"The chemical degradation of leather" by Larsen (2008)

Larsen, R.; " The chemical degradation of leather", CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry 62 (11) (2008) 899-902 (restricted access)

DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2008.899

Abstract:

The chemical deterioration of vegetable tanned leather is caused by acid hydrolysis and oxidation due to environmental deteriorative factors like air pollutants, heat and light. In addition, the type of tannin material influences the rate of deterioration. The degree of deterioration can be measured by the fall in the shrinkage temperature (Ts) of the leather. New analysis of data shows that, although environmental factors have a generally larger influence on the deterioration, the average degree of oxidation is greater in older leathers and it significantly influences the Ts in these materials. Moreover, it is also shown that acid pollution is indicated in the relation between pH and the sulphate content measured in the leathers although ammonia is released by oxidation of amino acids and may influence the pH value in acid-damaged leathers.

Ramsden Shagreen Opera Monocular, c. 1770, College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona

Description:
This monocular has a short round parallel cardboard barrel, covered with shagreen. The objective is contained in a brass cell and is a single non-achromatic lens (possibly a replacement). It has one cardboard draw, covered in red leather with tooled on silver-colored floral designs. The single eye lens, which is cracked, is mounted in a flared eyecup made of a material which could be ivory painted or colored black. The two black rings at either end of the barrel are made of this same material. It is signed "RAMSDEN LONDON" on the draw, with the eyecup to the right. It comes with a red leather-covered cardboard or wood case.

"... piel en la indumentaria (Murcia, ss.XIII-XV)" por Martínez Martínez (2002)

Martínez Martínez, M.; "Oficios, artesanía y usos de la piel en la indumentaria (Murcia, ss. XIII-XV)", Historia, instituciones, documentos 29 (2002) 237-274

Resumen:
Análisis del trabajo de la piel y del cuero cola Murcia bajomedieval, que trata: La organización del espacio urbano y periurbano para dichas actividades, además de la identidad de los artesanos; la evolución y desarrollo corporativos de los oficios de la industria del cuero y sus efectos sociales y medioambientales; y, finalmente, los usos de la piel y el cuero en la indumentaria, representativa de estructura social.

Abstract:
Analysis of the use of skins and leather in late medieval Murcia, dealing with the following: the organisation of urban and suburban areas for such activities, in addition the identity of the craftsmen; the corporate evolution and development of trades in the leather industry and their social and environmental effects; finally, the use of skins and leather in clothing, as representative of social structure.

"Restoring leather castors" by Barrington

Michael Barrington, "Restoring leather castors"
http://www.bafra.org.uk/html_pages/articles_casters.html

From the text:
The origin of the castor goes back to certainly the early 16th century when, 'baby cages' and invalid chairs are known to have been equipped with wheels. They were used in England certainly towards the end of 17th Century and by 1690 there was an established castor-making trade in London. Castors, to begin with, were simple hardwood wheels mounted on horizontal axles but by 1700 vertical spindles mounting jaws in which horizontal axles and wheels were carried were in use. The wheels were of wood, probably boxwood which, by the 1730s, tended to be replaced by leather wheels and then brass wheels.

Cuir bouilli case, c.1450–1500, MET Museum of Art

"Case (Etui) with an amorous inscription [Italy] (50.53.1)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nupt/ho_50.53.1.htm

Des ouvriers au travail à la chamoiserie Boinot, en 1920

"Des ouvriers au travail à la chamoiserie Boinot, en 1920: L' album Photos", Le patrimoine industriel de Poitou-Charentes [en ligne], Région Poitou-Charentes - Inventaire du patrimoine culturel, 2007

Sommaire:

• La préparation des peaux
• Le chamoisage
• La fabrication des gants

Cette publication en ligne a été conçue et réalisée par le Service de l'inventaire de la Région Poitou-Charentes, à partir de l'enquête sur le patrimoine industriel de Poitou-Charentes menée, de 1986 à 1993, par Wulf van Riesen et Jean-Pierre Azéma et, de 1994 à 2004, par Pascale Moisdon-Pouvreau, avec le concours de Jacqueline Debelle, Judith Guéret, Aurélie Liège, Olivia Pelletier, Charlotte Pon, Geneviève Renaud.

Gloves and the glove trade by Ellis (1921)

Ellis, B. E.; Gloves and the glove trade, Pitman & Sons, London (1921)

Table of contents:
1.The antiquity of the glove
2.The glove as a symbol
3.The glove in the realm of fashion
4.Leather gloves, skins and their origin
5.Skin-dressing and treatment
6.Dyeing and dressing the leather
7.Glove cutting
8.Sewing and finishing leather gloves
9.Fabric gloves, origin of the industry
10.Making fabric gloves
11.Marketing
12.Distribution of the industry
13.British glove trade organisations
14.Glossary

Leather processing, 19th century print

"Issues in the preservation of manually tanned skin materials" by Klokkernes (2008)

Torunn Klokkernes, "Issues in the preservation of manually tanned skin materials", CeROArt 2 (2008), [En ligne], mis en ligne le 17 octobre 2008.

