1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. The shoes that you're 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: wearing today likely were made possible by an invention from 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: the late nineteenth century, unless you're wearing like ballet slippers 6 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: or very fancy handmade shoes, right, or something that doesn't 7 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: have like an upper and a soul, which I suppose 8 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: is possible if you're a medieval reenactor, or there are 9 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: other outlier cases. But the thing is, most of us 10 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: are wearing shoes that are made possible by this inventor 11 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: from the late nineteenth century. And that inventor of the 12 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: machine that made that possible had little to no formal education, 13 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: and he didn't really get to enjoy the fruits of 14 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: his labor. And he's one of those people that unless 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: you're a shoe person, you might not know about. So 16 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: we're talking about jan Ernst Matzalaiger today. Jan Ernst Matzelager 17 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 1: was born on September fifteenth, eighteen fifty two, in the 18 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: city of Paramaribo in Dutch Guiana in South America. So 19 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: today that is in Surinam, and this city is its capital. 20 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: Jan's father was Dutch and his mother was a Serenemese 21 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: black woman. Several but not all, sources note that his 22 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: mother was enslaved to his father. Jan's father was in 23 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: Dutch Guiana at the behest of the Dutch government. He 24 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: was an engineer and his job there was to manage 25 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: various business interests and especially factories controlled by the government 26 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: that ran heavy machinery. Jan lived with an aunt on 27 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: his father's side of the family, starting at age three. 28 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: There are a lot of biographical sketches of Yon that 29 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: say that he would occasionally make the rounds of factories 30 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: with his father as a child, and that he was 31 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: drawn to the various pieces of machinery he saw, which 32 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: kind of makes it sound sort of idyllic. He was 33 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: in those factories at a very young age, but the 34 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: reality was that was because he was put to work 35 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: at age ten apprenticing for a machinist. He is said 36 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: to have shown a lot of intuitive engineering skill from 37 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: a very young age, and he was able to repair 38 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: machinery he wasn't all that familiar with with very little instruction. 39 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: When he was nineteen, Jan left Dutch Guiana by getting 40 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: work on an East India merchant ship. For two years, 41 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: he worked on the ship and he traveled, but when 42 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: he arrived in Philadelphia, he decided to stay there for 43 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: a while. It's believed that he spent some time in 44 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: Philadelphia as a cobbler before moving on to Boston, and 45 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: then in eighteen seventy three, Mattzlagger arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts, 46 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: where he would live for the rest of his life. 47 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: When Matzlagger arrived in Lynn, it had a population of 48 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: about thirty five thousand and it was one of the 49 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: main places in the United States where shoes were made, 50 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: so eventually he found work in a shoe factory. He 51 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: worked in a number of roles in the factory, starting 52 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 1: on a soul sewing machine and then a heel burnisher, 53 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: and then eventually onto a buttonhole machine, probably others as well, 54 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: and to supplement his factory income, he also drove a coach. 55 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: During those early years in the United States, Yan had 56 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: to learn English and to recognize the restrictions that racism 57 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: placed on his movements. One story from his time early 58 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: on is that he tried to go to a church, 59 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: but he was turned away from that church because he 60 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: was black. He did eventually find a church, which was 61 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: the North Congregational Church, and a community there in their 62 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: Christian Endeavor Society, which was a youth group. Yeah, that 63 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: church became very important to his life. In addition to 64 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: driving a coach in his off hours, Yon also started 65 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: formally studying English at evening classes several nights a week, 66 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: and with these structured lessons, he soon progressed really quickly. 67 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: And it said that he not only learned to read 68 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: and speak English, but that when he spoke, he had 69 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: no perceivable accent. And as his English improved, he became 70 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: more and more involved in his church. He started teaching 71 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: Sunday school and serving on various committees, and he also 72 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: settled into life in the Greater Lynn community, and he 73 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: soon built up this reputation as a gentleman with a 74 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: very keen wit and a lot of kindness for others. 