Summary

This hand-cut right shoe sole pattern with its various markings and "5 1/2" inscription has been created on brown cardboard and was most likely used by Stanio Fancoff in the creating of his various shoe styles sometime between the 1930s and 1970s. Appearing within a generic format, this pattern was most likely used within the making of various 5 1/2 sized shoe and boot styles. 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

This hand-cut right shoe sole pattern with its various markings and "5 1/2" inscription has been created on brown cardboard. The pattern exhibits several pencil markings placed within the shoe's sole. First, a horizontal line exhibiting two circles within its form has been placed across the sole's toe cap area. On the main foot pad area's right hand side, three arrows point towards the shoe's outer edge, while on the left side a short inner line parallels the outer edge with an arrow and the term "KON" written. Further down this section are penciled the numbers"5 1/2", possibly indicating a sizing. Within the foot's arch midway point a horizontal line with two symmetrically placed needle point holes have been positioned at approximately 5mm from the outer edge. This particular line appears both drawn and inscribed within the pattern, on its reverse side a crease line within the pattern suggests that it may have been folded at this point. The heel section exhibits a small 5mm hole punch and adjacent is written "So = Zoco" (? difficult to read) and underneath this is "ZL-MR" underlined.

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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