Breaking in new boots before modern hiking boots

The following an excerpt from my new book, Ramble On: A History of Hiking:

Until the advent of modern hiking boots, breaking in a pair of new boots and maintaining their shape and flexibility was a bit of a challenge for the first generations of hikers. To help remedy this problem, Edward Cave explained in the Boy Scout’s Hike Book, published in 1913, that hikers should break in a pair of new boots by standing in a pan of lukewarm water until their boots and wool socks were completely soaked. He then instructed them to go outside and walk until the boots were completely dry, at which point they would’ve conformed to their feet. This wasn’t a homegrown solution that he invented on his own. The U.S. Army employed this method as well. Cave also provided advice on how to waterproof a pair of new boots, informing readers that they should either use neatsfoot oil, melted cocoa butter, or melted tallow to treat the leather. He recommended that hikers should first warm their boots in an oven in order to open up the pores of the leather, which would then allow it to fully absorb the treatment. Hikers and mountaineers also used castor oil, collan oil and melted Vaseline to treat boots.

You can read more about early hiking footwear in Ramble On: A History of Hiking.