75 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: Once Jan was proficient in English, he kept working to 76 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: expand his education. He started acquiring all kinds of books, 77 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: particularly scientific works. He learned about natural sciences and physics, 78 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: and soon he started tinkering with various inventions. It's possible 79 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: that some of these were successful and were eventually patented, 80 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: but those patents would have been held by Matzlagger's employers. 81 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: They helped him pay for the supplies that he needed. Y. Yeah, 82 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: there's a lot of variation on what you will find 83 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 1: in terms of what people think he invented during that time, 84 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: which surely I did not include them because it's all speculation. 85 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: But whatever he may have done in his early inventiveness, 86 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: it was his work in shoe manufacturing that was the 87 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: most important. And this reveals an interesting state in the 88 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: manufacture of shoes that had been the case for a 89 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: very long time. There were mechanized processes for just about 90 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: every step of shoe manufacture by the mid nineteenth century, 91 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,160 Speaker 1: with the exception of the step known as lasting. So 92 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: lasting is the stage of construction when the stitch together 93 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: and more or less completed upper is shaped into its 94 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: final form and then joined to the soul. And in 95 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: the early half of the nineteenth centuries, machines had been 96 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: developed they could handle literally all of the other steps, 97 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: and Mattzalager was familiar with all of those machines because 98 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: he worked on most, if not all, of the available 99 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: ones of the factory. But no one had been able 100 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: to mechanize lasting. There are some good reasons for that. 101 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: You may have heard the term shoe last as a noun. 102 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: That's the form often made of wood that is made 103 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: to mimic the shape of a human foot, and it's 104 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,720 Speaker 1: what the finished upper is stretched over and formed on 105 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: so that when you put the shoe on, it fits correctly. 106 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: Lasts are still part of shoe manufacture. If you've ever 107 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: wondered why some brands of shoes usually fit you better 108 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: than other ones, it's because different companies use different lasts. 109 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: With all the variations in foot shapes that humans have, 110 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: some of them will match up to any given person's 111 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: foot better than the others. This is also why sometimes 112 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: a shoe you've been wearing for years can betray you 113 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: because a new last has been selected to form an 114 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: on right. If you buy the newest model, it may 115 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: not be the same last as the old one, just 116 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,719 Speaker 1: as in a side that like. You can still have 117 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: custom shoes made with a custom last sure where they 118 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: will cast your foot and you get shoes that are 119 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: made specifically just for you. And there was a lot 120 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: of that going on in the nineteenth century when Mattzlagger 121 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: was working, but he was focused on the industrial production 122 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: of shoes. So in the eighteen seventies, when mattz Lagger 123 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: started working in these shoe factories, skilled cobblers were still 124 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: the ones to fit the upper of a shoe over 125 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: the last, carefully shape it to that form, and then 126 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: attach it to the sole with nails. And that human 127 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: finishing was kind of a necessity because leather, which is 128 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: what the vast majority of shoes were made from, has 129 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: natural variables in it. Even two cuts of leather taken 130 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: from the exact same animal hide and treated with the 131 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: exact same processes might have different thicknesses, or may have 132 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: different tendencies in different spots when it to stretch in flexibility. 133 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: In addition to the careful shaping that had to be 134 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 1: done taking these variables into account, the right and left 135 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: shoe had to match perfectly, and they had to be 136 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: perfectly joined to the soul. So there were plenty of 137 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: people in the industry who really believed that there would 138 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: always have to be a pair of human hands doing 139 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: the finishing on shoes. But this also created a workflow 140 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: problem because when all of those other parts of the 141 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: process were mechanized, but the finish wasn't, that meant that 142 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 1: shoe pieces would kind of pile up, and you had 143 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 1: this bottleneck unless you had just a huge team of 144 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: people who had the skill to handle lasting. We will 145 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: talk about how manufacturers were trying to address this issue 146 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: after we pause for a sponsor