulcanization to stand for 50+ years shows how advanced for it time it actually
was.
Sources:
Encyclopedia of fashion
Baseballhalloffame.org
Wordpress.com
Sources:
Encyclopedia of fashion
Baseballhalloffame.org
Wordpress.com
