Order of the Knights of St Crispin was an American Labor Union of shoeworkers in the Northeast. Founded in 1867 it claimed 50,000 members by 1870, by far the largest union in the country. But it was poorly organized and soon declined. They fought encroachments of machinery and unskilled labor on autonomy of skilled shoeworkers. One provision in the Crispin constitution explicitly sought to limit the entry of "green hands" into the trade. But that failed because the new machines could be operated by semi-skilled workers and produce more shoes than hand sewing.
Shoemaking is a traditional handicraft profession, which has now been largely superseded by industrial manufacture of footwear. Ever wonder why we are so attracted to "vintage" items. We feel like we have a piece of the authenticity of the past. What is authenticity? Truthfulness to ones origins, a sincere, devotion to ones craft. The individual artisanship of an item is a paramount criterion, such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass production are not handicrafts.
For the past 10 years I have been attracted to these big clunkers, made me remember some special men from the past. One thing I noticed was how bullet proof they were and how many new shoes in my collection have come and gone while these just remained. Trends came and went but these were always there waiting for me to come to my senses. I'm remembering shoe polish from my little league days. Shane's mom would polish his shoes, pearly white before every game. I could see him down the side lines now after I pitched him the ball and he raced for the touchdown. Shoe polish is a nice reset button. I guess I've always been "green", recycling my shoes and keeping them on the road and keeping the shoemaker opened for business.
No comments:
Post a Comment