break. There were plenty 147 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: of people trying to come up with a machine that 148 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: could last shoe but there just wasn't anything working. By 149 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: the time Matt Selager was in the industry, they had 150 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: been trying for decades and the best that had come 151 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: of it were kind of near misses or machines that 152 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: could sort of do the job, but they weren't much 153 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: faster than a manual finish, so there wasn't really a 154 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,839 Speaker 1: lot of impetus to adopt them. Gordon McKay, who was 155 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 1: a businessman responsible for many of the machines in the industry, 156 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,199 Speaker 1: attempted to corner the lasting market by purchasing just about 157 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: all of the existing patents that people had filed for 158 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: various parts of it and kind of throwing a load 159 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: of money at research and development. He was also very 160 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,559 Speaker 1: very ligitious with any competitors, but that wasn't really worth it, 161 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 1: because while his efforts did eventually produce a lasting machine. 162 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: It was only able to handle certain types of shoes, 163 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: and the results even within that set of certain types 164 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: of shoes were not consistent. And as these mechanization efforts 165 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: were underway, the lasters in the industry unionized in eighteen eighty, 166 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: and they were able to force the companies they worked 167 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: for to give them significant pay increases because it had 168 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: become deeply apparent that without them the whole system would 169 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: fall apart. This unionization only spurred manufacturers to want a 170 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: lasting machine so they could step around the last's union 171 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: and its relatively high weekly salary arrangement. We say relatively 172 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,840 Speaker 1: because they were being paid what they deserved, but compared 173 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: to other people in the industry, they were getting more. 174 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: As Massachusetts and specifically Lynn were an epicenter of the 175 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: shoe industry, Yon Matzalager had a front row seat to 176 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: all of this playing out, and he thought that perhaps 177 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:42,079 Speaker 1: he could make a machine that could finish shoes. He 178 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 1: started working through ideas for such a machine in the 179 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: evenings when he wasn't working either of his jobs or 180 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: seeing to any of his charch activities. He had to 181 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: study mechanical engineering to even know where to start, and 182 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: he acquired a set of drafting tools secondhand to start 183 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,199 Speaker 1: making diagrams. He didn't try to build on the previous 184 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: efforts of other engineers because those were not working. Instead, 185 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: he started by making a study of the people who 186 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: were lasting shoes by hand. He observed them whenever he 187 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: could and made detailed notes about how their hands moved 188 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: through each step of the process. Six months later he 189 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:26,199 Speaker 1: had produced his first prototype. And this effort at making 190 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: a prototype was really a case of making do with 191 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: what he had on hand, because Mattzelager did not have 192 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: much money, so he used discarded goods and made his 193 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: prototype out of things like cigar boxes and wire offcuts 194 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: that had been thrown away so that he could put 195 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 1: it together. But this was really just a proof of concept. 196 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: It was not intended to be a working piece of machinery. 197 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: He just wanted to see if he had gotten the 198 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 1: motions right before he attempted to build an iron version 199 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: of his mechanism. Initially, he was as with his proof 200 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: of com gathering cast off materials to try to make 201 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 1: that iron version work. But then he had a stroke 202 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,239 Speaker 1: of luck when he was hired as a maintenance machinist 203 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: for one of Lynn's Shoe manufacturers, and he was allowed 204 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: to claim a small workspace in the plant there where 205 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: he could work on his personal project and had access 206 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 1: to some better materials. So there's some incongruity in the 207 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: accounts in terms of whether people knew what he was 208 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,199 Speaker 1: up to, because we don't really have his own account. 209 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: So these are secondhand versions that are often intended to 210 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: frame the story in a particular way. Usually they involve 211 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: people mocking him or secretly thinking he was a genius. 