As far back as we can trace the early history of man, under civilized conditions of life, we find that shoes of some kind have been worn.
At first they were very crude and simple, being nothing more than soles fastened to the foot by means of thongs or straps, which passed between the toes and around the ankle, like Figs. 1, 2, 3. Shoes of this description were called sandals, and were worn by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
It has been discovered, by means of paintings on the walls of Thebes, that shoemaking formed a distinct and quite lucrative trade away back in the reign of Thothmes III., some fifteen hundred years before Christ, so that followers of the awl and last can truthfully boast of the great antiquity of their profession.
The material chiefly employed in the manufacture of shoes, from the earliest times to the present, has been leather, though stuffs of various kinds and colors have entered into their composition at different periods.
The sandals worn by the priests of ancient Egypt were generally made of palm and papyrus leaves fastened together. Some well-preserved specimens of these sandals, obtained from tombs, can now be seen at the British Museum, in London.