AN ADDRESS 
DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
Polytechnic Branch of the American Institute of 
the City of New York, May 20th, 1875, 
ON 
THE HTIHAH FOOT: 
Its Use, Abuse and Preservation, 
BY JOEL McCOMBER, 
Inventor and Patentee of the “McComber Last also, 
of the “ McComber Patent Glove-Bitting 
Boots and Shoe*.,' 
OFFICE AND STORE, 
14 Union Square, New York. 
1875. NEW ENGLAND TESTIMONIALS. 
Boston, July 21, 1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: I have, for several months 
past, worn a pair of boots made upon your patent lasts, which 
have given me entire satisfaction. No other last ever suited me se 
well. CIIAS. ENDICOTT, State Auditor of Mass. 
See 3d page of cover. 
Boston, Aug. 20,1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: Having worn boots made on 
your “ patent last,” I desire to express my entire satisfaction with 
the ease and comfort experienced from an excellent fit. The usual 
annoyance and unpleasantness of “ breaking in ” a new pair of 
boots is entirely obviated, — the boots fitting the foot at the start, 
and retaining their shape and beauty better than those made on the 
old plan. j. a. CUMMINGS, 102 Washington St. 
Boston, Aug. 20, 1873. 
Mr. J. McComber — Dear Sir: I have worn a pair of shoes for 
several months that were made on your last, and they give perfect 
satisfaction. They have been the most comfortable pair of shoes, 
and also kept their shape better, than any I have ever worn. 
Yours truly, GEO. T. ANDREW, 5 Temple Place, Boston. 
Boston. Aug. 22, 1873. 
Joel McComber, Esq. — Dear Sir : I have worn a pair of shoes 
made on your patent last, and they have given perfect satisfaction. 
I shall wear no more of the old style if those made on your last can 
be found in this city. C. W. IIOLDEN, 102 Washington St. 
Boston, Aug. 22, 1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: I have worn two pairs of 
boots made on your patent lasts. As for style, ease, and comfort, 
they surpass anything I have ever worn. I have recommended 
them to several of my friends, and they also say they will never 
have their shoes or boots made on any other lasts. 
Yours respectfully, JAMES H. WILLIAMS, 
30 Hanover St., Room 6. 
Salem, N. H. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: I have worn a pair of shoes 
for more than three months made over your patent lasts. I have 
not had a day’s comfort in any other boot or shoe for years. These 
are perfectly comfortable. And I would say to all, Try a pair of 
boots or shoes made over the McComber patent, and you will soon 
forget your pains, and bless the patentee. 
Truly yours, Rev. O. G. WOODBURY. AUrsr ADDRESS 
DELIVERED 
Before the Polytechnic Branch of the American Institute 
of the City of New York, May 20th, 1875, 
ON 
THE HUMAN FOOT: 
ITS USE, ABUSE AND PRESERVATION, 
s/ 
BY JOEL McCOMBER, 
Inventor and Patentee of the “McComber Last;” also, 
of the “McComber Patent Glove-Fitting 
Boots and Shoes. 
0 F B ICE AND STORE: 
14 UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK. 
1 8 7 5. 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by Jokl McComeer, in the Office of 
the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, TO THE PUBLIC. 
In introducing Mr. Joel, McComber’s Address, we 
desire to state that we keep in stock and make to measure 
his celebrated Patent Boots and Shoes, in every variety 
of material, and for all ages and both sexes, at our new 
and centrally located store, No. 14 Union Square, New 
York City. 
We also make his Patent Lasts to fit any measure, and 
mail instructions for self-measurement to all who apply for 
them. Our Price List, and other important information, 
will be found on page 36. 
Several pages of testimonials, from citizens of various 
localities, will be found at the end of the pamphlet, and 
all who thus testify to the value of Mr. McComber’s im- 
provements will, it is believed, respond in like terms of 
commendation to such enquiries as may hereafter be ad- 
dressed to them. 
The pamphlet concludes with an extract from an 
editorial in HalVs Journal of Health, the editors of which 
have taken great interest in this reform. 
These Patent Boots, Shoes and Lasts are attracting 
great attention from intelligent people everywhere, and 
we are filling orders from every State and Territory in 
the United States. A customer once secured becomes a 
permanent friend of the system, and his influence is cer- 
tain to secure others for us. The ladies are our best 
patrons, as they have suffered most from the old plan, 
and are rejoiced to find a system which combines ele- 
gance with ease and perfection of fit. 
Joel McComber & Co. AA IST ADDRESS 
DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
Polytechnic Branch of the American Institute of the City of 
New York, May 20th, 1875, 
ON 
THE HUMAN FOOT: 
ITS USE, ABUSE AND VRESEltVATION, 
BY JOEL McCOMBER. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
It is always a matter of congratulation to me who have 
faith in ideas, particularly when they have passed the ordeal 
of practical experience, to be able to lay them before an intel- 
ligent audience, accustomed to a rigid scrutiny and hard 
logic, unbiassed by prejudices or emotions—my subject 
being: “ The Human Foot, its use, abuse and preserva- 
tion.” On this theme, however, I fear that the heaviest 
thinking has been stimulated by the feelings, and those, 
too, not always of gentle nature, nor finding expressions 
in the language of delicacy. It is from this kind of com- 
pulsory education that I believe better knowledge can give 
us liberty ; and perhaps there is no better invocation of 
your attention than is to be found in the utterances of 
Solomon, that wise man of antiquity : 
“Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be 
established. Thou shalt then walk in thy way safely, 
and thy feet shall not stumble. Happy is the man that 2 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understand- 
ing. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get 
wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding.” 
The largest portion of human wisdom is turned to the 
acquisition of wealth ; the remainder, with the aid of 
this accumulated wealth, is devoted to the procurement 
of ease, comfort, and freedom from suffering. It is, 
however, a notorious and universal experience, that by 
far the most prolific sources of human misery spring 
from what are known as the “ minor evils” of life— 
those goading, petty, carking annoyances, from which, 
like the fabled gad-tly, escape seems impossible. 
These “ills” are often considered, and really are sup- 
posed to be, “ necessary evils;” but let it be remarked that 
the artificial and acquired are always sure to be classed 
alike with the unavoidable. 
There are armies of heroes in society who can breast 
calamity and oppression, pass courageously through 
untold affliction, and vanquish giants of oppression, 
who readily fall helpless and suffering victims to aching 
joints, and crippled feet. No wisdom or courage can 
maintain its equipoise under the demoralization begotten 
in the nervous system by the steady irritation of just such 
insignificant causes. Not even the ancient stoics would 
have dared to hazard their powers of endurance thus. 
They wisely betook themselves to sandals, and escaped 
this terribly ordeal to their philosophy. 
Nor is it possible to exaggerate the sad changes, and 
limitations wrought in human character and conduct 
which owe their origin to the permanent martyrdom 
growing out of the widespread ignorance, and consequent 
sad mutilation of those indispensable organs, which are 
to sustain, year after year, the weight and dignity of the 
human body. 3 
Lasts, boots and shoes. 
In such bondage even the noble brain is tethered, the 
hand shortened, the body shackled, the whole active 
business of life crippled, happiness destroyed, and life 
itself dwarfed to a miserable existence. 
Surely, then, next to the “getting of understanding,” 
is the paramount necessity of getting something to stand 
upon, and thus of something to go upon! otherwise the 
bounding joys of youth may remain a boon for the un- 
shod poor peasant boy; they cannot be for the pampered 
child of wealth, education and refinement. 
Nor are the delightful walks of contemplation, or the 
sauntering hours of meditation, to be anticipated among 
the luxuries of refinement and the blessings of culture 
under adult life. Human joy is not the crop which out- 
raged nature grows; and let the pangs and distortions of 
premature dotage tell of how much of its additional and 
unnecessary misery is due to the neglect of our ances- 
tors, and to the gross—nay, barbarous—ignorance of 
untutored artisans, the unwitting cause of a refined and 
torturing cruelty, of which the most unmitigated savage 
would blush to be known as the author. Now, the hu- 
man foot, in its natural form and comeliness, is one of 
the most beautiful objects for contemplation. Its grace- 
ful lines of curvature, its lithe and supple tissues, its 
fairy lightness and delicacy of construction, combined 
with its immense capacities for sustaining weight, and 
executing intricate movements, render it at once a 
mechanism of surpassing wonder and admiration. 
No artificial substitute, in case of loss, has ever ap- 
proached the original : and, at best, all such efforts have 
proved but clumsy and inadequate makeshifts. 
But few eyes have ever rested upon a perfect foot—so 
unavoidably are those physical and organic defects per- 
petuated and handed down from parent to offspring—the 4 
THE TRITE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
sad heritage of ignorance, for which no patrimony can 
compensate. 
Yet, even in this state of imperfection, the foot of an 
infant is still beautiful; and, while it escapes the de- 
forming grasp of the modern shoe, continues to exhibit 
those wondrous capacities which, alas ! are certain 
to succumb to subsequeht abuse. Thus it happens 
that a healthy, well-formed, natural foot, at adult age, is 
the rarest of exhibitions; whilst a secure tread, a safe 
step, a firm gait and graceful carriage, with ease and 
comfort, without fatigue and suffering, are certainly not 
often to be met. 
Experience of surgeons proves that a large proportion 
of sprained joints, ruptured ligaments and fractured 
limbs, are the legitimate consequence of defective, de- 
formed and weakened feet. All this is the direct result 
of failure to comprehend the simple and beautiful mech- 
anism of the organs of locomotion, or to understand the 
anatomy of the foot as a magnificent series of arches, 
perfectly adapted to sustain the weight of the body, 
whilst, in the capacity of a living and growing machine, 
it enables us to move about with comfort and facility, 
in obedience to our wishes and necessities. 
It has been a very old habit among human beings to 
ignore the study of their own bodies; and even among 
those learned and thoughtful men who have given much 
heed to head, lungs and stomach, few have expended 
attention upon these indispensable organs—the feet, 
which long since passed over to the tender mercies 
of charlatans, and corn doctors. It was once the 
fashion to discourage all such investigations. Even 
dissections—the absolute and only source of such knowl- 
edge—were contrary to law; while, within a compara- 
tively short period, both in civilized Europe, and Amer- LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
5 
ica, antiquity forbade it entirely. The work itself is 
unpleasant and uninviting, except to the enthusiast 
seeking for truth at the hazard of his own life, and at 
the sacrifice of ease and gain. Yet to these relatively 
few, the world owes all its enjoyments to-day from the 
contributions of science, and, though they are free gifts 
of knowledge to humanity, it is curious to note how per- 
severingly the fight has been carried on for every inch 
of recognition against stolid prejudice, ignorance, habit, 
custom and fashion. So difficult is it even now to induce 
the world to be logical, that it must be strenuously urged, 
by argument and proof, to examine, and almost coaxed 
to accept, any novel measure for the mitigation of its 
wretchedness. But a word must be allowed in explana- 
tion on this point; for arrogant pretenders have so often 
vaunted their bootless offerings under the specious name 
of “ anatomical” foot coverings, that some confiding 
people have come to realize, through suffering, too much 
of their own anatomy, and thus nearly made the per- 
sonal acquaintance of their own skeletons. 
But whilst it is difficult to overstate the misery of ill- 
fitting foot-gear, it is but natural that the deceived should 
be doubting, incredulous and suspicious. Every new 
invention in its progress to the attainment of better 
methods, must be prepared to encounter this ordeal, com- 
peting, as it does, with invested pecuniary interest; and 
displacing, as it must, (if of intrinsic value) those 
inferior and barbarous productions, to which suffering 
men, women and children have so long made a lucrative 
but forced contribution. I gladly accept the conditions, 
firmly believing that human nature will not continue to 
obey the poetical mandate, “suffer and be strong,” 
when they once find out, that science can make them 
stronger without suffering, and that, too, quickly, plea- 6 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
santly and at no additional money cost for precisely the 
same material, cut and made up upon correct principles, 
and guaranteed to give comfort and satisfaction the first 
time it is put on; whilst if made up, however costly, 
artistically or fashionably, upon the old, false, blunder- 
ing, hap-hazard system, it can only end in a refinement 
of cruelty worthy of the famous inquisition itself. 
A single trial would forever cut off all competition 
with the better method which science has now brought 
to light, and which skill and ample experience have es- 
tablished, beyond all question, to be the best, because 
its foundation rests on the established laws of Omnipo- 
tence. The humanity of the age is now interesting 
itself to protect the lower animal creation from 
cruel treatment—cruel to the beast, and brutalizing 
to the man ! We, who (from ignorance or necessity) 
have become martyrs to distorted feet, invested with 
corns, bunions and painful ingrowing nails, hardly think 
that all this misery did not spring up in a day, but was 
the slow growth of many years, dating back to child- 
hood. Nor do we reflect that we are deliberately and 
systemically preparing for the dear children committed 
to our care, the same horrible infliction. No, we are 
not brutal enough for that; we simply never think; per- 
haps we know no better; possibly never had our atten- 
tion arrested by the immense fact, that all this is now 
unnecessary and (what is more to the point) unjustifiable 
suffering. Only take the trouble to look and convince 
yourselves. Just for one moment reflect that it is not 
suffering alone, or peevishness, or ill temper, or a brain 
pre occupied and exhausted by the constant physical irri- 
tation of pain, for which you become responsible ; but 
danger, actual jeopardy to life as well as limb ! It is now 
an incontrovertible fact, which rests upon the most ad- LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
7 
vanced judgment, that among the most serious maladies 
which imperil childhood are those finding their roots in 
this very condition of the nervous system, engendered by 
a disordered circulation in the feet, which are most 
remote from the heart, where it is most feeble and 
least able to bear disturbance. 
