The History Of Leather
The History Of Leather
Since the beginning of time, humans have dressed in leather, a material derived from tanned animal hides. For warmth and to absorb the magical qualities they thought the animal skins bestowed upon them, prehistoric people wrapped the skins around their bodies. To the nations they traveled to, Phoenician sailors frequently brought richly embroidered leather clothing from Babylonia. The tombs of Egyptian pharaohs included leather shoes.
When Roman soldiers entered northern Europe, they came upon Teutonic nomads who were dressed in leather to stave off the elements. The toga-clad city officials tried to outlaw the usage of leather pants when these warriors returned to Rome with them, but they were unsuccessful.
Leather was quickly used by the Romans for shoes, tunics, breastplates, and shields. In actuality, the Roman Empire saw the formation of the first known tanning guild.
The Moors introduced the softer Cordovan leather, which they produced from goatskin to Europe during the Middle Ages. Tanners' guilds had been set up all over Europe by the Renaissance. The American Indians also fashioned clothing from buckskin, doeskin, and buffalo hide, as did the Mayan, Incan, and Aztec cultures of Central and South America.
Leather straps that had been strung through holes pierced in the hide with rudimentary tools made of stone during the Stone Age held clothing together. The stiff hides did not last very long before putrefaction rendered them unusable. Later, people discovered how to clear the animal cells from the skins using stones and how to soften the hides by rubbing them with animal fat. It's also likely that early people discovered further preservation techniques while attempting to color the skins with various substances.
The techniques used for preservation have changed over time. Hides have been battered, dragged over sharp rods, smoked, salted, bathed in urine, and smeared with animal excrement. Even chewing the skins has been used by ancient people and some modern Eskimos to remove hair, chunks of meat, and ultimately to soften the leather. To replace the natural oils, the skins in some civilizations were dusted with flour and talc.
Women's leather clothing was frequently scented.
Despite being a lucrative trade good, tanning was a messy and unpleasant process, therefore leather craftsmen were typically restricted to the outskirts of towns.
The first method of tanning with oak bark was created by ancient Hebrews, according to legend. Fish oil had the same purpose for the American Indians. The hemlock and chestnut trees, for example, were discovered by American colonists to be useful for tanning. Machines were created to carry out these tasks in the 19th century, and an American chemist created a tanning technique utilizing chromium salts that reduced the processing time from weeks or months to just a few hours.
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