Editing Last (section)

==History==
[[File:Jan ernst matzeliger.gif|thumb|right|upright|[[Jan Ernst Matzeliger]] in 1885]]
[[File:Zwikmachine 1885.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Matzeliger's lasting machine, complex enough the patent office had to send an agent to [[Lynn, Massachusetts|Lynn]] to see it in operation]]

Although [[ancient Roman clothing|Roman]] [[cordwainer]]s{{mdash}}[[bespoke shoe|bespoke]] [[shoemaking|shoemakers]]{{mdash}}have been found to have shaped some footwear separately for the right and left foot, this distinction was mostly lost following the [[barbarian invasions]] in [[late Antiquity]]. Upon the return of commercial shoemaking during the [[High Middle Ages]], a single last was used to make shoes for either foot, with the expectation that use would gradually reshape the shoe as needed. The use of such "straights" was particularly important after the rise of both [[high heels|male and female heels]] [[1600–1650 in Western European fashion|in the 17th century]] made shoemaking more complicated than previously.{{sfnp|SCM|2010a}} It was not until the beginning of industrial production and [[mass marketing]] in the early 19th century that lasts were again generally made and used in matching pairs. Generic one-size lasts are now only used for basic shoe repair.

Well into the [[Industrial Revolution]], shoe production was optimized by elaborate division of labor in [[putting-out system]]s arranged around central workshops but each step of production still required skilled labor.{{sfnp|Mulligan|1981}} Attempts at mechanization in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] by [[Marc Isambard Brunel]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] were partial and proved uneconomical after demobilization.{{sfnp|SCM|2010b}} Improvements to the [[sewing machine]] to suit it for work in leather took until 1850{{sfnp|Cutter & al.|2021}} and the major breakthrough was the [[Suriname]]se [[Immigration to the United States|immigrant]] [[Jan Ernst Matzeliger]]'s automated lasting machine, [[US patent law|patented]] in 1883. This instantly centralized production, increased production by as much as 14 times, improved quality, and halved prices.{{sfnp|Mulligan|1981}}{{sfnp|Chamberlain|2012}}{{sfnp|Lienhard|2000}}