TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES Punctuation has been made consistent. The positioning of the 11 illustrations has been changed slightly to accommodate each one between paragraphs, on every second page. A SHORT TREATISE ON BOOTS AND SHOES ANCIENT AND MODERN, BY Walter H. Goater. Presented by J. & J. Slater, 1185 Broadway, N. W. COR. OF 28TH STREET. New York. Boots and Shoes, Ancient and Modern. 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. [Illustration: _Fig. 1._ _Fig. 2._ _Fig. 3._] Such were the shoes probably worn by Rhodope, the Cinderella of the Nile. Rhodope was said to have the loveliest foot in all Egypt. One day, as she was taking her bath, an eagle stooped from Heaven and carried off her sandal. She watched him as he soared on high, until he finally disappeared in the distance. When, after a time, he let the sandal drop, it fell at the feet of the King, who was so charmed with its beauty that he commanded that a search be made immediately for its owner. Rhodope was soon discovered, and shortly afterwards became the Queen of Egypt. * * * * * In both ancient Greece and Rome we find that, while it was common for the women to wear some kind of a foot covering, shoes were not generally worn by the men or youth, the latter always being taught to go barefooted. But later on, on ceremonial occasions, the magistrates began to wear a red shoe, while the soldiers took to a boot reaching almost to the knee, very elaborate in design, and in a short time the custom of wearing a covering for the feet was adopted by all classes. The shoes of the women were always white in color, the senators black, while the magistrates kept to themselves red. * * * * * [Illustration: _Fig. 4._