212 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: One thing that's universally recognized was that Jon Matzlagger was 213 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:51,080 Speaker 1: driven in pursuit of this invention. Two women who worked 214 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: with them at the factory realized that he was skipping 215 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: meals to work on his project in this little space 216 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: that he was in, and they started sharing their meals 217 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: with him. He worked on getting this right for four years. Yeah, 218 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: those two women became very good friends of his. He 219 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 1: attended their weddings. They were like his work buddies, and 220 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 1: they all took care of each other and it's very 221 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,239 Speaker 1: very sweet. But once he had a functioning model, Matzelager 222 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 1: realized that he still needed money. The machine was more 223 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: or less built, but there were other steps in the 224 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: process that were going to need capital, like running tests 225 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 1: with the machine and filing for a patent, and he 226 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: reached out to potential investors, but most of them just 227 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,079 Speaker 1: wanted to purchase his ideas, or in some cases they 228 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: wanted to purchase just parts of his machine, and he 229 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: was not interested in either of those outcomes. Eventually, he 230 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 1: did find financing in the form of a business partnership. 231 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: Two men, Charles H. Delnow and Melville C. Nichols, offered 232 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 1: to finance and start a company with Mattzlager in exchange 233 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:59,160 Speaker 1: for a three way split of the profits. Thanks to 234 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: their investment, Yan was able to complete his patent application. 235 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: The patent application was submitted January twenty fourth, eighteen eighty two, 236 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: and it read, in part quote, heretofore devices have been 237 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: contrived for performing a part of the operation, such as 238 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: holding the last in proper position and drawing the leather 239 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: over the last, while the nailing was done by hand. 240 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: In my machine, I perform all the operations by the 241 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: machine and automatically, requiring only the service of a boy 242 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: or girl or unskilled labor to attend the machine. My 243 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: invention includes a mechanism for holding the last in place 244 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: and allowing it to be turned and the last fed 245 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: forward in proper position for the operation of the machine. 246 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: It includes a feeding device for moving the last step 247 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: by step at a proper distance, whereby the mechanism for 248 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 1: drawing over the leather may operate successfully and at proper intervals. 249 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: It includes pincher or gripping mechanism for drawing the upper 250 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: over the last, mechanism for turning the gripping mechanism in 251 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: order to plat the leather at the heel or toe, 252 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: mechanism for holding the last in proper position for the 253 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: operation of the feeding mechanism, mechanism for feeding the nails 254 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: and holding them in proper position to be driven, and 255 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 1: mechanism for driving the nails at the proper instant. The 256 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: details of construction are all fully set forth here and after, 257 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: and together with the principles of my invention, are stated 258 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,840 Speaker 1: in the claims, so in case that slightly stilted language 259 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: is unclear, the machine could pull the leather down over 260 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: a last, plead it at the toe to fit around 261 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 1: the last, and then it would grip the last with 262 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: the leather upper on it while positioning it over the 263 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: sole nail. The two of them together and then eject 264 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: the shoe completed. But when he submitted this patent application 265 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: in his documentation, it said that it kind of stumped 266 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 1: officials at the US Patent Office. There wasn't anything wrong 267 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: with the paperwork. It was just unique enough and complex 268 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: enough that a patent official had to be sent to 269 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: Lynn to inspect the machine himself to make sure he 270 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: knew what Mattzalaiger had created before he approved it for 271 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: a patent. So that excerpt that I made poor Tracy 272 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: just read includes a lot of steps for one machine. 273 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,479 Speaker 1: So it may have seemed a bit unreal to patent experts. 274 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: And that's particularly so when you consider that up to 275 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: this point, the majority of people were like, no one 276 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: is ever going to be able to invent a machine 277 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: that does this. So this visit though to Lynn must 278 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: have done the trick, because on March twentieth, eighteen eighty three, 279 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: Mattzaliger received a patent for his invention. When I read this, 280 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: I had a moment where I was like, this seems 281 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: like more more effort to get the patents approved than 282 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: a lot of the patents we have talked about. Yes, 283 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: for sure, they were just like I'm sorry, what sir, Yeah. Next, 284 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: there had to be factory tests to make sure that 285 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 1: the machine laster worked. It took two years after the 286 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:11,919 Speaker 1: patent was granted for Matzlager to build a second model 287 