Navigating the city’s streets in the 1800s was treacherous business. Apart from dodging carriages and horse-drawn trolleys, Philadelphians had to deal with a daily onslaught of mud and manure. To get rid of the muck before treading on finely finished floors, men and women used cast- or wrought- iron boot scrapers. Placed at the doorstep of nearly every house, boot scrapers were often finely crafted by expert artisans. Here’s a selection of the hundreds that survive in Center City.
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