Background
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William (Boy) Habraken
William (Boy) Habraken was born at the end of World War II in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. At the age of twenty he separated from his father's shoe-business and started his own import/wholesale company in footwear. In 1970 he moved to Taiwan to become one of the first people to export shoes from there and China to Europe. He stood at the base of some of the largest footwear concerns in Europe. Extensive business travel brought him all over the world, visiting over 120 countries. On many of those trips and in his spare time he collected footwear which was part of traditional indigenous clothing. As important as the shoes themselves were to him, was the related information, such as; the materials used, the way of making, the use, the age and the name in the native language.
Collections
Collections
Collections
Ethnographic Collection
Starting with his first pair in 1968, he acquired a unique collection of over 3400 pairs of shoes out of about 155 countries, states and territories. There are exceptional specimens of North-American Indians, Arctic Inuit, African tribes, Berber, Bedouin, Mongols, the Ottoman and the pre-Inca empires. Extensive parts of the collection originate in Japan, India, Iran, Tibet and Pakistan. Europe is represented from Iceland to Russia and from Lapland to Spain. The collection has a broad range of footwear. Examples are Kadaichi shoes made of emu feathers and human hair (used by Australian native executioners). Beautiful bridal shoes from Afghanistan, India, Syria and Turkey. As a native of the Netherlands he of course also collected many wooden shoes.
Designer Collection
Next to the ethnographic collection, William Habraken also collected a comprehensive collection of unique pieces of well known shoe designers from around the world. The collection comprises amongst others rare designs of 20th century designers such as André Perugia and Salvatore Ferragamo, and from contemporary designers such as Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik.
Books
Collections
Books
Tribal and Ethnic Footwear of the World
His ethnographic collection served as a basis for his influential book Tribal and Ethnic Footwear of The World, which tells stories of footwear around the world. ISBN 90-76295-12-3
Did the Gods Wear Shoes?
In his quest to unearth every possible detail of his collection and the history of each pair, he pondered the question of who wore the first pair of shoes. This question resulted in his second book with the title Did the Gods Wear Shoes.ISBN 978-90-818079-2-0
They Who Came Before Us
In the book "Did the Gods wear shoes" the author explored the possible existence of prior civilizations. In his sequel "They who came before us" he provides the basis for that possibility. The book focuses on prehistoric mason works around the world. The author uses many detailed pictures along with personal observations to establish an alternative to mainstream historical believes.
‘Anaa Sázi – Ancient aliens
At the request of those present at the author's lectures, this printed magazine is a representation thereof. During his lectures in his homeland and abroad he elaborates the highlights of his much-debated books with the help of 138 rare and seldom seen projection images
They Who Came Before Us
$34.99
($6.99 shipping)