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: that would be ready for these kinds of tests, But 288 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,680 Speaker 1: at the end of May of eighteen eighty five, Mattzlager's 289 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 1: invention was put through its paces. It turned out seventy 290 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:26,280 Speaker 1: five perfectly finished pairs of shoes. After the success, things 291 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: moved very quickly, so quickly, in fact, that it gets 292 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: hard to track the business deals that were made in 293 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: the wake of this success. Beyond and his partners had 294 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: formed a company, but they needed bigger investors so they 295 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: could produce the machines at the scale that was needed 296 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: to meet this instant market interest. Soon George W. Brown 297 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,439 Speaker 1: and Sydney W. Winslow were partners and the company was 298 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 1: reorganized as the Consolidated Lasting Machine Company. Consolidated as a 299 00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 1: business owned the rights to Matzalauger's patent, and Matzelagger got 300 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 1: a large chunk of the company stock. Consolidated Lasting Machine 301 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 1: Company got up and running with the staff of two 302 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five workers to build Lasting machines and 303 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: very quickly demand to outpace their output, as is pretty 304 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: common whenever there's a revolutionary invention, and Matzeliger's laster definitely 305 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:26,920 Speaker 1: was that. There were imitations. Many inventors sought to replicate 306 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 1: the consolidated lasting machine, but nobody was really able to. 307 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: One of the things that no one else seemed to 308 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: ever get right was creating a machine that could complete 309 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 1: all of the steps that Mattzaligers did while still handling 310 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:44,719 Speaker 1: the leather with care. Many of the imitation machines lost 311 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: product due to tears and punctures in the material. At 312 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,120 Speaker 1: a time when the average number of pairs of shoes 313 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: produced by an artisan laster working by hand was about 314 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 1: fifty in a day, one of Matt's Laige's machines, working 315 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: at its slowest, could make one hundred and fifty. That 316 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: number was dependent on the style of the shoe and 317 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: how fancy or intricate its design was. For simpler shoes, 318 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 1: the machine could make as many as seven hundred pairs 319 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: in a day, But of course this was not good 320 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: news for the people who had been making their living 321 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: as hand lasters. The rapid adoption of this machine by 322 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,199 Speaker 1: shoe manufacturers meant that there needed to be people to 323 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:30,720 Speaker 1: run them, and there was even a school set up 324 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: by the consolidated Lasting Machine Company to train people. Many 325 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: of the people that went through that training had been 326 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 1: hand lasters, but you'll recall that mattz Lager's patent language 327 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: specifically noted that a boy or a girl or an 328 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:49,679 Speaker 1: unskilled laborer could handle running the machine. That meant the 329 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: factories felt like the wages for Lasting Machine operators could 330 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,160 Speaker 1: be a lot lower than what the lasters had been 331 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,719 Speaker 1: making when they were doing all that work by hand. 332 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,120 Speaker 1: The lasters were not against the use of Matzealiger's machine 333 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:08,120 Speaker 1: for those who transitioned from hand lasting to operating them. 334 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: They recognized that their job was less strenuous, but they 335 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: were against the way that it was being used to 336 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: justify a reduction of their wages. In the middle of 337 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:21,160 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty seven, one factory W. L. Douglas Company had 338 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: a strike. The lasters wanted an advance paid on the 339 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,439 Speaker 1: work they were doing, and they wanted an agreement in 340 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:31,399 Speaker 1: place that only union members would run the Lasting machines. 341 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 1: This strike was reported in the Daily Item, which is 342 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: the local paper for Lynn, on August eighth. It reads, 343 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: quote the forty lasters employed at the factory of W. L. 344 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,240 Speaker 1: Douglas in Brockton quit work Saturday morning because of the 345 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: disagreement between the lasters union and mister Douglas regarding the prices, 346 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: and also because of two non union men being employed 347 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,719 Speaker 1: on the Lasting machines. Mister Douglas said that morning that 348 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: the trouble was caused by the Lasting machines, which he 349 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: had recently put into his factory. He said that last 350 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:05,800 Speaker 1: Monday he brought up from Plymouth two men to work 351 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: on the machines, as he intended to put one half 352 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,919 Speaker 1: union and the other half non union men on the machines. 353 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,200 Speaker 1: The men were paid two dollars and fifty cents a day, 354 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: which is about the same price they received for hand lasting. 