History Of Leather From Prehistory To Industrial Revolution

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The art of leatherworking is as old as civilization itself. Let's go on a brief journey, from 1300 BC to the 21st Century.

Prehistory

Prehistoric men first used animal hides to create clothing and shelter in order to survive. Unfortunately, during winter the hides became stiff. They also suffered from rapid decomposition.

It was then found that hides left exposed to smoke, animal fat or damp vegetation lasted much longer than ones that weren?t. After this discovery, hunters began treating their animal hides. Tanning leather became one of the human race?s first technologies.

First the hide was cured with salt to prevent rot. After that it was soaked in water to restore lost moisture. Once dry the preserved hide was scoured, ready for tanning.

The first step in tanning involved leaving the hide to soak in urine. This loosened the hair so it could be scraped off with a knife. The hide was then kneaded with animal dung and soaked again in a mixture of tree bark and vegetable juices.

An alternate method to using vegetable matter was to smear the hide with a soup of animal brains. Tanning made the leather impervious to bacteria but still supple.

As you can imagine all the urine, feces and discarded flesh meant ancient tanneries smelt horrendous! The smell was so bad they were usually banished to the very outskirts of communities.

The Middle Ages

Once spinning wheels and looms were invented, flax and wool could be spun or woven into cloth. Leather and fur was used less often for clothing. During this time tanners formed trade guilds and began sharing their knowledge with guildsmen in other fields.

Leather was still essential for many daily things since glass and pottery were expensive. Most towns and villages in the Middle Ages had a tannery for producing leather items. The Romans were masters of leather making, so as their empire expanded their expertise spread to many countries.

Leather was made into wineskins, aprons, gloves, slings, armor, sandals or other footwear. It was also used for saddles and harnesses, furniture upholstery, parchment and book binding.

The Industrial Revolution

Scientific advances during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought many changes. New agents like sulphuric acid and lime began turning traditional tanning methods into the beginnings of modern chemical processes.

Bark extracts were now largely replaced by chromium tanning. This significantly reduced the production time. Belting leathers provided transmission of power for the new machines transforming the mining and textile industries.

The start of the twentieth century saw another huge development: the internal combustion engine. The age of the horse was finally over. As demand for saddlery and harnesses dropped, once again leather makers had to adapt.

New, luxuriously soft leathers were used in shoemaking and as upholstery for the first automobiles. The leather industry also expanded into light leather goods such as travel bags, purses, wallets and jackets. This trend has continued up to the present day.

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