Thus, the over-sensitive brain becomes seriously 
linked with the feet—the head with “ the understanding.” 
Hereafter abstain from punishing your child as a dunce 
or “incorrigible,” until you find out by competent au- 
thority, that you yourself are not the unconscious cause 
of the sad havoc which is being from day to day perpe- 
trated upon the innocent, physical, mental and moral 
character Learn, if need be, by your own experience, to 
commiserate the helpless dependents upon your sympathy 
and good offices. But even adults need pay tribute no 
longer; for now the worst deformities which arise from the 
prolonged use of ill-fitting shoes may find relief by 
ceasing to fight against nature and her laws, to which 
the McComber Last owes all its acknowledged superior- 
ity, and upon which alone an accurately-fitting boot or 
shoe can be manufactured, which will prove as com- 
fortable at the start as the old one it replaces ; unlike 
the old one, which bruised, mangled and maltreated the 
sensitive foot in that terrible process of “ breaking in.” 
The new shoe receives that abused organ like a tender 
mother, clasps it gently, and deals so kindly with it 
that, whilst soothed into quietude and gradually losing 
that exquisite sensibility which excited it to rebellion, 
it is brought not only into a state of reliable utility, but, 
under this benign and natural treatment, actually regains 
a portion of that form and comeliness to which the ma- 
jority of human feet are strangers. There is no longer 
consistency in ridiculing the ignorant Indian who flat- 8 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
tens his child’s head with a board, nor the heathen 
Chinese who willfully deforms the feet of his offspring 
with bandages of calico, whilst Christian people, in the 
nineteenth century, effect precisely the same result -with 
leather. But, aside from the question of discomfort, the 
aesthetic world is coming to find out that the path to 
beauty lies in the ways of nature ; and not in the strange 
ways of arbitrary fashion, which, on the same principle, 
would cut down all tall men and women, whilst stretch- 
ing out the short ones, by way of bringing about a gen- 
eral style of systematic beauty. Who ever admired 
the awkward attempts of French arbor-culturists to im- 
prove upon nature, by shearing those graceful heads of 
waving leaves into round, oval, square, stiff, ungainly 
masses ? And yet that is just what shoemakers have 
been trying to do with the human feet, under the name 
of “ beautifyingand the only method nature adopts 
to correct such morbid conceptions of beauty is, by the 
infliction of that suffering which inevitably follows the 
combined infraction of her laws. Health and beauty 
must abide together. 
The power and efficacy of the foot is also destroyed or 
largely lessened by the unnatural pressure. If you would 
prove this, let me ask you who have worn the old-fash- 
ioned shoe for a lifetime, to experiment with your toes 
and see how much strength they possess. Of course, they 
should be vigorous and powerful ; they should possess 
muscular force sufficient to support the entire weight 
of the body ; but the wedging, cramping system of 
the old last destroys the power of the toes, by induc- 
ing partial paralysis—for any physician will tell you that 
absolute loss of power may be brought about by long 
continued pressure—renders natural, elegant, graceful 
and unrestrained locomotion impossible, and induces PASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
9 
more suffering than any other error that can be 
named. 
It is safe to say that no single subject is of greater interest 
or importance to civilized human beings than the construc- 
tion of covering for the feet ; for our northern climate, 
with its great extremes of temperature, its diversified sea- 
sons, and its sudden changes, it is necessary that our foot 
clothing should be adapted to a variety of conditions. 
Especially is it desirable that the feet should be protected 
from cold and moisture, and from sudden extreme and 
prolonged changes of temperature, as well as from those 
injuries, which locomotion among harsh and rude sub- 
stances wyould surely occasion. For the protection of the 
feet from violence and climatic exposures, it has been 
found desirable to cover them with the prepared skins of 
animals. This formed the earliest foot-clothing of which 
we have any knowledge, and has been employed in all 
ages, alike by the savage and the civilized. Science has 
not been able to surpass it by the use of any manufac- 
tured fabric. To-day, as in all. the past, “ there’s nothing 
like leather,” from which to fabricate the needed clothing 
for the feet. Its excellences are many; and if it were 
the custom of shoemakers intelligently to mould their 
foot-clothing so that the members which they clothe 
would not be distorted thereby, and to use the best skins, 
properly prepared, nothing more could be desired. But 
the truth is, that very imperfect material is constantly 
employed, and the form into which that material is 
wrought has been, among all civilized nations, radically 
wrong, having very slight reference to the form of the 
foot, and still less to the various duties imposed 
upon it. 
There is no exaggeration in saying, that in all tne 
shoe stores in the great city of New York, and in all the 10 
THE TRUE METHOD OP CONSTRUCTING 
factories of Europe, you will not find one pair of 
boots or shoes, made on the ordinary last, which ought 
to be worn by any human being. They are all wrong, 
radically and totally wrong. It matters not for what 
class, age, sex or condition they are designed, the good 
or had quality of the material entering into them counts 
for nothing; the price asked is of no consequence; the 
rude or the artistic workmanship has no bearing upon the 
subject; the fact that they are worthless, and worse than 
worthless, as clothing for the human feet, remains. They 
may be coarsely made, of worthless material, by ma- 
chinery, and sell for a few shillings; or into their con- 
struction may enter the choicest, most carefully prepared 
and most delicate skins, and the most skillful handiwork, 
and the price may be enormous ; still they are worse than 
valueless, because they are certain to inflict permanent 
evil, if not immediate misery, upon the unfortunate 
wearers. 
From the distortion and deformity induced by the 
abominable shoes of the ordinary construction, wdiich are 
almost in universal use, no age is spared. The torture and 
misery begin in infancy. As soon as the child begins to 
creep, a pair of leather cases are drawn upon the delicate, 
symmetrical and yielding feet. Every mother knows that 
the little boot which she ties upon the baby’s foot is no 
more fitted to it than is the little sock which has preceded 
it. She knows, too, that it ought to be fitted with greater 
accuracy, because the material entering into it is com- 
paratively rigid and unyielding, and is, therefore, capable 
of compressing the delicate structure, while the loose 
knitted sock readily adapts itself to the foot. In the 
case of the sock, the foot adapts it without difficulty; in 
the case of the shoe, the rigid leather distorts the foot to 
its own wretched proportion. The tottering child is ex- LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
11 
pected to learn to walk with its feet thus constrained; 
and thanks to the fact that the poorest and most spongy 
leather is worked up for children. The distortion thus 
commenced is, however, kept up; the foot is bent unna- 
turally; the toes are crammed upon one another; the 
great toe is forced backward upon the smaller ones; an 
enlarged joint is commenced; an incipient bunion is pro- 
jected; a permanent crop of corns is organized; and ample 
provision is thus early made for all the fearful distortion 
and terrible torture to which the race has been subjected 
from the beginning. 
I do not propose to discuss here the subject of club- 
foot, and other deformities which exist at birth. There 
is, however, much testimony to the effect that the suffer- 
ings of the mother, from badly-constructed shoes, have 
entailed life-long deformity upon the child. Thoughtful 
physiologists say that the physical condition of the mo- 
ther is not without marked influence upon the offspring, 
and nothing is more fully established than the doctrine of 
inherited physical and mental tendencies and conditions. 
The feet of all who wear shoes are deformed, and there 
is no exception to this rule. This deformity is towards 
talipes or club feet. The feet of the civilized nations 
may be said to be gradually changing from symmetry to 
deformity; and even now deformity has become the rule, 
and symmetry the exception. 
I should like to preach to all parents a sermon, which 
they would remember. I should like to tell them how 
infinitely more important it is, that their children should 
be provided with properly formed foot-clothing, than that 
their own feet should be intelligently attired. I know of 
no missionary work of a secular character of anything 
like equal importance. To-day the ignorantly shod foot 
of every adult is mal formed, and will never be restored 12 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
to the absolute symmetry of undistorted nature. But for 
the infant who has not inherited deformity, and who has 
never yet been consigned to the distorting vice of igno- 
rantly moulded shoes, there would be hope, if the parents 
would but reflect and reason, and act accordingly. They 
must just give up all idea of learning anything from the 
shoemaker, however fashionable or however high-priced. 
Upon the shape of his last depends, of course, the in- 
terior form of the structure to be worn. His last bears 
only a remote resemblance to the human foot. There is 
not one foot in the universe to which the lasts which have 
been in use since the dawning of civilization are adapted; 
yet the shoemaker solemnly measures the foot, and then 
passes his strap around these blocks of wood, and is con- 
tent if the dimensions correspond. Perhaps he causes 
the customer to stand on a sheet of paper while he out- 
lines the foot with a pencil, and then proceeds to build 
the foot-clothing upon some incoherent idea of his own 
with reference to the outline, and the block of wood, 
which he applies to it with owl-like gravity. He has no 
system ; he is utterly at sea. If he seeks to remedy the 
deformity which he, or some of his ignorant predecessors 
has created, he endeavors to accomplish the result by 
piling leathers upon the wretched last, the only means 
which occurs to his benighted understanding. Nor can 
the knowledge needed be gathered from books. The 
literature of the world is silent upon this topic. To be 
sure, some books have been written to show that the 
world is all at fault in the method of constructing foot- 
clotliing, and some attempts have been made by well 
meaning writers, particularly in England, to effect a re- 
form in this important matter ; but no book has yet been 
issued which reaches the remedy, even in a remote degree. 
Cuts of deformed feet are numerous enough, and pictures LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
13 
of foot-gear which the authors verily suppose will remedy 
the defects may be seen ; but one and all are based upon 
incorrect ideas, and leave the whole subject precisely 
where they found it, in a perfect muddle, with no sound 
philosophy upon which to base reforms, the necessity for 
which is certain to be universally acknowledged. I 
allude to the writings of Camper, Hale, Dowie, Meyer, 
and others, and to an anonymous book entitled, “ The 
Feet,” published by Wells, of New York, in 1871. All 
these works contain considerable curious information, and 
all assert the well-known facts of universal pedal de- 
formity, but not one of them proposes any system of re- 
lief which is based upon scientific truth, and not one 
rises above absurdity in its consideration of the appro- 
priate remedy. Their authors, with a uniformity con- 
sistent with their sublime ignorance of the subject, treat 
the human foot as an unchangeable member, forgetting 
that a foot in repose is a very different thing from a foot 
in motion, and that this essential difference varies with 
the kind and degree of duty imposed upon the marvelous 
structure. In their ignorance they would shoe the yield- 
ing foot of the human being as they would the horny 
and immovable hoof of the horse. 
The so-called “anatomical bootmakers” are groping 
along by guess-work, precisely as are their less preten- 
tious and equally benighted brethren. It is slow work 
to attempt to educate a thoughtless world up to a great 
principle, but it is infinitely more laborious to strive to 
open a crevice for the ingress of a trifle of common 
sense to the brains of unreasoning mechanics. If the 
success of this revolutionary improvement of mine de- 
pended upon the shoemakers, I should give up in de- 
spair. They do not reason or reflect. There is not one 
custom shoemaker in New York to-day who can tell you 14 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
at what point the upper portion of your new shoes, which 
you have not yet forced into some resemblance to the 
form of your feet, will bulge out or overhang the sole on 
the outer side, after you have worn them, until they are 
fairly (so-called) broken in, but really broken over ; and 
yet, if they understood the first rational principle of 
shoemaking, they could tell you with their eyes shut. 
The fact is, if the shoes were properly constructed, they 
would not tread over at all. 
I have said that I did not propose to educate the shoe- 
makers up to my principles. To the public I leave this 
herculean task. I am confident, however, that I can 
convince the public that there is relief in store for them 
from the torture which nobody desires, and that the 
shoemakers will be forced to comprehend what the world 
demands. It is this system of compulsory education that 
I am seeking to advance, and my converts are daily in- 
creasing. I wish I could impress a few important facts 
upon the public mind. The most important of these 
facts is, THAT DEFORMITY OF THE FEET IS UNIVERSAL, 
and will be until young people arc properly shod. A 
foot once crippled can never be fully restored to a nor- 
mal state. It is astonishing to what extent crippled feet 
induce ill temper, peevishness and meanness. Show me 
a man whose feet have been excessively distorted by the 
blundering of shoemakers, and, if he is not an angel, I 
will show you a most uncomfortable companion, a most 
irritable and selfish husband and father, and a most dis- 
agreeable person altogether. He is the worst customer a 
man can have. His whole moral nature seems to partake 
of the distortion of his bodily extremities. It is impossi- 
ble to please him. I do not seek the patronage of this 
class that are entirely beyond redemption, although I do 
not refuse it. I will do all in my power to alleviate their LASTS, BOOTS AND SH,OES. 
