Summary

This hand-made shoe pattern piece is generated from brown paper and was most likely used by Stanio Fancoff in the creating of his various shoe styles sometime between the 1930s and 1970s. The pattern's distinct 'U' shape suggests it was a combination of vamp and side shoe covering. Amongst many others, this pattern is part of the shoemaking designer kit that enabled Stanio Fancoff 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

Generated from brown paper, this stylised 'U' shaped shoe pattern has one pencil line. Although this line runs centrally through the entire 'U' shape, and has several pencilled dots that mark the points to creating two 'U' shapes of equal symmetry, on the right side portion a secondary line exists (possibly a mistake or first attempt line) that meets at the pattern's curvature area.

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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