Summary

This medium-sized, dark brown leather sample remnant shows the leather type and colour that Stanio Fancoff used within his shoemaking craft between the 1930s and 1970s. Along with many other samples, this leather piece was an integral part of the shoemaker's kit that provided aesthetic diversity to his shoemaking craft.

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

Medium-sized, supple dark brown coloured leather. Sporadically cut, this piece has no definitive outer shape but its lower and side edges are clean cut while the upper edge appears torn and ratty in form. Although no fold marks appear, the leather does not lay flat rather, its sides turn-up and wave rolls appear within its structure. The front side texture appears in a shiny format, while the reverse side exhibits the skin's fibres. Furthermore, on the reverse side's light brown hue exhibits several small lighter coloured areas, and its side edge has a darker strip of colour suggesting a possible burning or interference with the leather fibres.

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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