A last has an insert shaped to fit within a shoe during its manufacture and a stem fixed on the insert, projecting along an axis from the insert, and formed with radially oppositely projecting front and rear protrusions. A gripper has front and rear jaws formed with respective recesses complementarily engageable with the protrusions so it can accurately hold and position the shoe and last. The protrusions and recesses are formed substantially entirely of planar surfaces, although they can be complementarily rounded, for instance part-spherical. The stem has a radially directed flat provided with indicia and the gripper is provided with a scanner juxtaposable with the flat for reading the indicia. A stationary card on the flat carries the indicia.