ELECTRIC BOOTBLACKS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8100, 27 August 1904, Page 5

ELECTRIC BOOTBLACKS.

machine that polishes 1800 Airs a day. ■ The Zin-merman Automatic Shiner, an electrically-driven machine for polishing . hoots and shots, is ousting the human shoeblack from Coney Island to Sfc Louis. Tlie apparatus consists chiefly of a railed, oiroular platform, which makes one complete revolution every two minutes. On the platform are plaoed six seats. In one round the platform makes six stops of 20t?«c «wh. It is during these intervals, when the platform ,ia at rest opposite the 'brush batteries fixod on the outer immovable rail, that tho polishing Ib performed. ' The client steps oii to the platform, and seats himself on one af the six chairs. By using American hustle it is possible to be fairly settled by the tune the platform haa moved to Station 1. There, during the first pause in the revolution.,^ the' first set of brushes descends on tho now fpawonary shoes, and removes »UL mud from, the leather. Station 2 applies a cleansing^ mixture, No. 3 rubs it off. At No- 4 the polish is pub on, and at No. 6 the final polish is given. At the end of the sixth interval of 20seo tlie platform has brought the customer to the jumping-oft station, "with his shoes dazzling to th*& eves of the beholder. Eighteen hundred pairs of shoes per day ■_ of ten hours eaoh is the record of thiß new machine, and to accomplish this the attention of two boys is all that is necessary. They look after the clients and control the two horsa'-power elc-ctric motor. The machine doea the rest.