Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/June Swann

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Sorry, Jimbo, but there's not a single "delete" !vote here. (non-admin closure) Kraxler (talk) 00:55, 11 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

June Swann

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Not actually a biography, and unlikely that we can gather enough information to make it into a biography Jimbo Wales (talk) 23:47, 3 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of United Kingdom-related deletion discussions. Everymorning (talk) 11:45, 4 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of History-related deletion discussions. Everymorning (talk) 11:47, 4 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: If she is indeed "the world's leading authority on historic shoes" and a museum curator, surely there are biographical details publicly available somewhere, perhaps from institutions where she has been employed or from the publisher of her books that are noted in the article. Deli nk (talk) 15:02, 4 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Keep. Shoe history is rather an obscure field, but she's a major figure in it. --Andreas Philopater (talk) 23:08, 4 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Search for "footwear historian" returns only this article. Considering the other comments, i don't have an opinion for deletion but if she is the only footwear historian, she may need a different description that doesn't appear made up. --DHeyward (talk) 02:55, 7 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Keep It all depends on what we want to consider "significant coverage". this article in The Independent, this feature on her in National Geographic, this article in the Toronto Star, the Barcelona Metropolitan called her "an acclaimed shoe historian", The Baltimore Sun interviewed her briefly in this article, and finally The New York Times has two paragraphs about her in this article and quote her as stating that "she is the world authority on the history of shoe fashions". According to VADS, it refers to her by name and title, M.B.E., suggesting she's a Dame. I wouldn't necessarily call this a home run, but perhaps in the niche world of shoemaking and history, she may be a prominent person. Mkdw ^talk 03:22, 5 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 04:32, 5 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. Mkdw ^talk 20:19, 5 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per Mkdw, it appears significant coverage in reliable sources does exist to support an article per WP:GNG. Winner 42 Talk to me! 15:17, 6 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - I am wondering if the page nominator could share with us just how he came across this article, and why despite rather good sourcing in the Independent and National Geographic, among others, he decided to nominate. Has the subject herself requested deletion? Tarc (talk) 04:26, 8 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

As I have discussed elsewhere, I have a shortcut on my toolbar to take me to a random article in the category "British Women Writers". At the time of nomination, the article was a single paragraph. I wouldn't call the sourcing "rather good" at all - it's quite thin and, as I said in the nomination, the article was not actually a biography. I expressed doubt as to whether we can create a good biography. Mkdw has done an admirable job of gathering sources, and so it seems likely that the article can be improved to an acceptable state.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 07:55, 8 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Jimbo, even I as a passionate deletionist at least look around for sources before nominating an article. Tarc (talk) 12:29, 8 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Speedy Keep per MKDW - Before nominating any article editors are expected to search for sources which judging by this AFD the nominator clearly hasn't done that!, Anyway article's been expanded and judging by MKDW's findings i'd say notability's certainly there. –Davey2010^Talk 01:11, 10 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Keep per MKDW by application of GNG. Hlevy2 (talk) 11:28, 10 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Keep, meets WP:GNG, multiple references available and WP:ANYBIO, Swann being a widely recognises shoe (history) expert. Here are more (some may be deemed trivial?) references:

[1] - History, "in the roof we found a child's leather shoe - dated 1880 by shoe expert June Swann."

[2] - International Council Of Museums Costume News 2015:1, an obituary and shoe book reviews written by Swann.

[3] - Archaeological Leather Group Newsletter No. 33 March 2011, shows Swann attending and contributing to the Groups 17th Annual General Meeting, also has an article on shoe terminology and a shoe book review by Swann.

[4] - Fit for the Court Lady Ribblesdale's Shoes, 1797 By Noreen McGuire, Victoria & Albert Museum, Swann cited throughout and 2 of her books included in bibliography

[5] - Mystery of the shoe in the wall, "The study of concealed shoes began in 1957 when June Swann, keeper of the boot and shoe collection at the Northampton Museum, and a fellow curator each received a half-dozen shoes for identification. Most had been hidden near chimneys. Swann could find no literature on shoes concealed in houses. She wrote in a 1996 article in Costume Society Journal about how her curiosity was piqued especially by the discovery of a pair of child's boots in the thatched roof of a cottage in Northamptonshire. "I had this vision of a tiny child on the thatched roof," Swann, now 79 and retired, told the Star, "and I wondered, `What kind of family does this?' ... Not being superstitious, it took me a long while to convince myself that all my finds were (put there deliberately)." "

[6] - Secrets of an old shoe, "an online article by British shoe historian June Swann confirmed that in Britain, in particular, it was not uncommon for a shoe to be hidden somewhere in a house to bring stability and good luck to the household."

[7] - Characteristics of the Chukka boot, "However, in studying what shoe historian June Swann had to say about the boots and ..."

[8] - The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey, a book review "The expertise of a distinguished group of international specialists has been drawn upon for this book; they are ... June Swann."

[9] - The World According to Shoes, news article quotes Swann.

[10] - Stepping Out, Footwear at UC Davis (Exhibition Review), one of Swann's books in recommended reading list. Coolabahapple (talk) 13:10, 10 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Keep, time to close this, or for Nom to withdraw it. She is notable in an actual field of study.E.M.Gregory (talk) 16:53, 10 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.