15 
sufferings. I prefer, however, that they should give 
their patronage to the class of shoemakers who have de- 
formed their feet and made life miserable for them. I 
prefer to provide clothing for that very large class—the 
moderately deformed. For them there is hope. Espe- 
cially would I seek to begin with children, and thus 
secure for the rising race symmetry and comfort. But 
to convince parents that they are doing their children a 
grievous wrong by allowing them to wear the 
brutal foot coverings in common use, is diffi- 
cult. They think the ill-formed slop goods of the 
shop good enough for the child. Why is this ? How 
shall we account for the thoughtlessness of parents in 
this regard. Would they allow their children to wear 
gloves which deformed their hands and destroyed their 
power and usefulness ? By no means. Yet to save 
trouble and the necessity of reflecting upon the subject, 
they will allow and compel their children to suffer misery, 
and permanent deformity in the way which I have indi- 
cated. It would seem as if the misery which parents 
endure would induce them to secure relief at any sacri- 
fice for their offspring. The public have yet another 
lesson to learn. By their unfair course they compel 
absolute dishonesty on the part of shoemakers. They 
ask comfortable and excellent boots and shoes, made of 
first-class material, for less than the price of the leather 
and journeymen’s wages for making them. The shoe- 
maker is compelled to deceive them into the belief that he 
uses the best French Jodot calf skin in a ten or twelve 
dollar boot—a thing impossible. Articles made by ma- 
chinery, of shoddy material, quite unfit to be worn, are 
palmed off for fine hand-sewed goods, and this because a 
fair price is grudged, And good work and good material 
cannot be supplied for the price paid. In nothing more 16 
THE TRUE METHOD OP CONSTRUCTING 
than in boots and shoes is “the best the cheapest.” If 
poor leather is used the goods are quite worthless. If 
the fit is bad, the pressure and strain exercised by the 
foot materially lessen the wearing capacity. A badly 
formed boot must be a comparatively short-lived boot, 
though not as short-lived as it ought to be, since it ought 
never to have existed at all, and would not, but for the 
ignorance of the public, and the profound stupidity of the 
maker 
The improvements which I have effected in the con- 
struction of the last upon which clothing for the feet is 
to be made, are readily seen by a comparison of the old 
and new methods. The old last is not made upon any 
defined plan or system. It does not resemble the foot, 
nor does it resemble anything else except itself. It is a 
nondescript structure, an anomaly, a monstrosity. It has 
length and thickness ; it is square and round and oval ; 
but it has very little in common with the human foot. 
You may ask a thousand shoemakers why they mould 
shoes over these unphilosopliical blocks of wood, and 
they will all fail to give you a reasonable response. I 
venture to assert, that there never was a shoe made upon 
the old-fashioned last for our grandfathers, or their grand- 
fathers, which presented an interior space shaped like any 
human foot in the world. Centuries have witnessed no 
important changes in this matter. The space may be 
large enough, too large, indeed; but it will surely 
be improperly arranged. Where there should be little 
room, there will be much; where space should exist 
for solid bone, space will be lacking ; where the 
leather should permit muscular expansion of the foot 
in action, there will be compression and contraction ; 
where the fabric should cling closely, it will be loose 
and sloucliy. In a general way, it may be said that LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
17 
the old last is a wedge, and that the shoe moulded 
over it presents a wedge-shaped interior. The feet, 
forced into this wedge-shaped sack of leather, are certain 
to be distorted, while the sack is, in turn, sure to be 
stretched out of its original shape, if the foot has any 
vigor remaining. 
My last is also made of wood, and has dimen- 
sions. In arriving at these dimensions a distinct method 
is employed. The aim is to provide an interior space, 
which the foot shall exactly fill, without restraint 
at any point, except at the waist. Here a close fit 
is indispensable. The foot, clasped securely around the 
waist (the smallest part of the instep) is free at the 
toes to perform all its natural motions with ease. If the 
toes are compressed and the waist left loose, no such 
natural movement is possible, but all grace, ease and 
dignity of motion are lost. 
If you will examine this last, you will discover that 
the tread or sole portion is moved outwardly. This 
change of position for the sole amounts to an average 
of about one inch. The fact is, the world has 
not heretofore walked on the soles of shoes, but upon 
soles and uppers alike. If you will hold up any 
shoe which has been worn long enough to take a 
shape which it did not originally possess, you will 
invariably notice, that the upper leather bulges far be- 
yond the sole on the outside. So great is this tendency 
that, in the case of shoes made of soft and yielding 
material—such as enters into the construction of slippers 
—the upper, striking the ground in walking, will be 
quickly worn through along the outer line of the sole. 
If the sole were absolutely under the bearing surface of 
the foot, this could not occur, for at this point the 
foot spreads when in action, and just here the expansion 18 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
of the transverse arch of the foot must be provided for. 
You can only provide for this expansion by giving the 
expanding foot a sole to rest upon. 
In all other lasts, the thickest portion is placed in the 
centre. Nature does not indicate that it should be in the 
centre; but some barbarous shoemaker in the past centuries 
decided that it made no difference where the thickness was 
placed so that the block of wood was of the proper 
girth. He made his last so, and this connecting link 
between the dark ages of the world and modern civiliza- 
tion has been sacredly preserved. 
My last follows nature’s lines. I drop the outer 
portion of the shank to nature’s model, instead of 
hollowing it up unnaturally. The instep is exactly 
over a line drawn from the centre of the heel to the outer 
portion of the largest toe, naturally, and I carry the 
sole underneath, along the inner line of the large ball, pre- 
cisely as nature has ordained. The large ball thus over- 
hangs the tread, or bearing point of the sole. 
In the construction of shoes upon this last, it 
is as if you stood upon a piece of sole leather, trimmed 
to the outline of the bearings of the foot, and had the 
upper leather elegantly moulded to cover and protect its 
upper portion. This is the whole secret—conformity to 
nature and her laws, In this conformity a solid bone 
requires a comfortable resting space ; a system of mus- 
cles, liable to be drawn upon for active service, have 
room for expansion, without being cramped, without 
occasioning injury to the adjacent parts, and without 
working deformity. The sole, in a word, must be placed 
under the foot and not partly under it, and partly beyond 
its bearing outline. 
I need not further dwell upon the misery which the 
foot suffers through unequal pressure. In its best estate LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
19 
the human foot energetically rebels against the evils 
which it strives so vainly to escape. Its protests are 
uttered in no uncertain language, and it is because of 
these protests that a better system has been studied out. 
There are, however, feet which suffer distortion yet do 
not suffer pain in any great degree. These are the most 
unfortunate cases of all, as no warning cry of agony comes 
to demand relief for the abused feet. The suffering 
which accompanies the maltreatment of our bodies is im- 
portant and salutary. It is the sentinel guarding the 
wonderful human fabric with sleepless vigilance, and 
telegraphing to the brain all unfair encroachments. Let 
no one who has worn boots and shoes from infancy to 
maturity claim that his feet are perfect, simply because 
he has not suffered greatly. It will be found, in such 
cases, that the undue and unequal pressure has so far 
paralyzed the nerves as to render them insensible 
to abuse. The circulation has been impeded, and 
sensitiveness has given place to obtuseness. Instead of 
“breaking in” the shoe, the foot itself has been broken 
in, and in losing its symmetry has lost also its desire and 
its ability to complain. It becomes the worst victim to 
the unholy warfare waged by ignorance, because an un- 
resisting one. The worst foot is the foot which wears 
whatever leathern thing the shoemaker puts upon 
it, and never complains. The best foot is the 
active, vigorous one, which openly rebels—in corns 
and bunions and bad nails and sore places—against the 
cruel treatment. For this there is a certainty of salva- 
tion ; for the other there is little hope. In most cases of 
deadened sensibility it will be found that the trouble has 
been wrought in infancy and in childhood. It is then that 
the superior judgment of the observing parent should be 
exercised, to save the little one from distortion and lasting 20 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
injury. Excessive pressure upon any part deprives it of 
the power of feeling, if applied long enough. It is the duty 
of the parent then to see to it that the child is protected 
in this regard, as distortion begun during the years of 
growth is never wholly recovered from. 
I call upon the public to investigate more fully this all- 
important subject. I know precisely what the result will 
be, because I have observed the effect of a comprehen- 
sion of the magnitude of my improvements by thousands 
of highly intelligent persons. The system speaks for 
itself ; it is only necessary for the seeker of knowdedge to 
place himself in a position to hear and understand. I 
have been striving after absolute perfection in this direc- 
tion for more than thirty years. The number of my 
converts and customers lead me to believe that it has been 
attained. I do not know of one among them all who would 
be willing to forego the comfort already experienced. 
My system for clothing the feet is widely admitted to 
be a boon to humanity, and only needs examination and 
use to find universal appreciation and adoption. It has 
secured the endorsement of the most competent authority, 
as the best and only successful attempt to perfect boots 
and shoes for human feet, in accordance with those natural 
laws upon which they are constructed. It is, therefore, 
confidently and earnestly commended to the attention of 
all intelligent and rational persons, wrho value their own 
comfort, with the certain assurance that personal ex- 
perience of its inestimable blessings will urge them to ex- 
tend its usefulness among their suffering fellow-creatures. 
Let me ask your attention to some diagrams which I 
have prepared, in order to exemplify more clearly the ad- 
vantages of my system. In No. 1,1 show you the outline of 
the bottom of a natural, undistorted human foot, indicated 
by the inner unbroken line. Outside of this you will LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
21 
No. 1. 
observe a dotted line. This represents the sole of my 
last. The line extending from A to A, I call the base 
line. A curious fact here appears. If you take a perfect 
human foot (a rare thing to find) and draw a line from 
the inner side of the bearing of the heel, touching the bear- 
ing of the ball or large joint of the great toe, the line will 
be found to touch that toe throughout its entire length 
until you reach the point where it begins to round off 
at the nail. But as the natural position of the great 
toe, without the stocking on, is to stand off from 
the second toe, from three-eights to one-half inch 
and as it involves an unnecessary space between i 
No. 2. 
and the second toe—as will be seen by diagram No. 2— 
I slightly swing the great toe over, as it would be 
when the stocking is on, so that it nearly touches 
its fellow without being compressed. If I were to allow 
for this useless space in making my last, I should 
provide considerable waste room and waste leather, be- 
sides giving a very awkward appearance to the shoe. I 
do not force the great toe beyond the natural swing of 22 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
the joints ; I merely take advantage of that natural swing to 
carry the toe towards its nearest neighbor. Some writers 
have urged that the great toe must be allowed to stand off 
from the second toe, as in infancy, wiien the toes are 
sprawling in all possible directions. This is a fallacy. 
At maturity the muscular and bony structures are found to 
have grown firm, the tendons and ligaments are solidi- 
fied, and the entire foot has become as it were 
consolidated. The toes cannot be pinched or com- 
pressed, without inducing misery and an awkward gait; 
but they can be placed in direct and gentle apposition or 
approximation to each other without injury to them- 
selves, without obstruction to the natural movements of 
the body, and without in any degree lessening their 
powers of usefulness. 
I now draw a second line, extending, as will be noticed, 
from B to B. This runs exactly parallel with the line ex- 
tending along the inner side of the foot, and equi-distant 
from it the width of the heel. This I call the sole line. 
You will observe that this line leaves out more than two of 
the toes, and nearly one-third of the width of the foot. 
In making my last the sole is extended outward, or, so to 
speak, is pushed along sideways under the foot all the 
way from the heel to the toe, thus placing sufficient bear- 
ing surface beyond the sole line for the foot when in action. 
This, in all cases, provides width on the outside for the 
spread of the foot, which is bound to occur, as the 
expansion of the transverse arch of the foot, from the 
nature of the structure, when standing or walking, 
must be provided for; and if no provision is made, 
it will take place against the upper leather, and induce in- 
finite suffering; corns will come on the outside of the 
small toe, or between the toes, and every step will add 
to the deformity. LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
23 
In the old last no provision whatever has been made 
for this expansion—no allowance for the use of the mus- 
cles of the foot—while at the same time, a natural foot, 
the transverse arch of which has not been weakened or 
destroyed by the old shoe, will spread three times as much 
in the old shoe as in shoes made on my system, because 
the principal weight of the body is thrown on the out- 
side ball, the weakest part of the foot, expanding it three 
times beyond its natural tension—first reducing the natural 
arch to a flat surface, and then actually reversing the 
arch; whilst nature did not intend that the outside ball 
should take any considerable weight, but that the heel 
and inside ball should take nearly the whole, and the outside 
ball just enough to steady and balance the body and keep 
it from falling over. Hence the reason why shoes made 
on my system look much smaller and narrower than the 
old, because the weight is thrown upon the ball inside 
of the arch, which is firm, and abundantly capable of sus- 
taining the weight. 