355 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: Mister Douglas states that he does not intend to allow 356 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: the union to control the machines so as this write 357 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 1: up continues, though, it reports that Douglas was actually planning 358 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: to use only non union men going forward on the 359 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: Lasting machines, but that he will still give handwork to 360 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: anyone who wants it. That article states quote, all lasters 361 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 1: who wish to return to work on Monday will be 362 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: given employment, and all who do not return will consider 363 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,359 Speaker 1: themselves discharged. Those who do not return will never be 364 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,919 Speaker 1: employed again by him. Of course, if they came in, 365 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: they would be paid at a lower rate. Though this 366 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: was the first of several lasters strike in Lin and beyond, 367 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: the messaging of the lasters Union always made clear that 368 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 1: they weren't anti mechanization, They just wanted fair wages, and 369 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: in a refreshing turn of events, they actually got them. 370 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: The union managed to negotiate for the laster's pay to 371 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: move back up to where it had been before the 372 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 1: Lasting machine came into the factories, and for the machines 373 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: to be run only by union members. Maybe even more 374 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,399 Speaker 1: surprising is that Yon Matzalager was never the target in 375 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: any of these conflicts, and once the lasters were back 376 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,640 Speaker 1: at the factories running the machines, a lot of them 377 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: noted that they were quite happy running them. Yeah, it 378 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,640 Speaker 1: was a lot less backbreaking than hunching over a pair 379 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,120 Speaker 1: of shoes and having to do that fifty times a day. 380 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,400 Speaker 1: In a moment, we're going to talk about what Yon 381 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: Matzalaiger was up to while the Laster's Union and the 382 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 1: factories were figuring out their conflict. But first, we will 383 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 1: hear from the sponsors that keep the show going. While 384 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:13,200 Speaker 1: the strikes and union negotiations were playing out, Matzelager was 385 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: still busy perfecting new iterations of the machine and coming 386 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:21,479 Speaker 1: up with completely new ideas. He became very interested in 387 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 1: motors and perpetual motion machines. But though his curiosity and 388 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:30,320 Speaker 1: ingenuity were still running at full tilt, his health was failing. 389 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,359 Speaker 1: He had first come down with a cold in eighteen 390 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 1: eighty six, but that cold never seemed to go away. 391 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,920 Speaker 1: He kept working through it, but he also just kept 392 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: getting worse, and what he had thought was a persistent 393 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: cold was eventually diagnosed as tuberculosis. Things progressed to a 394 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,679 Speaker 1: point that it really wasn't even feasible for Yan to 395 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: live by himself. He had become really weak and eventually 396 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: was too ill to even leave the house. He depended 397 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: on his friends to take care of him, and he 398 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,880 Speaker 1: also took care of them. In a return. He purchased 399 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,760 Speaker 1: a home for his friends, mister and Missus William Lewis, 400 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: and he lived there with them in his final years. 401 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,119 Speaker 1: Although he really couldn't get out of the house, he 402 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 1: was not living in isolation. Through his church and his 403 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:21,680 Speaker 1: friendly demeanor, Matzlagger had built up a devoted community of friends, 404 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: and people were always stopping by the house to visit 405 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,959 Speaker 1: and see what he had been working on. Outside of 406 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,639 Speaker 1: engineering and machinery, Yan's other interest was painting. He had 407 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: taken it up early in his life, and he had 408 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: gifted friends some of his work over the years, But 409 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: as he became weaker and weaker and unable to do 410 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 1: as much work with his machinery, he continued to paint, 411 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: including painting landscapes of Dutch Guiana as he remembered it 412 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,639 Speaker 1: from his childhood. In the spring of eighteen eighty nine, 413 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 1: Jon Matslagger made out his will. He was hospitalized in 414 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,120 Speaker 1: August of that year, and he died on August twenty fourth. 