Freres Koechlin Women's Fashion Plate by Unknown Artist

Freres Koechlin Women's Fashion Plate by Unknown Artist

C. 1879

Hand Colored Lithograph

This print features an elegant Austrian Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) fashion plate titled Neue Wiener Schuhmode (New Viennese Shoe Fashion), showcasing an original shoe pattern by Ignaz Liebsch and drawn by publisher and master cordwainer Robert Knöfel, dating to circa 1900–1905. The centerpiece of the illustration is a profile view of a sophisticated women’s high-top ankle boot rendered in a monochromatic palette of slate blue and muted grey tones. The design highlights a pointed toe and an intricate, curvilinear leather overlay that contours the heel and lower vamp, mirroring the sweeping organic aesthetics of the Viennese Secession movement. A side closure flap features a wavy, scalloped edge secured by a vertical row of eight prominent, polished metallic dome buttons. The entire composition is framed by a fluid black ink border with a dramatic, symmetrical botanical fan motif at the base, with lower text markings identifying it as plate number sixty-three of the bi-monthly supplement published from Knöfel’s workshop on Mariahilferstrasse in Vienna.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, specialized trade publications served as an essential lifeline for European craftsmen adapting to a rapidly modernizing consumer market. Trade magazines like Der Schuhmachermeister regularly distributed these high-quality technical supplement plates to independent cobblers and cordwainers. Rather than acting as mere consumer advertisements, these illustrations functioned as accurate design blueprints and stylistic benchmarks. They allowed local masters to reproduce the latest metropolitan fashions, including Berlin or Parisian high-society trends, for their regional clientele. These plates are critically important to fashion historians today because they bridge the gap between traditional bespoke handcraft and industrial mass manufacturing, documenting the precise patterns, heel geometry, and textile combinations that defined the footwear silhouette of the era.

Dimensions: H 13 ½”  x 10” W

Condition: A few tears along the edges and corners, toning from age