Before I proceed to tell you how I accomplish this 
essential condition,without making my shoe look as broad 
and crooked and awkward as the so-called anatomical 
shoemakers in their nondescript concerns, I will call 
your attention to a diagonal line extending from C to A. 
This begins in the centre of the heel and stops at a junc- 
tion with the base line at the great toe. This I call the 
instep line, because exactly over this line hangs the instep 
cone, or highest portion of the last, as it is also the highest 
and thickest part of the foot all the way down the instep 
to the end of the great toe. This instep is shown in 
another diagram. You would naturally conclude at first 
sight that a shoe built out an inch or two beyond the 
centre of the instep line in the old last would be wide 
and ungainly. On this point I will simply explain, that 24 
THE TRUE METHOD OP CONSTRUCTING 
the sole or tread, or bearing surface of my last, is no 
wider than that of the old-fashioned kind ; it is merely 
pushed sideways under the foot. I cut it under, so to 
speak, on the inside; that is to say, I build the last out 
on the inside of the instep and ball so that it shall over- 
hang the sole. Several of the diagrams show this peculi- 
arity. I thus form a generous space for this hard, thick 
abutment of the arch. I give the unyielding part of the 
structure a comfortable resting place, so that it is not be- 
ing forced, and in its turn forcing the upper leather to 
assume a position beyond the limits of the sole on the 
outside. The bearing surface, or tread, or sole, is thus 
preserved of fair width, and is placed just where the 
weight comes, w7hilst freedom of action, weight and 
motion is thus preserved. As a result upon the future action, 
the upper leather does not tread over the sole, as is 
the case with the old fashioned shoes. A glance at dia- 
grams 3 and 4 will show you what I mean. No. 3 is 
made from a photograph of a boot constructed on an ordi- 
nary last, and had been worn until broken in. The outer 
ball, of course, extends beyond the sole. The toes do not; 
but this is only because they cannot, as they are held in their 
cramped position by strong leather. If that leather 
were cut away, you would discover two toes and a 
half instantly protruding beyond the edge of that 
sole. But the outer ball has forced the upper 
leather over the sole, and nobody can tell how 
fearfully the poor foot has suffered in the operation. 
No, 3, LASTS, LOOTS AND SHOES. 
25 
No. 4 shows you how the sole should look after 
months of wear; there should be no bulging or treading 
down of the upper leather outwardly. The sole should 
still be where it was first placed, under the bearing of the 
foot. 
No. 4. 
Referring you again to diagram No. 2, I desire to say 
that it represents a natural foot, with the groined arch 
unbroken and the toes spread out. It will be noticed 
that the actual bearing surface is quite narrow, except at 
the toe and heel. The heel, and the inner ball, with its 
great-toe continuation, are the chief points of contact, and 
these sustain the body’s weight. If the double arches of 
the foot were broken down, as they often are from the effect 
of bad clothing, the sole would more ready resemble the 
surface of diagram No. 1—a flat, unarched structure. 
The lighter portions of diagram No. 2 show the rounded 
outline of the pads, which protect the muscular and bony 
structures from the effect of concussion. If the toes 
shown in diagram No 2 were brought into gentle opposi- 
tion to each other, as they would be were a stocking 
drawn on the foot, the sole of a shoe cut according to the 
dotted lines of diagram No. 1 would be found to cover 
perfectly the bearing surfaces. 
No. 5. 26 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
Here (No. 5) is a view of the sole of my last, with the 
inner overhanging ball. It will be found to be symmetri- 
cal and elegant in appearance. The outline of its sole 
is the outline of Fig. 1. 
No. 6. 
This is a top view of my last. You will notice the 
instep following the line from the centre of the heel to 
the outside of the great toe, thus placing the thickest part 
of the last just where the human foot is thickest. If you 
say this last looks crooked, you must remember that you 
are looking at the top now, which has a crooked appear- 
ance on account of the overhanging ball. You must look 
again at the sole, which you will notice is less crooked 
than most of the blocks of wood which shoes have here- 
tofore been made over. If you say that this ball is more 
prominent and overhangs more than the natural foot, I 
must tell you that this is necessary, in order to provide 
for the natural contraction of the upper leather—the ten- 
dency to draw back after the last is withdrawn and the 
tension released. After numerous exact reproductions 
of the foot, with the same tendency on its part to press 
over toward the outer side, I discovered that I must leave 
an excess of wood on my last at this overhanging point 
of the large ball. This provided a spacious resting-place 
for the more prominent parts of the foot and secured an 
even tread upon the sole, without the outer bulging of 
the upper. This overhanging prominence of the inner ball LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
27 
—which is an essential part of my invention—is also shown 
in the following diagrams, Nos. 7 and 8 : 
No. 7. 
No. 8. 
In the next diagram (No. 9), which is an outside view of 
the last, we are shown the sole of the shank, or outer mar- 
gin of the hollow of the foot, nearly level with the 
No. 9. 
sole of the outer ball and heel, as is the case in the 
human foot. The ordinary last makes no account of this 
anatomical fact, but hollows the last at this point, and 
thus secures uncomfortable pressure from the shoe, in a 
spot where pressure should be but light. If you wet the 
bottom of your foot and then stand on dry paper, you 
will notice that the shank, or outer portion of the hollow 
of the foot, leaves a slight mark, while the inner surface, 
the arch, does not touch unless your foot is broken down. 
This will convince you that the last should be made hol- 
low, or arched on the inside, and should be left nearly 
flat on the outside. 28 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
No. 10. 
An inspection of this diagram (No. 10) shows you the 
outward extension of the last to provide for the spread of 
the foot. Here you are looking directly at the back of 
the heel ; but beyond it is shown the outer ball and the 
space provided for the smaller toes, which, in the old last, 
are not taken into account, and therefore are left 
utterly unprovided for. There is absolutely no method 
of securing comfortable shoes on the old last, except by 
submitting to a surgical operation for the removal of the 
two smaller toes and about one-third of the thinnest por- 
tion of the foot. Not only is no place provided for them 
in the marvelous wisdom of the average last-maker, but 
the added injustice is done them of forcing the larger 
toes over upon them by reason of a lack of suitable space 
for the more powerful neighbors. 
No. 11. LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
29 
The diagram here shown (No. 11) exhibits the foot in 
its abominable leathern cell, projecting on the outside far 
beyond the edge of the sole, with the small toes bent in- 
ward upon themselves, like the phalanges of a partly 
closed hand, and with the great toe distorted out of all 
human shape. It is not an anomalous toe, by any means. 
It is taken from life, and is a common type of distortion. 
Here (Ho. 12) the same foot is seen uncovered. The 
great toe has been swung, by the gradual, unceasing 
pressure of leather, nearly two inches out of its true line. 
As it has moved, the space left in the joint has gradually 
filled with osseous material, and the great, unsightly pro- 
truding and permanent joint is the result. What misery 
all this deformity announces ! What days of agony it 
asserts ! What torture, which might readily have been 
dispensed with, had the better system prevailed. 
A brief description of the method which I adopt in 
constructing a last to fit the foot will, perhaps, prove in- 
teresting. This is best shown by reference to the accom- 
panying diagram (No. 13). 
No. 12. 30 
THE TRUE METHOD OP CONSTRUCTING 
No. 13. 
The person to be measured stands upon paper, with bare 
feet. Their outlines are then traced with a pencil, as shown 
in the first diagram. Aline is now drawn from the inside 
bearing of the heel to the inside bearing of the ball, through 
to the end of the great toe. A parallel line is next drawn 
upon the other side, which passes through the third toe, 
the distance between the two being determined by the 
width of the heel, as shown in diagram No. 1. In this 
way the exact position of the instep, the shank, the ball, 
the toes, the play of the muscles, and the natural spring 
and spread of the foot, are accurately ascertained. 
The location of the instep relative to the length of the 
foot is determined mainly by measurement. A glance at 
any foot not deformed, however, will show that it is 
never located in the centre of the foot, but is invariably 
upon the inside of the centre line. From these diagrams, 
and the correct measurements taken (the lines on the 
diagram being followed), the Last is constructed; and 
when thus made in strict accordance with the natural 
form of the foot, it will be found to be in practice far LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
31 
preferable to any other. Boots and Shoes made upon it 
will accurately and comfortably fit the feet, and will not 
tread over, as the foot is held squarely upon the sole. 
The boots also made upon this Last make a better ap- 
pearance than the ordinary ones, as they retain their 
proper shape until worn out. Here are reproductions 32 
THE TREE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
by photograph of a pair of ladies’ McCoinber boots 
which had been worn more than three months. It will 
be seen that the upper leather does not bulge out and 
overhang the sole, as is always the case with boots made 
on the common last. 
The attention with which my remarks have been re- 
ceived convinces me that the subject is not without interest 
to you. Of its importance, all thoughtful persons must 
bear me witness. If ignorance lias brought misery to all 
mankind, it is important that the power so to abuse and 
torment and deform shall cease. It will cease whan the 
people are educated to a knowledge of the old errors, and 
the nature of the reform. To this end I labor, and in 
this labor I ask your co-operation. 
It is within my province to oiler suggestions for the 
proper care of boots and shoes. The leather may he so 
preserved as to endure for a long period, and remain soft 
and pliable. Oil applied to leather quickly rots it. The 
best French calfskins are Jodot; tallow is the only oily 
ingredient used in finishing and dressing these skins. I 
would recommend the occasional use of a little suet, 
Avliich can be rubbed (cold) upon the surface of the 
leather; the oil from the suet is absorbed into the pores 
of the skin, and thus the leather is not only kept pliable 
but the strength of its fibres is preserved. The ammonia 
of the insensible perspiration of the foot unites with the 
oily ingredient in the leather and turns it into soap, which 
is readily soluble in water, and the leather becomes brittle. 
In the excessive use of paste blacking a thick scaly cover- 
ing is formed on the surface of the upper, which has also 
the effect to decay the leather and render it brittle and 
liable to crack. These errors guarded against, and rub- 
bers avoided, and boots and shoes will be found to wear 
much longer than at present. I.ASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
33 
I desire to inform tlie public that I have largely in- 
creased my facilities for the production of my Patent Boots 
and Shoes and Lasts, for all ages, sexes and conditions, 
having united with me a gentleman of large experience 
in the business, and with capital ample for all demands. 
The firm known as Joel McComber & Co. will make to 
order McComber’s Patent Boots and Shoes and Patent Lasts, 
in every style. We use only choice material and employ 
none but superior workmen, who have been carefully 
educated up to our improved system. We can send Boots 
or Shoes by mail or express, which will never fail to fit 
if the measure is properly taken. If the measure is not 
right, and the goods are not the proper size, they may be 
returned by paying costs of conveyance both ways, and 
others will be forwarded until perfect satisfaction is 
secured. We forward our Patent Lasts in the same 
manner and on the same conditions. Persons sending 
measures and ordering Lasts will find it to their interest 
to have the first pair of Boots or Shoes made by us, to 
prove or test the Lasts, as shoemakers not accus- 
tomed to them are liable to make the Boot wrong by not 
working according to the Last, and by not Lasting it pro- 
perly. We accompany the Lasts with patterns for the 
uppers of boots or shoes, as the ordinary patterns will 
not answer. 
Our new store, on Union Square, directly opposite the 
Washington equestrian statue, is very centrally and con- 
veniently situated, and is under the immediate supervision 
of Mr. Joel McComber, the inventor of the system. He 
invites all persons, whether in the Shoe Trade or out of 
it, to call on him and investigate its merits. 
We keep no goods except such as are constructed ac- 
A CARD. 34 
THE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
cording to McComber’s Patent method. The work which 
we make is exclusively hand-sewed, and of the costliest 
and finest stock. We, however, keep machine-sewed 
work, which costs less. Our $16 Men’s Boots are superior 
to the best made by some makers in New York for $22. 
They contain the finest Jodot French Calf upper and the 
best Bend sole. The material is the best and the most 
costly in the world, and the Boots which our skilled work- 
men construct from it, accoraing to our system, are un- 
equaled in elegance and durability in any country. As 
for comfort, their wearers bear earnest testimony that 
they stand alone and unequaled. We mail McComber’s 
descriptive pamphlets free. Our terms for all goods are 
cash, to accompany the order. We cannot send C. O. D. 
Respectfully yours, Joel McCcmber & Co. 
P. S.—See directions for measuring the feet, and price 
lists. Terms to manufacturers and shoemakers for our 
Patent Lasts will be sent on application. 
The editor and publishers of the well-known popular 
magazine, “ Hall’s Journal of Health,” kindly authorize us 
to refer all persons who desire the judgment of competent 
and disinterested medical men to them. They have care- 
fully investigated our system, and consent to answer such 
letters of inquiry concerning it as may reach them, ad- 
dressed to “ Hall’s Journal of Health,” 137 Eighth Street, 
New York. They will also bear testimony to the honor- 
able manner in which we conduct our business. 
