On January 24, 1871, Charles Goodyear, Jr., (son of the inventor of vulcanization of rubber) received U.S. Patent No. 111,197 on a Machine for Sewing Boots and Shoes:

This was one of a series of seven patents that issued for machinery to make the famous Goodyear welt. U.S. Patent Nos. 96944, 112802,113420, 116947, 140035, and 143237, culminating with U.S. Patent No. 170547. A welt is a strip of material (e.g., leather, rubber, or plastic) extending the perimeter of a shoe outsole. The Goodyear welt machinery was actually based on a welt machine patented by August Destouy (U.S. Patent No. 143237) in 1862.