BOOT AND SHOE REPAIR FOR AMATEURS
https://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/html/warm/O-YS004.htm
O-YS004 Norman – Boot and Shoe Repair for Amateurs
Learn how to mend boots, and you will save three parts of the repairer’s bills. In about fifty pages the author explains how to re-sole boots and shoes, mentioning the patching of the shoe upper parts in the last ten pages. Rubber soles, half-soles, repairing or replacing heels, riveting and sewing are all discussed as well as the best way of invisibly patching uppers.
Scans donated by Seya Wijnsma-Spek, edited by Sytske Wijnsma.
This book was written in a time that everybody wore boots, although dainty high-heeled ladies shoes also are mentioned. Money was scarce, but footwear needed repairing as replacing worn shoes would have been far more expensive. How different from modern times, where our local shoemaker refuses to even look at some brands of shoes, since they are nearly impossible to repair, and I had to replace a pair of comfortably worn-in shoes that with new soles might have been good for five or more years. Ever since, repairability of shoes has been an important consideration when buying new ones. As everything gets more and more expensive, these nearly antique books about how to repair or even make your own clothing and footwear become relevant again. Buy new, wear once, throw away definitely is not a good strategy anymore. And as the author remarks, if you can replace soles and nothing else, you are already well on your way to give your shoes a much longer life.