Summary

Dark pear-shape handled awl was one of the many tools within Stanio Fancoff's shoemaking tool kit. This particular tool with its rectangular 'S' shaped blade was used to make horizontal slit-like holes that prepared the way for thread, thus allowing the joining of several shoe pieces such as the insole, upper and welt. This awl tool, along with many other instruments were vital elements within Stanio's shoemaking kit from the 1930s onwards.

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. In 1936, 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. Selected shoe samples were then taken to Sydney and Tasmania for sale. In 1942, Georgi and Stanio moved to Broken Hill for Georgi's health; daughter Nancy was born there 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.

Physical Description

Dark wooden pear-shape handled awl tool.The metal blade is rectangular in form with a slight 'S' curve shape that tapers to a point. The wooden handle's head has a flattened square surface area possibly used to enhance hammer/punch contact zone. The handle is encircled with an inscribed thin line in the top third portion, but overall the handle appears stained, perhaps caused through shoe polish or varnishes.

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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