Directions for Taking Measures for Me Comber's Patent Boots 
and Shoes and Patent Lasts. 
1st. After removing shoes and stockings stand erect 
upon a sheet of paper, hearing equally upon both feet, 35 
LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
and draw a well-sharpened pencil around the foot, being 
careful to keep close to the bearing portions of the foot— 
in other words, draw a line close to that portion of the 
foot w hich comes in contact with the floor; be very careful 
not to make the draft any wider or longer than the foot. 
Mark and measure both feet 
2nd. Place the stockings upon the feet and cross the 
legs, allowing the foot to be measured to hang naturally, 
and then with a tape measure take the seven mea- 
surements shown in the above illustration, Measure ex- 
actly upon the lines shown, and place the result in inches 
and fractions. Allow the toes to hang during this 
measurement. 
Notice.—If any bunions or other protuberances are 
upon the feet, mark their exact size upon the proper place 
in the diagram. If any points are particularly tender, 
mark and describe their location 36 
THE TRUE METHOD OP CONSTRUCTING 
PRICE JUST. 
Lasts for Ladies or Gentlemen, to fit the feet, $5 per pair. 
Men’s Calf Boots, our own make, Jodot. - $16 00 
“ Button Boats “ - 13 00 
“ Congress Boots “* - 12 00 
“ Balmorals “ - 12 00 
“ Strap or Oxford Tie Shoes “ - 10 00 
Ladies’ French Kid Button, Hand-sewed, our own 
make $10 00 
“ Pebble Goat “ “ - 9 00 
“ Serge Fox “ “ - 9 00 
“ “ Plain “ “ 8 00 
We also keep a line of goods not our own make which 
we will sell at lower prices. 
NOTICE. 
We desire to call public attention to the fact, that many 
dealers, in various parts of the country, who decry the 
McComber Patent Last, are yet falsely claiming to keep 
in stock goods made upon it. It is proper to state, that 
by a legal and binding obligation, all goods made on Mc- 
Comber’s Patent Last must be plainly stamped with the 
following circular device : 
It is a felony to so stamp goods not made on Mc- 
Comber’s Patent Last, and a breach of contract, to omit it LASTS, BOOTS AND SHOES. 
37 
from goods which are entitled to it. But no person or 
firm authorized to use will omit its use, as the 
demand for goods bearing tMk .stamp is at present greater 
than can be supplied. With new converts constantly 
occurring among manufacturers, and growing facilities, it 
is believed that the time is not remote when the demands 
of all will be promptly met. 
CERTIFICATES. 
Letter from Daniel Ayres, M. D., LL.D., Professor of Clinical 
Surgery in Long Island College Hospital. 
Brooklyn, April’ 16, 1875. 
Joel McComber, Esq.—Dear Sir: Among my most unpleasant 
physical experiences has always been the ordeal of “ being fitted” 
to a . new pair of boots or shoes. Notwithstanding unusually 
careful efforts to secure skill in this matter, and irrespective of 
the fancy prices which such “high art” is sure to demand, the 
Anal result has, nevertheless, been thesame—to wit: much suffer- 
ing (or at best only reaching a tolerable comfort) and never 
entire satisfaction—until your inventive genius led me to hope for 
better results, and induced me to make a minute study of the 
principles upon which your “ patent last” is constructed, and to 
compare them with the anatomical structure and physiological 
working of the human foot. So perfectly have you caughtund 
applied the principles involved, that it now seems as though the 
whole attention of “ last makers ” in past ages had been given to 
the problem of “ how not to achieve” the object in view. I am 
thoroughly convinced that you are entitled to the credit of being 
the first to demonstrate how it can be done, and that, too, effec- 
tually. This conclusion has been reached after watchful obser- 
vations of many persons of both sexes, whose past experience 
was very similar to my own, and who, after the trial of boots and 
shoes madeon your lasts, have not only assured me of their en- 
tire freedom from all discomfort, but that living and moving had 
become an enjoyment to which they had formerly been strangers. 
Yet to every individual personal experience must always carry the 
stronger conviction, and my own has realized far more than 1 w as 
led to anticipate from the early study of your invention. I, too, 
can now affirm that the new shoes maybe a “luxury” and no 
longer “the bane” of life; and, therefore, cheerfully give it as 
my opinion that any person using shoes, properly made upon 38 
your lasts, need have as little uneasiness as in the wearing of per- 
fect fitting kid gloves. 
After observing so much physical suffering, annoyance, bad 
temper, loss of time, and ill health from this source, the best I 
can do is to congratulate both the public and yourself that you 
can be of such mutual assistance and benefit to each other. 
Yours respectfully, Daniel Ayres, M. I). 
CERTIFICATES. 
From the well-known Dr. W. W. Hall, editor of “ Hall's Journal 
of Health." 
“ As the editor of Hall's Journal of Health, my attention was 
drawn several years ago to Mr. Joel McComber’s investigation 
into the true anatomy and physiology of the human foot, with a 
view to furnish shoes not only beautiful, easy fitting and elegant 
looking, but so natural in their shape that those who wear them in 
early youth can never have corns, bunions, and other deformities; 
while those who are thus afflicted will find, that by wearing the 
McComber boot or shoe, the steady tendency is for the foot to 
resume its natural shape, and for the deformities to be gradually 
corrected, and in very many cases entirely removed—as personal 
experience in our own household has demonstrated. The views 
embraced in Mr. McComber’s lecture before the American Insti- 
tute are strictly physiological, and the advantages resulting from 
having the feet free from all unnatural conditions in the direction 
of walking, and promoting the health, happiness and comfort of 
the individual, are not overstated.” 
W. W. Hall, M. D., etc. 
Newton, Mass., April 24, 1874. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: This certifies that I have 
examined Mr. McComber’s last with pleasure and satisfaction, its 
principle being such as especially recommends it to the physician 
and physiologist, as, indeed, I should suppose, to the common 
sense of everybody. 
The idea which serves as the basis of its construction, that of 
shaping the shoe to the foot, instead of shaping the foot to the 
shoe, is so simple and sensible that I wonder some one has not 
put it in practice long ago. 
Shoes which I have had made for myself on this last fit exactly 
on first trial, and do not have to be “Broken In,” there being 
no pinching or pushing aside one way or the other, but the 
pressure being equable. Such a shoe is like a first quality kid 
glove of proper size, and can be worn about as comfortably the 
first day as the fourth week. 
Henry M. Field, M. D., 
Prof. Mat., Med. and Theraup., Dartmouth Med. Col. CERTIFICATES. 
39 
Dansville, Livingston Co., N. Y. 
Mr. Joel McComber—My Dear Sir : I wish to express to you 
the high appreciation I have of the service you have done hu- 
manity in giving to it the most scientific style of boot in relation 
to the foot, anatomically considered, I have ever seen. 
So comfortable from the first moment, and always so easy, 
nothing could induce me to return to the ordinary style. 
Yours very truly, Dr. James H. Jackson. 
23 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, April 15, 1875. 
Joel McComber—Dear Sir: The boots you made for me upon 
your “patent last” are entirely satisfactory. They have already 
afforded me very great relief, and I desire to recommend any one 
who has suffered from deformed or tender feet, or who wishes to 
avoid such suffering, to try boots made upon your lasts. 
Very respectfully yours, Chas. Corey, M. D. 
203 Broadway, New York, April 27,1875. 
Mr. J. McComber—Lear Sir: In justice to you I would say, 
the comfort I take with my new shoes compels me to express my 
great satisfaction. After many years of suffering, as many 
others have, I was induced by my 6on (who is much pleased with 
the shoes you made for him) to find your store on Union Square. 
I struggled with the prejudices of habit against new theories 
or inventions, but I have yielded to what has reached my reason ; 
and the shoes made from your patent last, after your peculiar 
way or method of fitting the foot, has just begun to enable me to 
take comfort where I have so long suffered. 
Yours respectfully, S. W. C. White. 
744 Broadway, New York, May 21, 1875. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: After many unsuccessful 
attempts to get hoots that would afford me comfort, I was in- 
duced to have a pair made on your Patent Last. These I have 
worn constantly for four months with entire satisfaction. I 
therefore take pleasure in recommending your Last, not only to 
those suffering from tender feet, hut to all who desire a perfectly 
comfortable boot. I could not, after my experience, be induced 
to use any other. Yours respectfully/ Wm. W. Wyman. 
39 West 26th Street, May 19, 1875. 
Joel McComber—Sir: It gives me pleasure to say the hoots 
you made for me are the most easy and pleasant and agreeable 
hoots I have ever worn. Truly yours, Sallie Holley. 40 
CERTIFICATES. 
289 Hicks St., Brooklyn, 1874. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: I would cheerfully add my 
testimony to numerous others, that the boots and shoes manufac- 
tured by you, upon the McComber patent last, are not only ele- 
gant in style, but as easy and comfortable as if moulded to the 
ieet. Since I purchased the first pair, nearly two years since, I 
have worn none others, and, while these can be obtained, shall 
never torture my feet by ill-fitting boots. Very truly, 
Evely'n K. Johnson. 
Livingston St., Brooklyn. 
Mr. Joel McComber— Dear Sir: During the past year I have 
worn shoes made on McComber’s last, and they have given me 
entire satisfaction in point of ease and durability. 
Mrs. S. E. Rice. 
New York, June 9, 1874. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: The shoes made for me on 
the McComber patent lasts promise well. The habit of running 
down has been overcome. My step is firmer and more easy. As 
to shape and comfort, the shoe is satisfactory. 
Chas. Wager Hull. 
No. 8 Warren Street, N. Y., June 11, 1874. 
Mr. Joel McComber- Dear Sir: I take great pleasure in in- 
forming you of the fact that I am very much pleased with the 
boots made on the McComber lasts. I have worn nothing else 
for the last two years, and do not intend to for years to come. I 
feel perfectly safe in recommending them to others. I think you 
are a public benefactor, and wish you great success. 
Yours truly, W. S. Huntington. 
82 Broadway, New York, April 23,1875. 
This is to certify that I have been wearing boots manufactured 
by Joel McComber, on his patent lasts, and freely and cheerfully 
say that I have never enjoyed such comfort with my feet. In my 
opinion Mr. McComber’s theory is perfect. 
Joseph J. Cornell. 
150 Broadway, New York, April 24, 1875. 
To Joel McComber, Esq.—Dear Sir: I take pleasure in testi- 
fying to the comfort and satisfaction my whole family have taken 
in wearing the shoes made on your patent lasts. We will now 
have nothing else. Very truly, Geo. M. Coit. CERTIFICATES. 
41 
41 West 26th Street, May 1, 1875. 
I take great pleasure in saying that Mr. McComber’s boots are 
the most satisfactory of any which I have ever Avorn. Until I 
found them I never knew what comfort Avas with new boots. I 
put on those made by Mr. McComber and Avalk at once without 
suffering or annoyance. I am sure they would be worn by every- 
body if there excellencies were generally understood. 
Mrs. Kate Rathbone. 
203 Broadway, N. Y., April 28, 1875. 
Mr. McComber has made a pair of lasts and shoes for me, and 
I have had demonstrated to my comfortable satisfaction that his 
theory is correct. So long as I Avear boots and shoes they shall 
be made only on the “ McComber last." 
G. C. White, Jr. 
Johnstown, N. Y., May 21, 1875. 
Mr. McComber—Dear Sir: After having worn a pair of your 
boots made upon the McComber Patent Last, I must say that they 
are the most comfortable boots I have ever avoid, and I shall 
hereafter wear no other kind. J. II. Decker. 
Hickman, Ky., May 20, 1875. 
Joel McComber & Co.—Dear Sirs: Yours of the 15th inst. 
came duly to hand. I received the boots all right by express, 
and am very much pleased with them. Yours truly, 
C. H. Hubbard. 
New York, Jfay 11, 1875. 
Mr. J. McComber—Dear Sir: Having worn two pair of boots 
made on your lasts, I cheerfully testify to the satisfaction received. 
Your boots needed no “friend” to break them in—have worn 
squarely and done excellent service. I can recommend them 
honestly. Very truly, G. S. Adams. 
New York, May 10, 1875. 
Mr. .Joel McComber—Dear Sir: Wo have received and tried 
the shoes made by you for us on your “ patent last.” They are 
“ a perfect fit,” and prove to our satisfaction that your last is con- 
structed on the true principle, and is far better than those hitherto 
in use. We hope and expect that it will soon be generally adopt- 
ed. We cordially recommend it to the public. 
Rev. Dr. D. B. Coe, 
Rev. Dr. II. M, Stores, 42 
50 Douglass Street, Brooklyn, April 15, 1875. 
My Dear Mr. McComber.—The shoes you made for my son 
and daughter are exactly the fit; snug, and at the same time 
easy, and the best shoe ever in my family. I have carefully ex- 
amined the McComber last and shoes, and I must 6ay that, in 
form and comeliness and comfort, your principle meets a long 
desired want. I am impatient to see these shoes on every member 
of my family, and I hope we may always have these shoes, and 
no others. 
