What is a shoe anyway? Human feet come in all shapes and sizes. Throughout history, shoes have gone from utilitarian protection to any foot covering and even as a fashion statement.
These hand-carved wooden cobbler’s forms were used to make shoes out of leather in the 1800s. They were made of hard wood to withstand constant nailing and called “lasts.” Before the mid-1800s shoes were “straights,” meaning they were identical and could fit either foot.
This was standard practice that lasted for centuries before industrialization.
Beginning in the 19th century, shoes were made with distinct left and right “lasts” as they are today.
Margaret Fluke of Blue Ridge donated 14 of these wooden forms and the basket that holds them in 2009. They are upstairs in the Botetourt Museum of History & Culture in Fincastle.
~ Botetourt Museum of History & Culture
