USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On this day in 1885, Jan Matzeliger demonstrated his invention-a machine that could finish 75 shoes in a 10-hour day. The most skilled craftsmen working by hand could turn out 50. An improved version of the machine was soon producing 700 shoes per day.

Detailed explanation-2: -Jan Matzeliger invented the automatic shoe lasting machine, mechanizing the complex process of joining a shoe sole to its upper, and revolutionizing the shoe industry.

Detailed explanation-3: -After five years of work, Matzeliger obtained a patent for his invention of an automated shoe laster in 1883. A skilled hand laster could produce 50 pairs in a ten-hour day. Matzeliger’s machine could produce between 150 and 700 pairs of shoes a day, cutting shoe prices across the nation in half.

Detailed explanation-4: -Matzeliger built his first model out of wooden cigar boxes, elastic and wire. Due to the complex movements required to stretch shoe leather around a last, previous attempts at creating an automatic shoe-lasting machine had failed. However, Matzeliger persevered and after two years, he completed his prototype.