Wishing you adequate rewards for your long study and labors 
in this direction, I am, very truly, your friend, 
Rev. R. O. Page. 
CERTIFICATES. 
136 Broadway, New York, April 15, 1875. 
Mr. McComber—I take pleasure in testifying to the comfort 
I have derived from wearing boots made on your patent last. I 
never knew what it was to be able to put on a new pair of boots 
and wear them right along (without any breaking in process) till 
I tried your last. The utility of your invention cannot be doubted, 
and for comfort and neatness I do not think that boots made on 
your last can be equalled by any other make. 
James M. McLaren. 
131 Mercer St., New York, July 7th, 1875. 
Mr. McComber.—It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge 
the great value I place on your patent boots since wearing 
them!! I have never had anything so near what a man wants as 
the pair I now wear. Yours, 
A. .L. Thomas. 
137 Eighth St., New York, July 8th, 1875. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: Not having Jiad time to pro- 
cure a pair of boots to be made upon the lasts you delivered to 
me in February last, before sailing for Liverpool, I carried the 
lasts to London and directed a celebrated bootmaker in Oxford 
street to make me a pair of boots upon them. He did so, and I 
began to wear them on the very day they were finished. They 
were not only perfectly comfortable as walking boots, but I found, 
in a very few days, that sensitive spots upon my feet, which had 
been troublesome after a long walk in other boots, w ere not only 
no longer sensitive but had absolutely been cured. I take great 
pleasure in saying, that I shall hereafter have all my boots made 
upon your last. I cannot imagine how any one who has expe- 
rienced the comfort your boots afford can consent to wear any 
others. M. Gibbs. CERTIFICATES. 
43 
316 W. 34tii St. i Iew York, June 3rd, 1875. 
Mr. Joel McComrer—Dear Sir: i'he shoes you made for me 
on your patent last have given me entire satisfaction—in fact I 
never before had so much comfort with a new pair of shoes. 
1 will never again be without two pair. You may therefore make 
for me one pair more, just like the others, and send them to me 
with your bill. I consider your patent a very decided improve- 
ment on the old style of boots and shoes. Yours truly, 
L. Ringgold Sharp. 
From Hon. Frank Flller, formerly Governor of Utah, 137 Eighth 
Street, New York. 
1 have been seeking for perfect boots for a quarter of a century, 
and have patronized all the so-called “improvements” to be 
found. Each one lias been more incorrect in principle, and more 
uncomfortable in practical use, than the other; but I find in 
McComber’s system what seems to me to be the true principle. 
I do not see how the tenderest foot can be distorted by a boot 
made upon his last, or would I believe serious discomfort to be 
possible under his method. For myself, I shall continue to clothe 
my feet with his $16 boots just as long as’I am able to pay for 
them. I would say the same if his price was $100 a pair. I say 
this most cheerfully, and I have not less than three reasons for 
saying it—first, because they are the handsomest boots I ever 
wore ; second, because they are the most comfortable; and, third, 
because one pair of them will outwear two or three pairs of any 
other make. Frank Fuller. 
From L. Bajlt, the well-known leather dealer, Spruce and 
187 and 189 William Streets, New York. 
If the pedestrian, Weston, had worn a pair of shoes made on 
McComber’s patent lasts, he could have walked the tive hundred 
miles on time, and without chafing his feet. I have had my boots 
and shoes made for many years by a hoot and shoemaker whose 
name has been before the New York public for fifty years, and at 
the time of his death he was the oldest shoemaker in the city; 
but with all his experience, never made me a pair of boots or 
shoes in which I walked as comfortably (even after the breaking 
in, as it is commonly called among shoemakers) as I have walked 
from the first hour t put a boot or shoe upon my feet made upon 
the MeComber last. I have a good platform of sole to stand 
upon, which remains under the bearings of the foot, and the 
uppe. leather presses the foot evenly on every part without 
straining the leather, as well as without compression or friction 
upon the foot. They are as good shape after being worn six 
months as after having worn them one day. L. Baily, 44 
CERTIFICATES. 
From E. H. Gibbs, M.D., of JFall's Journal of Health, 137 Kujhth 
Street, New York. 
Joel McCombcr’s patent boots and shoes must commend them- 
selves to every anatomist who will carefully study their construc- 
tion with reference to the human foot, and the duties which are 
imposed upon it. He is clearly very far in advance of all others 
in this important specialty. His boots are entirely comfortable 
from the first hour, and are honestly made of only choice ma- 
terials. They are at once the most symmetrical, the most com- 
fortable, and the cheapest foot-clothing to be found. 
E. II. Gibbs. 
Brooklyn, Nov. 24tli, 1874. 
From a somewhat extended observation of deformed and ten- 
der feet, and of boots and shoes as they are ordinarily made, it is 
apparent that deformed feet (i. e., a departure from the normal 
healthy foot) are very common, and that the coverings usually 
made fail to correct; and serve only to increase tenderness and 
deformity. 
What is needed are shoes fitted to the natural foot. This work 
I believe the McComher last is doing, and in that belief I recom- 
mend it as the only practical application of correct principles. 
Jerome Walker, M. D. 
Letter from Du. II. C. Vogell. 
Coi.d Spring, L. I., June 1, 1874. 
F. Edwards, Esq.—Dear Dir: I am liappy lo say that the shoes 
made upon the last patented by Joel McCoinber are a perfect fit, 
and far exceed my expectation in the comfort with which the last 
is made to support the feet. 1 never had a new hoot or shoe be- 
fore that did not cause a dread of the breaking-in. In the shoes 
made on the McComher lasts they need no breaking-in, but yield 
comfort the moment the foot is placed in them. " It is strange, 
indeed, that years of agony have been suffered to exist so long 
without some successful attempt to remedy it. The secret dis- 
closed in the McComher last is, that the shoe is made to fit the 
foot, instead of making the foot to fit the shoe. I am glad, my 
old friend, you have secured its use, and if your customers do not 
rise up and call you blessed, I shall be greatly disappointed. 
Yours truly, II. C, Vogell, CERTIFICATES. 
45 
McComuer’s Patent Lasts and Patent Boots and Shoes. 
1i'xtrnct from “ Trail's Medical Adviser ” for January, 1875. 
W. W. Hall, A.M., M.D., Editor. 
Few of our readers are aware of the importance attached to this 
new invention, the introduction of which so happily meets the 
wants and necessities of all classes and ages in society. For cen- 
turies, in fact from the first commencement in the manufacture 
of boots and shoes, the wish has been uppermost that the feet 
could be fitted perfectly, so that there need be no pain, malforma- 
tions, or trouble in wearing them ; but no one, until the present, 
has hit upon the method to gain this result, and consequently all 
have experienced the same difficulty and had their full share of 
vexation, distress, and distortion incident to boots and shoes. 
The day, however, has at last arrived in which all who will can 
enjoy the wearing of their foot apparel, the inventor of this new 
last assuring them that each article made on this patent will not 
only tit the feet, as nicely as they could wish, but also be free 
from the pain, trouble and distortions attending their breaking-in. 
This, no doubt, seems si range language to use, and may be con- 
sidered by some as ha-dly true; jetthe inventor, Mr. J( el Mc- 
Comber, whose word cannot be doubted, assures all of the posi- 
tive truth of the statement, and also brings forward evidence 
that cannot but satisfy the most exacting ; and we would also add 
our testimony, and say that we believe, from personal experience 
and observation, that there is no exaggeration in the statement 
ma te, that the importance of Mr. McComber’s patent can sc arcely 
be overrated, and that it ought to be universally adopted. The 
principle of this new last is based upon ihe foot itself, the 
anatomy of which has been closely studied and made, as it should 
be, the basis from which to construe t the perfect model for fitting 
thoroughly the feet. In Chicago, Boston, New York and Brook- 
lyn, as well as many other places, since the introduction of this 
last, it has been tested by thousands who have tried it and ex- 
perienced a satisfaction thereby never known before to them, 
enjoying fully the comforts of walking, and the feeling of con- 
scious pride of being handsomely and well attired, and that they 
possess at least one pair of boots or shoes, the wearing of which 
cannot cramp or in jure the feet. We think the thsnks of the 
community are due to Mr. McComber for his efforts and the re- 
sults which he has accomplished, and we would suggest to all 
who may read this article to avail themselves of McCcmber’s 
patent boots and shoes and lasts, to be found at his establish- 
ment 14 Union Square, New York, and thus be forever free from 
the difficulties which attach themselves to boots and shoes made 
in the old way. 46 
CERTIFICATES. 
Natick, Mass., August 28, 1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: I have been trying for 
several years to get boots that would fit my feet, and did not 
succeed until I had a pair made on your Patent Lasts you made 
for me. I am more than satisfied, and cheerfully recommend 
them to the public. Truly yours, J. H. PARKER. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir : Having worn shoes made 
on Lasts of yrour patent qualities for the past six months, I have 
no hesitation in saying I have been perfectly suited, and more- 
over, I have never found comfort in a new pair of boots or shoes 
until using your Last. I am yours thankfully, 
JOHN Q. ADAMS, 
State Treasurer’s Office, Boston, Mass. 
Boston, September 30, 1873. 
Joel McComber — Dear Sir : It is with confidence that I can 
recommend your Patent Last. I have been selling boots and 
shoes to the retail trade in the West and South-west the past 
year manufactured on your Patent Last, and have yet to hear 
of the first instance where they are not spoken of in the most 
flattering terms. It has been of frequent occurrence to find a 
retailer who was selling boots and shoes manufactured on the 
McComber Last speaking in the highest terms of the excellence 
of fit, style, and durability, ease and comfort to the wearer, time 
saved in fitting a customer, &c.; all.in ignorance that it was the 
McComber Patent Last that caused the rapid sale of tluit par- 
ticular manufacturer, the trader having no knowledge of the 
McComber Last. Yours truly, C. TOPHAM. 
Chicago, III., August 1,1871. 
Mil. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: As superintendent of the 
Boot and Shoe Factory of Phelps, Dodge & Palmer, 48 and 
50 Wabash Avenue, it has been in}" aim to produce work of 
the very highest order of merit, and have adopted many new 
features in the manufacture of boots and shoes. But no im- 
provement that has come under my notice approaches so 
near my idea of perfection as the McComber Patent Last. 
Being struck by the novelty of its appearance, I examined 
thoroughly its construction, and was impressed with the the- 
ory and believed it practical. I at once had a pair of boots 
made for my own use, in order to test the principle claimed CERTIFICATES. 
47 
for the Last, and gave them a thorough trial. The result was, 
with the consent of the firm, the introduction of the Lasts 
into use in the factory, and I am confident that it will be the 
only Last used by us. A large number of our customers 
have tried on the boots, aud every one without exception ex- 
pressed their unqualified approbation, and all that have worn 
them are loud in their praise. I can truly say that I never 
turned out work before that I felt the same confidence in, iu 
regard to fit aud general excellence, as I have done since I 
commenced the use of your Lasts. 
Yours, truly, George C. Parker. 
In a subsequent communication Mr. Parker adds: 
Perhaps the best answer to your inquiry as to my better 
matured opinion of your Patent Lasts will be to state, that I 
have thrown aside every other last in the factory, and am 
using yours exclusively on stoga, kip, etc. For the first time 
in my boot and shoe manufacturing experience, I feel satis- 
fied that I am doing my customers full and exact justice in 
giving them not only a good-fitting, but also a perfectly nat- 
ural, easy, aud good-looking boot on the foot. My first opin- 
ion of the last was, that it was particularly adapted to fine 
custom work, but experience has shown me that it is of as 
much if not more importance in the heavy stoga and kip and 
heavy calf for farmers as in the fine gents’ boots and shoes. 
With this last the wearer is no longer obliged to go through 
the weary trial of breaking in a pair of 8 oz. upper leather 
boots, as it is already broken in by being made to the com- 
mon shape of the human foot. It is not necessary now for a 
man to have a pair of boots three sizes too large for him, on 
account of the heavy leather hurting him when he first puts 
them on. A pair of stoga boots of 8 oz. upper made on your 
lasts will be as easy to the foot as a pair of Jadot or Mercier, 
and as shapely to the eye. I look to see that last adopted in 
all factories in a short time, as it will be impossible to sell 
any other boot or shoe wherever this has been introduced and 
made known. 
Kknosha, Wis., Sept. 5,1871. 
Mb. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: We have manufactured 
boots for the retail and jobbing trade for the last twenty-five 
years, and have endeavored to use the best lasts obtainable. 
We have used lasts made by the most noted makers in New 48 
CERTIFICATES. 
York, Boston, and Philadelphia; but for the past year have 
used your Patent Lasts, and find that we can fit our custom- 
ers better and easier from our stock of ready-made boots, made 
over your lasts, than we can by measure over any others we 
have ever used. 
Merchants and shoemakers, who buy of us by the case, make 
the same statement, and for durability and comfort they are 
unequaled by anything heretofore brought before the public. 