415 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,640 Speaker 1: Was only thirty seven years old, and while he had 416 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: completely changed an entire industry, he had not really gotten 417 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: to see the impact of his work. His obituary in 418 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: the Linn Paper read, in part quote, he was an exemplary, 419 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: big hearted young man and had many friends in this city. 420 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: The lasting machine he worked so hard to perfect has 421 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 1: much merit to it, and there are many of them 422 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: in use. The money that Yan had made through his 423 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: business dealings was left to the community that had cared 424 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: for him right from his arrival in Lynn. He left 425 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,639 Speaker 1: the North Congregational Church all of his interests in the 426 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 1: Union Lasting Machine Company and one third of his stock 427 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:43,919 Speaker 1: in Consolidated Lasting, and the church held onto that stock 428 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,680 Speaker 1: for decades. He wanted the money the church made from 429 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: that second batch the Consolidated Lasting Company stock to provide 430 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: for Lynn's poor community, regardless of their religious affiliation. He 431 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,879 Speaker 1: also left specific financial and material gifts, include his extensive 432 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,879 Speaker 1: library for several of the young people in his life, 433 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:08,120 Speaker 1: with provisions to pay for their education. He also left 434 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,200 Speaker 1: stock to the medical professionals who had cared for him 435 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 1: in his prolonged illness, and he left the rest of 436 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: his business holdings to fifteen of his closest friends. He 437 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,120 Speaker 1: left a handful of personal effects and paintings to his 438 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:25,919 Speaker 1: friends as well. Although Yan had died, his invention lived on. 439 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 1: Almost immediately after his passing. New engineers were assigned by 440 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 1: Consolidated Lasting to finish the work he had been doing 441 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:39,160 Speaker 1: on a fourth version of a Lasting machine. Consolidated Lasting 442 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: used Matz Lagger's patents to corner the market on machine lasting, 443 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 1: and they also acquired a lot of those shoe manufacturing 444 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:51,440 Speaker 1: companies in Massachusetts and around the Northeast, including the company 445 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: that made the first shoemaking machine that Mattzlager had trained on. 446 00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:00,199 Speaker 1: That was the McKay Copeland Company. McKay had spent a 447 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 1: great deal of money in the years prior to Mattzlager's 448 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: lasting machine, buying up patents that seemed like promising steps 449 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: toward totally mechanized shoe manufacture, and he remained an important 450 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:16,680 Speaker 1: player in the industry. The men whom Jan had partnered 451 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,679 Speaker 1: with in the early days of production all got just 452 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:25,679 Speaker 1: ridiculously rich thanks to his ingenuity. United Shoe Machine Corporation, 453 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,399 Speaker 1: which built the machines that were then sent to factories, 454 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: had a massive growth spurt in eighteen ninety nine, having 455 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,679 Speaker 1: absorbed forty one smaller facilities in the course of just 456 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: a few years. Sidney Winslow, one of Jan's partners you 457 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,160 Speaker 1: may remember from earlier, became the president of that company, 458 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 1: and he was soon regarded as the King of shoe machinery. 459 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,800 Speaker 1: One of the many men to benefit from Mattzalauger's invention, 460 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,439 Speaker 1: Gordon McKay, who he just mentioned, founded a school for 461 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,119 Speaker 1: black boys in Rhode Island as a way to honor 462 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: Yan who had never had any formal schooling beyond a 463 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:05,400 Speaker 1: little bit of elementary school. As noted by biographer Sidney 464 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 1: Kaplan in the Journal of Negro History in nineteen fifty five, 465 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: quote what Mattzelagger did for his country and for humanity, however, 466 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: can hardly be measured in a quantity of dollars, For 467 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 1: his invention has gone down in history as one of 468 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 1: those fundamental contributions. Then, the long run, will have made 469 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 1: work easier for men and women by producing more swiftly 470 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:32,720 Speaker 1: and efficiently a basic article of human need. He had 471 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,560 Speaker 1: created something that had made quality footwear available to a 472 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,720 Speaker 1: much larger portion of the public by creating a machine 473 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: that was so efficient that it increased production to a 474 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 1: massive degree and also drove down the cost of shoes. 475 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 1: By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were two 476 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty shoe factories in Linn and in the 477 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: surrounding area, and they were churning out a million pairs 478 00:28:55,640 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 1: of shoes every day. The industry's income reportedly in increased 479 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: by three hundred and fifty percent as a direct result 480 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: of the lasting machine's introduction, the inventor received a lot 481 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 1: of posthumous accolades. In nineteen oh one, Jan Matzlager was 482 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: honored at the Pan American Exposition held in Buffalo, New York. 483 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: He was again posthumously given a gold medal and he 484 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,680 Speaker 1: was given an honorary diploma in recognition of his achievements 485 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: and his commitment to his self directed education. On September fifteenth, 486 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one, a twenty nine cent postage stamp was 487 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 1: issued that featured Matts Lagger. It was part of the 488 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:40,120 Speaker 1: Black Heritage stamp series and the stamp portrait, designed by 489 