Summary

This 1930s-1940s left foot, low heeled, female buckled dress shoe of pink and brown leather was one of Stanio Fancoff's basket shoe samples. This shoe, along with six others, were shown to prospective purchasers as examples of Stanio's shoewares which were made from his shoemaking business in Fitzroy by himself and family.

Stanio Ivanoff Fancoff was born in 1908 in Bojentsi, a small village in Bulgaria. At age 11, Stanio left home to learn the shoemaking trade. In 1929, he immigrated to Melbourne, settled in Fitzroy and began to work for the V.G. Zemancheff & Sons basket shoe factory in South Melbourne. In1936, he married Dorotea Georgi Touzou who had recently arrived in Australia. Around this time, Stanio set up his own shoemaking business from home, with Georgi, her cousin and sister weaving the shoes which he then assembled. Select shoe samples were then taken to Sydney and Tasmania for sale. In 1942, Georgi and Stanio moved to Broken Hill for Georgi's health; there daughter Nancy was born and Stanio set up a shoe shop/factory. In 1945, Georgi died and by 1950 Stanio and Nancy had moved to Adelaide where he again opened a shoemaking business and shop. He passed away in 1978, having been in the shoemaking business for 59 years. This collection documents his migration and working life experiences.

Physical Description

Left foot, low heeled, female dress shoe of pink and brown leather basketweave. Enclosed shoe with slight rounded shape toe, fastened with ornate metal buckle on left side. Lower shoe section and central section from base to vamp are woven in a checkered pattern, top portion appears as two rows of vertical stripes, top line including cross shaped upper area is in unwoven brown leather. Complete with a neutral coloured quartier but no insole lining. Neutral coloured leather sole inscribed and stamped on base, with heel of 4cm height and depth, two tacks inserted mid-way up the sole, while three tacks connect heel to sole. Leather wraps around heel, joining at heel breast centre.

Significance

This collection is significant in documenting a small migrant business as well as the fashion of a particular period. It is well provenanced and charts the application of trade skills in a new country. It also illustrates the stages of hand shoe manufacture from the 1930s, demonstrating the enduring nature of the tools and patterns that were used.

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