A last is a mechanical form, shaped roughly like a human foot, used by shoemakers and cordwainers to build and repair shoes around. Lasts are made from firm materials such as hardwood, cast iron or high-density plastic so they can withstand contact with wetted leather and the strong forces of reshaping it, and come in many styles depending on the job at hand: simple one-size lasts for repairing soles and heels, custom-purpose mechanized lasts for modern mass production, and individually custom-made lasts for bespoke footwear. Since the early nineteenth century lasts have typically been made in matched pairs, one shaped for the left foot and one for the right, rather than the earlier practice of a single straight last serving both. The development of an automated lasting machine by the Surinamese-American inventor Jan Ernst Matzeliger in the 1880s was a major turning point in shoe production, improving quality, cutting prices roughly in half, and displacing the older putting-out system that had organized shoemaking work before it.
Facts
Open Questions
Introduced When (Circa)Not established by consulted sources; see the linked open question. 1 Reference material documents Roman-era and medieval use of the last but names no invention date or era for the tool itself; recorded as an open dating question (last-shoemaking-earliest-date) rather than an invented year. OriginWhen commercial shoemaking returned in the High Middle Ages, a single last was used to make shoes for either foot, with the expectation that wear would gradually reshape the shoe as needed; paired lasts for left and right feet did not become standard again until industrial shoe production began in the early 19th century. 1 Connections
Open Questions
Source Last (Shoemaking) (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Last (Shoemaking) (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, medieval single-last sentence
Upon the return of commercial shoemaking during the High Middle Ages, a single last was used to make shoes for either foot, with the expectation that use would gradually reshape the shoe as needed.
- Open Questions: When Was the Shoemaking Last First Used
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
When Was the Shoemaking Last First Used
Standard reference material documents Roman-era and later medieval use of the last but gives no invention date, era, or archaeological find naming the origin of the tool itself, as opposed to footwear generally.
What would resolve this A dated archaeological find of a shoemaking last, or a specialist history of shoemaking tools naming an origin period, distinct from a general history of shoes.
History of technology and archaeology of craft toolsLast (Shoemaking) (Wikipedia)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did shoemakers switch from a single last to matched left and right lasts?
Paired left and right lasts did not return until industrial shoe production began in the early nineteenth century.
When commercial shoemaking returned in the High Middle Ages, a single last was used to make shoes for either foot, with the expectation that wear would gradually reshape the shoe as needed. Paired lasts, one shaped for the left foot and one for the right, did not become standard again until industrial shoe production began in the early nineteenth century.
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