Summary

Created on brown paper this convexed shaped pattern is both symmetrical and ornate in style and was mostly likely used by Stanio Fancoff within the production of his many shoes sometime between the 1930s and 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

Symmetrical in form, this pattern shape is set within a convexed rectangular shape wherein its top edge is ornately designed. In the left's top corner two blue penned lines appear horizontal and round to redirect to a vertical form, whilst on the right a similar singular form duplicates this line shape but it has the addition of swirls or possibly a scribbling out motion atop. Located on the lower right region, eleven blue penned dots mimick the bottom edge. Inscribed within the pattern's centre is a double-headed arrow with the text 4.

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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