Editing Shoe (section)

==== Asia and Europe ====
[[File:Shoemaker 1821.jpg|thumb|A [[shoemaker]] in the [[Georgian era]], from ''The Book of English Trades'', 1821.]]

[[Shoemaking]] became more commercialized in the mid-18th century, as it expanded as a [[cottage industry]]. Large [[warehouse]]s began to stock footwear, made by many small manufacturers from the area.

Until the 19th century, shoemaking was a traditional handicraft, but by the century's end, the process had been almost completely mechanized, with production occurring in large factories. Despite the obvious economic gains of [[mass production]], the factory system produced shoes without the individual differentiation that the traditional shoemaker was able to provide.

In the 19th century Chinese feminists called for an end to foot binding, and a ban in 1902 was implemented. The ban was soon repealed, but it was banned again in 1911 by the new Nationalist government. It was effective in coastal cities, but countryside cities continued without much regulation. Mao Zedong enforced the rule in 1949 and the practice is still forbidden. A number of women still have bound feet today.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Woman's shoe, China, possibly Shanxi or Ningbo style, late 19th to early 20th century, satin, silk, cotton, gold thread, velvet - Redpath Museum - McGill University - Montreal, Canada - DSC08203.jpg|thumb|Woman's shoe, China, possibly Shanxi or Ningbo style, late 19th to early 20th century]]
The first steps towards mechanisation were taken during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] by the engineer, [[Marc Brunel]]. He developed machinery for the mass production of boots for the soldiers of the [[British Army]]. In 1812, he devised a scheme for making nailed-boot-making machinery that automatically fastened soles to uppers by means of metallic pins or nails.<ref name="Napol">{{cite web|url=http://staffscc.net/shoes1/?p=126|title=History of Shoemaking in Britain—Napoleonic Wars and the Industrial Revolution|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202130102/http://staffscc.net/shoes1/?p=126|archive-date=2014-02-02}}</ref> With the support of the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]], the shoes were manufactured, and, due to their strength, cheapness, and durability, were introduced for the use of the army. In the same year, the use of screws and staples was patented by [[Richard Woodman (martyr)|Richard Woodman]]. Brunel's system was described by [[Sir Richard Phillips]] as a visitor to his factory in [[Battersea]] as follows:

[[File:Bottoming room.jpeg|thumb|left|By the late 19th century, the shoemaking industry had migrated to the factory and was increasingly mechanized. Pictured, the bottoming room of the B. F. Spinney & Co. factory in [[Lynn, Massachusetts]], 1872.]]

<blockquote>In another building I was shown his manufactory of shoes, which, like the other, is full of ingenuity, and, in regard to subdivision of labour, brings this fabric on a level with the oft-admired manufactory of pins. Every step in it is affected by the most elegant and precise machinery; while, as each operation is performed by one hand, so each shoe passes through twenty-five hands, who complete from the hide, as supplied by the currier, a hundred pairs of strong and well-finished shoes per day. All the details are performed by the ingenious application of the mechanic powers; and all the parts are characterised by precision, uniformity, and accuracy. As each man performs but one step in the process, which implies no knowledge of what is done by those who go before or follow him, so the persons employed are not shoemakers, but wounded soldiers, who are able to learn their respective duties in a few hours. The contract at which these shoes are delivered to Government is 6s. 6d. per pair, being at least 2s. less than what was paid previously for an unequal and cobbled article.<ref>Richard Phillips, ''Morning's Walk from London to Kew'', 1817.</ref></blockquote>

However, when the war ended in 1815, [[manual labour]] became much cheaper, and the demand for military equipment subsided. As a consequence, Brunel's system was no longer profitable and it soon ceased business.<ref name="Napol" />