URL : http://ceroart.revues.org/index501.html.

Abstract:
The field of conservation relates to material science and technology as a fundamental aspect to understand artefacts’ material properties and deterioration. The research performed in this study is an initial approach to the understanding of the complex nature of manually tanned skin materials manufactured by individual tradition bearers from indigenous cultures in the circumpolar area; it instigates a series of research topics which can be further addressed. Contextual interpretation comprises traditional knowledge and practices as well as the empirical information obtained through investigative and analytical methods. This requires collaboration between several areas of knowledge, and raises questions with regard to the interpretation of analytical results in the investigation of these material groups.

Resumé:
La conservation use de l’analyse matérielle et des technologies pour mieux comprendre les propriétés des artefacts et leurs mécanismes de dégradation. La présente recherche constitue une approche de la nature complexe des cuirs tannés au sein des cultures indigènes de la région circumpolaire. Elle suscite par ailleurs de nouveaux thèmes de recherches connexes. L’interprétation contextuelle, de son côté, englobe la connaissance des pratiques ainsi que les informations obtenues par des méthodes d’investigation analytique et exige la collaboration entre divers secteurs et disciplines.

"Lindow man, Tollund man and other peat bog bodies" by Painter (1991)

Painter, T. J.; "Lindow man, tollund man and other peat-bog bodies: the preservative and antimicrobial action of Sphagnan, a reactive glycuronoglycan with tanning and sequestering properties", Carbohydrate Polymers 15 (2) (1991) 123-142 (restricted access)
doi:10.1016/0144-8617(91)90028-B

Abstract:
The tanning reaction that contributes to the preservation of animal tissues by peat consists of a Maillard reaction between the free amino-groups of collagen and reactive carbonyl groups in a soluble glycuronoglycan (‘sphagnan’) containing residues of D-lyxo-5-hexosulopyranuronic acid. Sphagnan is a complex, pectin-like material which is covalently linked to cellulosic and amyloid-like chains in living Sphagnum moss, but slowly liberated by autohydrolysis into the ambient water as the dead moss is converted into peat. It is a precursor of aquatic humus from Sphagnum peat, and the tanning of adventitious collagen in animal remains is only one manifestation of the continuous incorporation of ammonia, aminoacids and polypeptides from a wide variety of sources into the structure of the humic acid molecule. Sphagnan can also suppress microbial activity by reacting with exo-enzymes and sequestering essential, multivalent metal cations.

Bog bodies of the Iron Age by PBS (2006)

"Dating bog bodies by means of 14C-AMS" by van der Plicht et al (2004)

van der Plicht, J.; van der Sanden, W. A. B.; Aerts, A. T.; Streurman, H. J.; "Dating bog bodies by means of ¹⁴C-AMS", Journal of Archaeological Science 31(4) (2004) 471-491 (restricted access)

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2003.09.012

Abstract:

We have made efforts to date a substantial number of bodies from northwest European peat bogs by means of ¹⁴C. In our research, we compared materials such as skin, hair, bone, textile, leather and wood where available. Most of the bodies we investigated were found to date from the Late Iron Age/Roman period (c. 2nd century BC–4th century AD). Our data set shows that bog bodies in general can indeed be successfully dated by means of ¹⁴C analysis. Our results contradict comments in the literature (e.g. C.S. Briggs, Did they fall or were they pushed? Some unresolved questions about bog bodies, in: R.C. Turner, R.G. Scaife (Eds.), Bog Bodies—New Discoveries and New Perspectives, British Museum Press, London, 1995, pp. 168–182) to the effect that ‘peat bogs can age corpses so as to distort completely the usefulness of Radiocarbon’.

L' Encyclopédie: Arts du cuir (1751-1780)

L'Encyclopédie Diderot et d'Alembert: Arts du cuir, Recueil de planches sur les sciences, les arts libéraux et les arts méchaniques, Inter-livres, Paris (1751-1780)

Bourrelier d'après l'Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert

BOURRELIER, s. m. ouvriers qui font les harnois de chevaux de carrosse, de charrette ; ils sont de la communauté des Selliers. Ils ont été nommés bourreliers, du collier des chevaux, qu’on appelloit autrefois bourrelet.

Deutsch: Riemenmacher, Sattelmacher.
English: Harness maker, saddler.
Español: Guarnicionero, talabartero.
Français: Bourrelier.
Italiano: Sellaio (?).
Português: Correeiro.