We have no hesitation in giving the Lasts our unqualified in- 
dorsement and approval, and hope, for the sake of suffering 
humanity, that the time is not far distant when they will be 
universally adopted throughout the country. 
Truly yours, F. W. Lyman & Son. 
Joel McComber, Esq. — Dear Sir: Having thoroughly 
tested your invention of Patent Lasts to fit the feet, both by 
wearing boots made on them and by making them to the 
number of about one hundred pairs in my shop for my cus- 
tomers, I take pleasure in certifying to their great usefulness. 
Those for whom we have made boots over your lasts are 
very loud in their praise, many saying they were well-fitted 
for the first time in their lives ; and I would say, that to all 
persons who bring the McComber Lasts to my shop for their 
work, I do not hesitate to warrant a perfect fit every time. 
Respectfully, Edwin A. Bigelow, 
Eagle Shoe Store, Rockford, 111. 
Mr. Joel McComber : I have tested your Patent Lasts to fit 
the feet by making boots over about one hundred and fifty or 
two hundred pairs for different persons. I have also worn a 
Fair of boots one year made on Lasts you made for my feet. 
not only find the boots comfortable and easy from the be- 
ginning, but look better and retain the proper shape till worn 
out, making the boots last much longer. 
I am happy to say your Lasts give universal satisfaction, 
and would cheerfully recommend them, and will warrant a 
perfect fit to any person bringing the McComber Last to my 
shop. G. W. Parker, 
Wood’s Block, State Street, West Rockford, 111. CERTIFICATES. 
49 
Newark, N. J., Marcn 20, 1872. 
Mk. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: In reply to your inquiry 
as to our experience in the use of boots and shoes made on 
your Patent Lasts, we can say that on our own feet we have 
found them the easiest boot we ever tried, and our customers 
who have worn them unite in saying the same. They certainly 
obviate many difficulties encountered in using the old-style 
last, making a more perfect-fitting and better-looking boot or 
shoe; and if loose, setting smoother, and if snug, much easier 
than anything we ever tried. 
In short, we think your claims come much nearer to the 
truth than the claims of any other patented article in the shoe 
line that it has been our fortune to fall in with. 
Wishing you the success your efforts should meet with, we 
remain yours, truly, Lawsen & Steeple, 
579 Broad, corner of Nesbit. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: Having tested your 
Patent Lasts, both by wearing boots made over them, and 
by making a large number of boots on them for our cus- 
tomers, we take pleasure in recommending them to all who 
desire a well-fitting and comfortable boot. The universal 
testimony of those wearing boots made on them is, that they 
require no breaking in, look better, and wear longer than 
Wits made over a common last. To all persons bringing 
these lasts to our shop, we do not hesitate to warrant a per- 
fect fit Brown & Wheeler, 
330 East State Street, Rockford, 111. 
CnicAGO, June 13,1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: Having given the boots 
made over your Patent Last a thorough trial, I have no hesi- 
tation in giving them my unqualified approbation, and you my 
heartiest thanks. For comfort in wearing, perfection in fit, 
and good looks, they are all I could wish, while nearly a 
year’s service attest their durability. I would advise all who 
desire to tread squarely, walk uprightly, and enjoy to the 
fullest extent the happy consciousness of being well and 
properly shod, to delay not in procuring boots and shoes 
made upon the McComber Patent Last. 
Respectfully yours, M. Heath, 
170 and 172 Randolph St 50 
CERTIFICATES. 
Chicago, Sept. 16,1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Bear Sir: The boots made over 
your Patent Lasts have given entire satisfaction. I walked 
comfortable in them the very first day. As I have made use 
of the boots for several months, and find them as good-fitting 
as when new, and no sign of treading over yet, which always 
troubled me in boots made over the common last, I wouldn’t 
have boots made over any other but your Lasts. 
Yours, truly, J. Baur, 
of the firm of S. Baur & Co., dealers in Leather 
and Shoe Findings, 194 Lake St. 
Chicago, Sept. 14, 1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber—-Bear Sir: I send you this certificate 
in favor of your Patent Lasts, because I think they should be 
better known and more generally used everywhere. I now 
make a much better-fitting and neater-looking boot over your 
lasts than I could make over the old-fashioned ones, and I 
can warrant a fit to every one that comes. 
Endericii & Entzminger, 730 W. Lake St. 
Chicago, 399 Lake Street. 
Mr. Joel McComber : Having worked for three months 
over your celebrated Patent Lasts, I am prepared to state my 
entire satisfaction and approval of them. I can warrant a 
perfect fit made over your lasts that I keep in my stock for 
custom work, as I intend to keep all the sizes and different 
widths on hand so that I can accommodate every one that 
favors me with his patronage. 
Yours, truly, C. Steller. 
Chicago, Sept. 20, 1871. 
Mr. Joel MoComtjer—Bear Sir: In reply to your inquiry 
as regards the sale and popularity of the boots and shoes 
made over your Patent Last, I can truly say, that my custom 
work has largely increased, and I find it difficult to keep up 
with the demand for the “ Glove-fitting Boots.” My custom- 
ers are loud in their praise; and in working over your lasts 
I am sure of a Jit every time, and to gain a smile of approba- 
tion from my former sore-toed and foot-pinched patrons. 
Gratefully yours, John B. Maekel, 
336 W. Randolph St CERTIFICATES. 
51 
FROM JUDGE MILLER. 
Rockfobd, III., Jan. 18, 1871. 
Joel McComber, Esq.—Dear Sir: Your Patent Lasts 
have shaped for me a pair of fine, comfortable boots, easy 
from the first as others fitted to the feet by long and often 
painful wearing. “ Easy as an old shoe,” is a familiar com- 
parison. Those using your admirable improvement can say 
this of their new boots and shoes, made easy from the begin- 
ning on scientific principles, with a strict regard to the ana- 
tomy of the human foot. IIow much anguish has been suf- 
fered in shaping shoes and boots to the feet by wearing, 
which has crippled multitudes with corns, bunions, and dis- 
torted joints, and given a hobbling gait, now, through your 
invention, to be succeeded by ease, elasticity, and grace of 
movement. 
Wishing you great success in your enterprise, I remain, 
very respectfully, Anson S. Miller. 
Chicago, Sept. 14,1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: The boots made for me 
over your Patent Lasts possess every good quality you claim 
for them. They are a nice fit, good-looking, and adapt them- 
selves to the feet in such a manner as to make the wearing 
of them a positive luxury. 
In gratitude for the comfort derived, and hoping to benefit 
others, I cheerfully recommend your lasts, and trust they will 
soon come into general use. 
Yours, truly, Chas. Stose, 
Prop. Stose Block, 190 Randolph St. 
Chicago, June 15, 1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: Having worn a pair of 
boots made over the McComber Patent Last to my entire sat- 
isfaction, it gives me pleasure to add my testimony in their 
favor, and cheerfully recommend them for their superior ex- 
cellence, and hope they may come into the general use their 
merits deserve. Bad feet, caused by wearing boots and 
shoes wrongly constructed, is almost universal. But, thanks 
to your invention, I for one can rejoice in a “ perfect under- 
standing,” made so entirely by the use of your Patent Lasts. 
Wishing you success, I am truly yours, 
P. Faiirney, M.D., 30 N. Dearborn St 52 
CERTIFICATES. 
Oak Park, III., Sept. 18,1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: I am wearing a pair of 
boots made over your Patent Lasts that fit me perfectly, and 
are every way satisfactory. The great points of excellence 
particularly noticable are, an equality of pressure upon all the 
natural bearings of the sole, and its adaptation to the shape 
of the foot; obviates entirely the outward pressure, which in 
the old style is the prolific cause of corns and bunions. From 
experience in wearing the McComber Glove-fitting Boot, I am 
induced to believe that no greater blessing could be secured 
to the present and rising generation than the universal adop- 
tion of your valuable improvement for the use of ladies and 
children. All children have their feet abused and distorted 
by wearing straight shoes, and the tender foot is compressed 
into an unnatural shape, at the very time it should be allowed 
to retain its natural and beautiful proportions; and I am 
convinced the general use of your lasts would accomplish 
the great good desired. 
Yours, truly, Orin Peak, M.D. 
Chicago, June 12,1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: I am so well pleased 
with the boots I have had made on your Lasts that I have 
determined to have Lasts made for my wife and two children. 
I have had so much comfort since wearing them that I think 
it would be selfish in me not to provide them also with the 
same. Will you please name some day when I can get meas- 
ures taken for them ? 
I have had tender feet for several years past, and always 
have had a great deal of trouble in 'breaking in boots, but 
these I have worn continually ever since I had them, and 
they have been comfortable all the while; there was no 
breaking in to be clone, and were from the first so much 
more comfortable than my old ones that I have never worn 
the latter since I obtained these. 
I have taken pains to show the boots to my friends and 
explain their merits, and several of my sore-footed friends 
are going to try your Lasts. I am not afraid to advise them 
to do so, for I am satisfied that the principle on which they 
are made is correct, and that they can not help but be pleased 
and benefited by them. Yours, truly, 
Julius L. Loveday. CERTIFICATES. 
53 
Chicago, July 14, 1871. 
Joel McComber, Esq., Chicago,III.—My very Dear Sir: 
I deem it my duty, and it is also a great pleasure to say to 
you, that I am highly pleased with the boots made over vour 
Patent Lasts, made from the measure of my feet in May last. 
The foot balances on the sole, and the boot seems to be the 
shape of the foot; there was no breaking in when new, but 
they seemed to fit like an old boot, and they continue to re- 
main in same shape. I have been troubled with corns and 
tender feet for the last thirty years, and it has been with the 
utmost difficulty that I could procure a pair of boots that I 
could wrear with any degree of comfort. In fact, I have al- 
most universally suffered from an ill-fitting boot until I pro- 
cured your Lasts, since which time I have been free from all 
annoyance in that respect, and shall take pleasure in recom- 
mending your Lasts to all who may desire a perfect-fitting 
boot. Truly yours, John Hutchinson, 
170 North Water Street. 
Chicago, Jan. 4,1871. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: I am forty-eight years 
old, and for the first time in my life I am wearing a pair of 
boots that fit my feet and feel comfortable. They were mad« 
over your Patent Lasts, and I am highly pleased with them 
in every respect. 
I am very truly yours, N. W. Abbott, M.D., 
Office 161 South Clark St 
Mr. McComber : The Lasts you made for me are entire]) 
satisfactory. For several months past I have worn a pah 
of leather boots made on them, and find them very comfort 
able. Being accurately fitted in the beginning, they savu 
one from the painful process of “ breaking in ” new boots, o r 
in other words, fitting the foot to the boot. I think your in- 
vention a useful and humane one, entitling you to the tofins; 
gratitude of all tender-footed people. 
Your friend, Ben. Wingate, 
Firm of Wingate & Palmer hardware merchants, 
Rockford, III 54 
CERTIFICATES. 
Joel McComber, Esq.—Dear Sir: Those Lasts you made 
for me prove a perfect success. My boots made over them 
set easier, look better, and are a more perfect fit than any 
I ever had before, and if I could not replace them, would 
not take five times their cost. I would most cordially rec- 
ommend your work to the confidence of the public. 
Respectfully yours, Horace Brown, 
Prop’r Brown’s Hall, Rockford, 111. 
To Whom It May Concern. 
We, the undersigned, citizens of Rockford, Winnebago Co., 
Illinois, have worn boots made from Mr. Joel McComber’s 
Patent Lasts, and would recommend them to all who maj 
have occasion to use them. They are fully equal to all that 
is claimed for them. We have known Mr. McComber for 
several years as a resident of this city, and would recommend 
him to all whom he may call on in other places, as perfectly 
responsible and reliable, and whatever representations or 
statements he makes may be depended upon. 
R. P. Lane Prest. 2d National Bank. 
Shepherd Leach Farmer. 
Ansob S. Miller Postmaster. 
Dr. C. II. Ritchings Physician and Surgeon. 
Tuos. D. Robertson Prest. Win. Nat. Bank. 
M. Starr Cashier" “ “ 
R. Emerson Reaper Manufacturer. 
Clark & Utter Machinists. 
Freeman Graham Prop’r Cotton Factory. 
T. B. Gault Station Agent. 
W. Watson Sec’y Rockford Ins. Co. 
I. S. Hiatt County Clerk. 
Wm. G. King Prest. N. W. D. A. 
Abraham E. Smith Editor Rockford Gazette. CERTIFICATES. 
55 
Bangor, Me., Oct. 2, 1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: We have been selling 
boots and shoes made on your Patent Lasts for the past six 
months, and have given them a thorough and most satisfactory 
trial. We are glad to say that all our customers who appreciate 
an easy, handsome, and perfectly fitting boot, speak of them in 
the highest terms, and will have no others. They not only fit 
like a glove when new, but retain their shape until worn out, 
and do not run over. The demand is rapidly increasing, and 
they are superseding the work made on the common lasts. 
