Georg Materna
Bespoke Shoemaker
Mahlerstraße 5
1010 Wien
Custom Made
Lady’s Wing-Tip, Brown over “Antique” Tan, Spectator Pump
Euro 425

This is among the rarest finds that we are likely to come across; and it is as exquisite as it is rare, a fully custom made shoe from the hands of the great Viennese shoemaker Georg Materna. (See your copy of the László Vass book for further history and for pictures of the shop at Mahlerstraße 5). Materna’s production, all done in-house by himself and two assistants, is miniscule compared to the production of most other custom shoemakers. There are always a few John Lobb, Edward Green, László Vass shoes in Ebay. Even the occasional Cleverley is to be found, but have you ever seen a Materna? No, this is a rarity, destined for the aficionado and the collector. Indeed, for the collector guided by Vass’s seminal book, Handmade Shoes for Men, in whose pages Materna and his shop are prominently featured; this shoe is an absolute find.

The shoe in question is an entirely hand made, bespoke, shoe, a most lovely Two-Tone Spectator Pump, with brown Wing-Tip and Piping at the opening, over an exquisitely mottled “antique” or “egg shell” tan body. The lining is cream glove leather; all in all an extremely successful quotation of a classic design. This and the other Materna lady’s shoes presented here are a collaboration between the shoemaker and the client, a Parisian Lady known in certain circles for her unimpeachable taste. She has graciously allowed the listing of these shoes as a much needed record of Materna’s creations for ladies, far less well documented than his shoes for gentlemen.

Some History: The concentration of bespoke shoemakers in Vienna and Budapest in the last century, inheritors of the great traditions of the Dual Monarchy, the K. u. K. time, is remarkable. A few of the contemporary continental masters, but also some English and American, are represented in László Vass und Magda Molnár’s seminal book “Handmade Shoes for Men” http://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Shoes-Men-Lasz-Vass/dp/3895089281, available in German, English and French “Herrenschuhe handgearbeitet”, http://www.amazon.de/Herrenschuhe-handgearbeitet-Laszlo-Vass/dp/3895081116, a book well known to shoe lovers or collectors and well worth having. Still it is not within the scope of this excellent book to innumerate the late great masters whose days at the cobbler’s bench are ended but whose masterpieces are still remembered and even changing hands among collectors. In some cases these firms exist but the old masters whose name they bear, now tread a more ethereal ground; George Cleverley immediately comes to mind. In Vienna, in the Singerstrasse, there was Bela Nagy, known for his most elegant and chiseled toe, and wooden nailing. I have it on the generous authority of my very knowledgeable Viennese client, Dr.R.R., who patronized him until Nagy retired in the late 1960, that Nagy’s clientele was taken over by the still thriving Georg Materna. The venerable firm of Scheer & Söhne is still very much in operation and the Senior Herr Scheer was still working when both Dr. R and I stopped in to the Scheer workrooms on different occasions last fall. Going further back, in the 1940s and 50s, there was, for one, the excellent firm of Schilhavy-Rosenzeig. Herrn Rosenzweig himself, I learned, remained active into the late 1960s, working from home in the Himmelpfortgasse. There were others, of course, the excellent Herr Reicher on the Kühnplatz, retired these 10 years, and yet others in Budapest. For the collector the hand work of these great craftsmen remains precious and is much sought after, not only for its extreme rarity but that it memorializes the quality (and variety of individual styles) of the best traditional Central European craftsmanship in this field.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

Condition is superb.

Georg Materna
Bespoke Shoemaker
Mahlerstraße 5
1010 Wien
Custom Made
Lady’s Wing-Tip, Brown over “Antique” Tan, Spectator Pump
Euro 425

Vor uns haben wir den wohl seltensten Fund, den man in Sachen “erlesene Schuhe” machen kann und so außergewöhnlich er ist, so hochwertig präsentiert er sich: ein in allen Teilen nach Maß gefertigter Schuh, aus dem Haus des großen Wiener Schuhmachers Georg Materna (Einzelheiten zur Geschichte und Fotos vom Geschäft in der Mahlerstraße 5, finden Sie bei “Herrenschuhe Handgearbeitet” von László Vass). Die Produktion wird im eigenen Atelier hinter den Verkaufsräumen vom Meister selbst und zwei Mitarbeitern besorgt und sie ist minimal zu nennen, im Vergleich zu der anderer Maßschuhmacher. So kann man immer ein paar Exemplare von John Lobb, Edward Greens, László Vass in Ebay finden. Sogar ein noch viel seltenerer “Cleverley” lässt sich hin und wieder blicken. Allerdings: sind Sie auch nur einmal auf einen Materna gestoßen? Nein, das ist eine absolute Rarität, die den Liebhaber nicht weniger begeistert als den Sammler.

Der zum Verkauf stehende Schuh ist ein bildschöner Two-Tone, Wing-Tip, Spectator Pump and exquisitem Futterleder, das jeden Handschuh in den Schatten stellt.  Alles in allem ein sehr gewinnendes, sehr individuelles Design.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

Superb!

Georg Materna
Bespoke Shoemaker
Mahlerstraße 5
1010 Wien
Custom Made
Lady’s Wing-Tip, Brown over “Antique” Tan, Spectator Pump
Euro 425

La paire que voici est une trouvaille des plus insolites : une chaussure aussi rare que raffinée, entièrement faite à la main sur mesure par le grand bottier viennois qu’est Georg Materna (voir détails, histoire et photos de la boutique, au 5 de la Malerstraße, dans le livre « Herrenschuhe Handgearbeitet », de László Vass). La production, assurée entièrement dans son atelier viennois par le maître et ses deux collaborateurs, est minime en comparaison de celle d’autres bottiers travaillant sur mesure. Ainsi, en cherchant sur E-Bay, l’on tombe toujours sur une paire de John Lobb, Edward Green, László Vass ; on arrive même à y dénicher des Cleverley : mais y avez-vous jamais vu des Materna ? Non, il s’agit là d’un authentique trésor pouvant intéresser autant l’amateur que le collectionneur.

La chaussure en question est un ravissant Spectator bicolore. Bout et emboîtage sont en veau souple et lisse, et la doublure dans une peausserie dont la finesse surpasse celle d’un gant; somme toute, un dessin personnalisé tout à fait réussi. C’est un magnifique travail, intégralement exécuté à la main.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

Superb!