Summary

This hand-cut flat soled mid-calf ankle boot pattern has been created on brown paper and its simple generic design suggests that it was most likely used by Stanio Fancoff within the making of his various styled boots sometime between the 1930s to 1970s. Amongst many others, this pattern is part of the shoemaking designer kit that enabled Stanio to acquire versatility and different fashions within his shoemaking trade.

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

Created within a side-view perspective, this simple boot design with its paper extended toe has been generated on brown paper. This pattern has limited pencil markings, the first parallels the upper arch, the second marks a placement approximately 1cm from the front top line edge and on the reverse, at the calf's midway point is a horizontal line runs the boot throat's width. Aligning this pattern so that it stands upon its frontal area, it would appear that this pattern references only the upper boot portion without its inserted heel.

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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