Lye-Tapley Shoe Shop, 1830Peabody Essex Museum

Salem in History, 2006

Peabody Essex MuseumSalem in History 2006

Lye-Tapley Shoe Shop, c. 1830Salem, MA

H I S T O R I C A L C O N T E X T

The North Shore (north of Boston) region was an important center for the shoe industry from the late 18ththrough the 20th century. Prior to the industrial revolution, shoes were produced by master craftsmen whoworked in small shops, called “10-footers,” which were attached or adjacent to their homes. The master shoe-maker would teach apprentices, who paid for the privilege of learning a skill. Once the young man learned thetrade, he was considered a journeyman, who earned money for his work, but did not yet own his own shop.Eventually, a journeyman expected to strike out on his own as a master in his own right. In addition to thework done in the shop, female family members or others in the neighborhood might take on “piecework,”stitching leather uppers for the shoes.

During the first quarter of the 19th century, some masters started to centralize their shoe production, andgreater division of labor occurred. Slowly, the apprentice system was replaced by a wage system, and the headof the operation was not necessarily a master craftsman, but a manager. Better transportation systems led toincreasing markets for a larger volume of goods.Technological changes, such as the sewing machine, orspecialized machines specifically for shoe production (such as Samuel Preston’s shoe pegging machine of 1833)further mechanized the process into an industrialized factory system. Still, 10-footers continued to dot thelandscape throughout the 19th century.

A R T H I S T O R I C A L C O N T E X T

Master shoemaker Joseph Lye (1792-1834) of Lynn, Massachusetts, used this shop for his business. The LynnPublic Library owns a photograph of the shop on its original site (see a link athttp://www.saleminhistory.org/IndustriousPeople/10-footers/primarysources.htm). Today, it is situated on thePeabody Essex Museum campus and is displayed as a shoe shop.

SAMPLE GUIDING QUESTIONS• Describe this building. Of what does it appear to be made? Does it seem to have more than oneroom? Using the scale of the door and windows to help you get a sense of the size of the building,about how big do you think it is?• How many people do you think could comfortably work in this building at one time?• What does this suggest to you about how big this shoemaking operation was?• Do you think this suggests a pre-industrial system of shoe production, or a factory system of shoeproduction?

SUGGESTED LEARNING ACTIVITIES• Create a “10-footer” in your classroom. Measure out a 10’ square with masking tape (or use cardboard for walls, etc.). Ask students what else would be needed for three people to make shoes (tools,shoe forms, a table, chairs, leather, etc.) You might also use tape to mark out areas where these essentials would be placed, or you might use actual furniture, baskets, and other props. Discuss what itwould be like to work with another person or two in this space. Consider, for example, that it wouldbe very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, and that the men would need to get alongvery well in order to work so closely.

2003 Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Frameworks: 3.11, 3.12 3.13, USI.27, USI.28

1 Although the name for these buildings suggest the size was 10 feet square, this was not necessarily so. “10-footer”referred to any small shop used by a master of any craft.

2 See an example of a shoe produced with this machine at http://www.saleminhistory.org/IndustriousPeople/10-footers/images/prestonSHOE.htm