“Jan Matzeliger invented the automatic shoe lasting machine, mechanizing the complex process of joining a shoe sole to its upper, and revolutionizing the shoe industry.”
He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006. His portrait, biographical information, and details about his invention are at this website.
“This U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp honors Jan Matzeliger, a Black American who revolutionized America’s shoe-making industry in the late 19th century. It is the latest in the Postal Service’s Black Heritage series.
“The stamp, designed by Higgins Bond of Teaneck, New Jersey, features a portrait of Matzeliger against a sketch of his shoe lasting machine.
“Jan E. Matzeliger” and “Black Heritage USA” are printed prominently in black.
“Matzeliger came to the United States in 1870 from Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) and found work as an apprentice cobbler in Philadelphia. Later, in Lynn, Massachusetts, Matzeliger invented the shoe lasting (shaping) machine, which cut the time required to make a shoe to one minute, slashed consumer costs in half, and doubled wages and improved working conditions for millions of people in the shoe industry.”
Black Heritage Stamp Series: Jan Matzeliger
1st U.S. Colored Cavalry 
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