Before 1870, most touring skates had a wooden foot-plate which was attached to the boot with leather straps. Examples were the "Gillbergs" skate from Sweden, and the "Stheemann" "wooden Norwegian" from the Netherlands. Even earlier, in the years 1870 to 1900, there were very similar models made in North America, like the "Donaghue" from the U.S. In 1875, the , a design in which the blade extended several inches behind the heel, was introduced in the Netherlands. It was popular with both tour skaters (both casual and competitive) and sprint skaters (), and remained popular until some years after the Second World War.