Yours respectfully, BUZZELL & SHAW. 
Brooklyn, Oct. 2,1873. 
Mr. Joel McCombe« — Dear Sir : Having had an experience 
of twenty-five years in manufacturing and retailing boots and 
shoes, and having used goods made on your Patent Last for two 
years, I can say that I have found no last that meets my idea 
as well as your celebrated Patent Last. Its advantages are 
many, they fit the feet so perfectly that a boot or shoe made on 
them can be worn with comfort from the moment they are put 
on. Another is, boots and shoes made on your last do not run 
over, as those made on the old style. I take pleasure in rec- 
ommending them to the shoe manufacturers and the public 
generally. Yours respectfully, F. EDWARDS, 
166 and 168 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. 
New York, Sept. 8, 1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: We have been manu- 
facturing and selling to retail dealers for nearly two years Wo- 
men’s, Misses’, and Children’s fine boots and shoes made on the 
McComber Patent Last, and take pleasure in stating that the 
goods have given the most unqualified satisfaction. By the use 
of the McComber Last, a perfect fit and good-looking boot and 
shoe are always obtained, and the wearer is sure to continue to 
use and recommend the same, and the dealer is .equally de- 
lighted with the successful fit and the perfect satisfaction 
given his customers. We have never sold to a dealer but what 
wanted them again. We congratulate you on the successful 
introduction of the McComber Last, and consider it one of the 
substantial things that are absolutely indispensable to the health, 
comfort, and happiness of man. Gratefully yours, 
W. BRISTOL, JR., & CO., No. 8 Warren Street. 56 
TIIE TRUE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING 
Why are the patent boots and shoes made on the 
McComber principle superior to all others ? For at 
least nine reasons: 
1. They are made to fit the feet, whereas accord- 
ing to the old plan, the feet were made to fit the 
boots and shoes, an absurd, monstrous, and pernicious 
custom, which has made partial or complete cripples 
of one-half of the human family. 
2. Because the anatomy of the lower limbs, with 
their muscles, joints, and ligaments, as well as the 
feet, being carefully studied by Mr. McComber, he 
has succeeded in supplying foot gear that enables 
mankind to walk forth with that ease, grace, and 
confidence and dignity of carriage with which the 
human form divine has been so richly endowed by 
nature, and so ruthlessly robbed by the blundering 
vagaries of unscientific and arbitrary men. 
3. Because the boots and shoes are made to fit 
easily from the first, the Last being better able to 
bear the brunt of breaking in than the feet them- 
selves. tender organs at best, though the latter prac- 
tice has been in vogue until now—a practice the 
cruelty of which millions will attest, and which often 
revives the recollection of the veritable ancient boot 
of the days of persecution. 
ZFUE^SOUNTS LASTS, BOOTS, AND SHOES. 
57 
4. Because they are tw ce as durable, the pressure 
being equal at all points, whereas in the old boot or 
shoe friction and inequality of pressure caused corns 
and premature wear and tear at particular points, and 
also endangered the feet from freezing in winter. 
5. By following nature the model is more graceful, 
elegant, and symmetrical; though the old school of 
shoemakers thought that the venerable dame was no 
match for them, but a trial of McComber’s boots will 
show that for the first time the centers of gravity in 
boot and shoe making are settled by him so precisely, 
that the wearer can now keep his balance, standing 
or walking. 
6. Because easy-fitting boots and shoes are indis- 
pensable to health and good looks, and, it may be 
added, to the moral deportment of mankind. It is 
possible “The Army in Flanders” would have kept 
the commandment, “ Thou shalt not swear,” better if 
Joel McCoinber had supplied them with boots and 
shoes, as corns, bunions, etc., are unknown to the 
wearer of them. 
7. Because the McComber boot tends to prevent 
as well as cure the manifest inclination to club feet, 
a terrible distortion, which is on the increase, and 
which the best physiologists declare possible to be 
entailed by hereditary transmission even when arti- 
ficially originated by run-over boots and shoes. 58 
THE TRUE METHOD, ETC. 
8. Because the wearer can walk faster, farther 
easier, better, more comfortably, more gracefully than 
in any other boot or shoe. 
9. Because by wearing the McComber boots and 
shoes, the inveterate abuse of the human feet is effec- 
tually prevented, and the image of God, thus far, 
preserved from deformity, as there is no cure so per- 
fect as the absence of the disease. 
To all whom it may concern, be it known, that I, 
Joel McComber, formerly of Rockford and Chicago, 
Illinois, but now residing in New York, in State of 
New York, have obtained Letters Patent of the 
United States, dated November 22d, 1870, for an 
improved method of constructing boots and shoes 
which Letters Patent cover and protect, not only the 
boots and shoes made in accordance with’ said Patent, 
but also the lasts on which said boots and shoes are 
made: 
And whereas the purchasers and users of said lasts 
are equally liable with the makers and sellers thereof, 
this notice is therefore to warn all parties that no 
person, firm, or corporation, other than the said 
McComber Patent Last Company, and such parties 
as have been heretofore duly licensed, are authorized 
to make, sell, or use my improved lasts, or boots or 
shoes, or to use my name in connection with any lasts, 
or boots and shoes, and that all such trespassers will 
be held strictly responsible for their unlawful acts. 
NOTICE. THE MCCOMBER PATENT LAST. 
59 
Extract from “Hall's Journal of Health ” for Nov., 1874. 
DISTORTIONS OF THE FEET. 
We have lately given a good deal of our space to a 
discussion of this subject by Joel McComber, a practical 
Boot, Shoe and Last Maker for over thirty years, because 
we have long felt that the human race have never yet 
been properly dealt with in the matter of clothing for the 
feet. More than twenty-five years ago we wrote these 
words: “No other portion of the human frame is so 
tortured in the efforts made to clothe, protect and em- 
bellish it, as the feet. If the fashionable hat induced 
bunions, or if the close-fitting glove created corns, or if 
the cravat produced cripples, how quickly would the 
world be up in arms ! Yet we go on from year to year, 
‘ breaking in ’ our illy-formed boots and shoes, crippling 
and. deforming the tender feet of our children, inducing 
enormous suffering, and laying the foundation of a multi- 
tude of diseases in the more vital organs, simply because 
shoemakers have no anatomical knowledge, and we have 
not the sense to appreciate the fact and to compel them to 
supply us with appropriate foot-gear.” A quarter of a 
century has passed, and the facts are exactly the same to- 
day. The world has, meantime, learned a good deal 
about hygiene and diet and temperance, and a thousand 
subjects which make up the sum of human knowledge 
and contribute to human happiness. We have learned 
that our eyes and ears and teeth and digestion must have 
certain treatment and certain care, or they will fail us 
early; but we have not learned that thousands and 
thousands of men are actively employed day after day 
and year after year in constructing coverings for our feet 
which are certain to give us discomfort, certain to cripple 
us if our feet are not already distorted, and which will 60 
THE MCCOMBER PATENT LAST. 
Unfailingly keep up the distortion which barbaric foot- 
clotliing lias already secured. 
We observe witu sincere satisfaction that a step has at 
length been taken in the right direction. For the first 
time in the world’s history, we believe, the true principle 
of constructing apparel for the feet has been discovered. 
That principle has been described in our pages by Mr. 
McComber, the discoverer, and we will not undertake to 
repeat it. But we will assert that we have satisfied our- 
selves that it is strictly correct, and that deformity of the 
feet is impossible, if the healthy, natural foot of childhood 
is clothed by this method, and the method is pursued 
through life. 
What is the remedy for all this visitation of misery ? 
Properly shaped boots and shoes, and of course properly 
shaped lasts to make them on. Remember, no “ break- 
ing-in” process will accomplish the desired result. You 
may break in a mal-formed shoe to such an extent that 
you can manage to wear it, but if it is wrong in the out- 
set, it will be wrong all through. The distortion con- 
tinues, although the misery may be less apparent. Every 
step you take forces your foot still further over the- sole 
outwardly, dragging the upper leather with it, and forcing 
the great toe still further out of a line with the rest of 
the foot, and so perpetuating the deformity. We have 
no doubt that club-foot and other pedal deformities have 
been occasioned by bad shoes, and we wish to impress 
upon parents the necessity of having the tender feet of 
children properly cared for. Mr. McComber is an en- 
thusiast in his profession, an honest and worthy man, 
and we commend him and his grand improvement, with 
earnestness, to the confidence of our readers. He may 
be found at 14 Union Square, New York, where he makes 
lasts to fit all feet, and first-class boots and shoes. On the last page I append a scale of all the differ- 
ent sizes and half sizes of men’s, women’s, hoys’, 
youths’, misses’, and children’s lasts, giving the size in 
length, and six different widths on each size, which are 
numbered at the head of each column, from No. One to 
No. Six, giving the instep measure only. The ball, 
waist, and width of my last will have a corresponding 
grade with the instep measure. The first column in 
each table is the size or length. Suppose you want a 
last, boot, or shoe, size Seven, and the instep to measure 
eight and three fourths inches: refer to the table and 
you will see that it will be size Seven, No. One aud if 
the instep measures nine inches, it will be size Seven, 
No. Two, &c. I have a system of cutting patterns of 
boots and shoes, of all kinds, so adapted to my lasts 
that they can be lasted without forcing, only to take the 
stretch out of the leather, saving time to the workman. 
They go on and off the foot easier, fitting the heel and 
aukle much closer than the old way of cutting. 
To all parties taking license to use my patent, last I 
furnish standard patterns adapted to my last for all kinds 
of boots and shoes, and patterns for crimp forms, also MEN’S, 
WOMEN’S, AND BOYS’ LASTS. 
YOUTHS’, MISSES’, 
AND CHILDREN’S LASTS. 
Size. 
No. 1. No. 2. 
Instep. Instep. 
No. 3. 
Instep. 
No. 4. 
Instep. 
No. 5. 
Instep 
No. 6. 
Instep. 
Size. 
No. 1. 
Instep. 
No. 2. 
Instep. 
No. 3. 
Instep. 
No. 4. 
Instep. 
| No. 5. 
Instep. 
No. C. 
Instep. 
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SCALE OF MEASURES FOE THE McC0MBEE PATENT LAST. 
The width has a corresponding grade with the instep measure. NEW ENGLAND TESTIMONIALS. 
Boston, Aug. 23,1873. 
Joel McComber, Esq. — Dear Sir: During the last eight 
months we have sold about eight hundred pairs per day of men’s, 
boys’, and youth’s shoes, made on the McComber patent last, and 
they have given general satisfaction. 
RICE & HUTHINS, 89 Bedford St.. Boston. 
Boston, Aug, 22, 1873. 
Joel McComber, Esq. — Dear Sir: I have proved and tested 
your patent last, in gents’ as well as ladies’ and misses’ boots, and 
find them superior in fit and comfort, by adjusting itself to the 
foot, to any other last ever sold, and intend, for the future, to sell 
shoes made on your lasts exclusively. 
JOSEPH BENARI, 413 Washington St. 
Boston, Aug. 22, 1873. 
J. McComber — Dear Sir: We have sold boots and shoes made 
on your patent last for more than a year past, and they give the 
best of satisfaction. All who have worn them have expressed the 
opinion that, for fit and comfort, they are unsurpassed. 
Yours respectfully, N. A. MOSES & CO. 
139 Court St., Boston. 
North Bridgewater, Mass., Aug. 20, 1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber — Dear Sir: During the past eight months 
we have sold upwards of 2000 cases shoes made on the McComber 
patent last, and we are pleased to inform you that all our customers 
unite in saying that they are the best fitting goods they have ever 
seen. We regard it as a perfect last. 
Yours truly, j. a. & W. H. PACKARD. 
Bangor, Me., Aug. 14,1873. 
Joel McComber, Esq. — Dear Sir: About one month ago I 
commenced using your patent lasts, and have made one hundred 
pairs of custom boots, and a great many goods for my jobbing 
trade, and the opinion expressed by my customers is, that THE 
McCOMBER LAST IS A BENEFIT TO HUMANITY. It 
is the best manufacturing last I have ever used, as boots made upon 
it fit without fail, and it is establishing itself in this section. 
Yours truly, THOMAS HERSEY. 
Boston, Aug. 27, 1873. 
Mr. Joel McComber—Dear Sir: Having worn several pairs 
of boots made on your patent last, I find them much superior to 
any I have ever worn, being more comfortable, stylish, and durable. 
T. T. HARTFORD, Pattern Maker, 3 Friend St. NOTICE. 
The McComber Patent Last Company has an 
office at 14 Union Square, New York, where it is pre- 
pared to negotiate with the proper parties, with a view 
to licensing such to manufacture boots and shoes, or 
lasts, as the case may be, under this patent, on reasona- 
ble terms. Shop and town rights, to a limited extent, 
may also be obtained. Any further information will be 
cheerfully furnished, either by letter or in person, at 
the office of the company. 
All communications to be addressed to 
JOEL McCOMBER, 
President and General Agent, 
14 Union Square, New York.