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: Barbara Higgins Bond, features Matts Lagger in the foreground with 490 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: diagrams from his Lasting Machine patent in the background. And 491 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: then recently, in autumn of twenty twenty three, a shoe 492 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: brand called Gems by Pencol launched. It was founded by 493 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 1: doctor d Wayne Edwards, who has designed footwear for huge 494 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,120 Speaker 1: brands over the years. You are a sneakerhead. You know 495 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: his name, but the name of his company, Gems, is 496 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: a nod to Jan Ernst Mattzealiger. That j Em is 497 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: his initials, and that's Jan Mattzaliger who I'm personally thankful 498 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: for because I love shoes. Okay, do you have listener 499 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: mail for us? I do. I have two pieces because 500 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 1: they're brief. The first is from our listener Scott, who writes, 501 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: Dear Holly and Tracy. On my visit to the Boston 502 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,239 Speaker 1: MFA today, I stopped by to see Patrick Lyon at 503 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: the Forge photo attached for proof. So he went to 504 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: see the portrait that Patrick Lyon had made of himself, 505 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 1: which he did not want to portray him as a 506 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 1: fancy rich man. And then Scott also attached to pet 507 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 1: tacks of his pug, Clementine, who is redonka doodle in 508 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,960 Speaker 1: the best way. Clementine looks like a gun to plush. 509 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 1: So when I when I read this email, I was 510 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: scrolling down and I was like, oh, you know, I 511 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 1: think I've probably seen that painting in the MFA, because 512 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 1: I have been to the MFA a number of times. 513 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: And then as I kept scrolling, even though I had 514 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: read the email and I knew it was coming, I 515 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:18,800 Speaker 1: had a moment where I was like, why are there 516 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: dog toys on the floor at the MFA? Because picture 517 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: number two was not taken at the MFA. Correct, but 518 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:28,280 Speaker 1: they do the way they line up in our email, 519 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 1: they make it look like it's like one heuge super immach. 520 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,760 Speaker 1: The other email that I want to note is from 521 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 1: our listener Rob. It has a little bit of a 522 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:40,240 Speaker 1: time limit on it, so I'm hoping that this can 523 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: benefit some of our listeners. Rob writes, I have no 524 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:45,479 Speaker 1: idea if either of you will be anywhere near New 525 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,800 Speaker 1: York City in the next month, but I just learned 526 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: there is an off Broadway show about Artemisia Gentileski playing 527 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: at fifty nine E fifty nine. Since I learned about 528 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,960 Speaker 1: her from you two, I feel obligated to bring it 529 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: to your attention. There's also an interview that he links 530 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,640 Speaker 1: us to with the author and co star Kate Hamill 531 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 1: on Friday's episode of the Today on Broadway podcast. This 532 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:11,400 Speaker 1: email was written on November sixteenth, so I think when 533 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 1: this episode comes out there will still be time to 534 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: see it. Rob also writes, I hope you are enjoying 535 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 1: the fall dessert season. I have modified my Pumpkin crack 536 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 1: slash Pumpkin dump Cake dessert that you feature two years 537 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,080 Speaker 1: ago to be friendlier to diabetics, as I am now 538 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,120 Speaker 1: among their number who knew there is now sugar free 539 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:33,320 Speaker 1: yellow cake mix. Between that and Stevia Baking Blend, I 540 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: can still take part in small portions. Rob I wanted 541 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: to read this one because if any of our listeners 542 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:40,960 Speaker 1: are near there and want to check that play out, 543 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 1: that sounds amazing. And two just to say I feel you, 544 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: not me, but my beloved has been dealing with the 545 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: new world of having to really be careful about sugar, insulin, etc. 546 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,600 Speaker 1: So I'm glad that you found ways to adapt. I 547 00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:59,719 Speaker 1: also think it's just a good reminder to people. This 548 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: is PSA. If you can manage it, please get your 549 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 1: regular health screenings, because you can catch those things early 550 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 1: before they've become a problem. I know that's not easy 551 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: for everybody, but if you have access, please do it. 552 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: It's just good for you and we want you around forever. 553 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,440 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 554 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:20,000 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcasts at iHeartRadio dot com. You 555 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:22,280 Speaker 1: can also subscribe to the show if you haven't done 556 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 1: that already. It's super duper easy on the iHeartRadio app 557 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Stuff you 558 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,840 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For 559 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, 560 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.