New Viennese Shoe Fashion 6, by Robert Knöfel

New Viennese Shoe Fashion 6, by Robert Knöfel

C. 1900-1905

Chromolithograph

This striking Art Nouveau color lithograph presents an avant-garde profile of an elegant, pastel blue women’s high-top dress shoe, published under the prominent header “Neue Wiener Schuhmode” (New Viennese Shoe Fashion). Conceived by designer Josef Krake of Vienna and Warsaw, and drawn by the publisher Robert Knöfel, the boot features a sweeping, scalloped lace guard adorned with teardrop-shaped cutouts that reveal a contrasting lattice pattern underneath. The design is elevated by a matching low Louis heel, delicate decorative line stitching on the quarter, and an oversized silk ribbon bow tied at the high collar. Text embedded within the elaborate Jugendstil botanical border identifies this print as plate number 51, distributed as a professional supplement to Robert Knöfel's Neue Wiener Schuhmacher-Zeitung located at Mariahilferstrasse 95, Wien. Produced during the height of the Viennese Secession movement, circa 1900 to 1905, this publication was issued twice a month on the 1st and 16th to showcase premium bespoke footwear concepts for elite Austro-Hungarian society.

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 9” W

Condition: In good condition