Histoire de la chaussure par Lacroix (Bibliophile Jacob) (1862)

Lacroix, P.; Duchesne, A.; Seré, F.; Histoire de la chaussure depuis l'antiquité la plus reculée jusq'à nos jours: suivie de l'histoire sérieuse et drolatique des cordonniers, Delahays Libraire-Éditeur, Paris (1862)

"La contribution de l'archéobiologie à l'étude de l'artisanat romain" par Deschler-Erb (2005)

Deschler-Erb, S.; "La contribution de l'archéobiologie à l'étude de l'artisanat romain", in Michel Polfer (éd.), Artisanat et économie romaine: Italie et provinces occidentales de l'Empire. Actes du 3ème colloque international d'Erpeldange (Luxembourg) sur l'artisanat romain , 14-16 Octobre 2004, Monographies instrumentum 32, Montagnac (2005) 31-38

Introdution:
L’archéologie romaine regroupe différentes disciplines «classiques» comme la céramologie, la numismatique ou l’architecture. L’archéobiologie, qui, en l’absence de sources littéraires, a été introduite dès le 19ème siècle pour l’étude des périodes préhistoriques, commence seulement à être intégrée à l’archéologie romaine comme une discipline à part entière. Le but de cet exposé est de montrer le potentiel du travail interdisciplinaire pour l’étude de l’artisanat romain.

L’archéobiologie regroupe deux disciplines : l’archéozoologie et l’archéobotanique. Aujourd’hui encore, il y a relativement beaucoup d’archéologues qui pensent que ces deux disciplines ne donnent que des informations sur la nourriture. Cette vision est très réductrice. En réalité, l’archéozoologie nous donne des informations très variées sur l’importance des animaux pour les sociétés anciennes, que ce soit comme puissance de travail, comme animal de compagnie, comme fournisseur de matières premières ou encore comme valeur symbolique. Dans les sociétés préindustrielles, l’animal jouait donc un rôle multiple. Fournir de la nourriture n’était qu’un seul de ces rôles. Il en va de même pour l’archéobotanique : les plantes peuvent être employées aussi bien comme remèdes que comme combustible. Elles avaient également une valeur symbolique. On utilisait le bois dans la construction des maisons et pour fabriquer différents objets. Les plantes permettaient encore de confectionner des textiles. Bref, l’archéobiologie s’occupe de toutes les matières organiques. Elle enrichit notre connaissance de la vie quotidienne antique en nous donnant des informations multiples, complémentaires des méthodes «classiques».

Prenons par exemple la tannerie, un artisanat organique typique.

"NMR and EPR as analytical tools to investigate...archaeological leathers" by Bardet et al (2009)

Bardet, M.; Gerbaud, G.; Le Pape, L.; Hediger, S.; Trân, Q.-K.; Boumill, N.; "Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance as analytical tools to investigate structural features of archaeological leathers", Analytical Chemistry 81 (4) (2009) 1505-1511 (restricted access)
DOI:10.1021/ac802052a

Abstract:
Archaeological waterlogged leathers dated from the 13th to 17th century have been analyzed using carbon-13 high-resolution solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The NMR and EPR spectra have been compared to modern vegetable-tanned leathers and crude hide. Both techniques allowed us to fully characterize the samples and better understand the changes occurring during aging in water environment. The main features of the archaeological leathers are the high contents in iron and the absence of residual vegetable tannins. Traces of lubricants could not be detected either. The accumulation of iron oxides may have played a role in the conservation of the archaeological objects and explain the surprising good conservation state of the leather samples as was observed in the NMR spectra. The absence of tannins and lubricants in the studied archaeological samples is also discussed. It may be a consequence of aging in water-rich environment. The analysis strategy described in this paper can be systematically applied to characterize archaeological or historical leather samples.

"Handling and care of dry bird and mammal specimens", Conserve O Gram (2006)

Ramotnik, C. A.; "Handling and care of dry bird and mammal specimens", Conserve O Gram 11/09, National Park Service (2006)

Introduction:
Natural history specimens represent the biological legacy of our predecessors. They are the tools used by researchers to assess how species are distributed in geographical and ecological time and space. How we care for these collections today will directly affect their significance and usefulness in the future. Some bird and mammal specimens in North American collections are over two hundred years old. All specimens, new or old, share common preservation and maintenance needs. The handling and care of dry bird and mammal skins, skeletons, and parts is highlighted in this Conserve O Gram.

Methods in the art of taxidermy by Davie (1900)

Davie, O.; Methods in the art of taxidermy, David MacKay, Philadelphia (1900)

From the Preface:
In April 1882, my artist delivered to me the first drawings intended for this work. As specimens were procured from time to time, from which to make illustrations of the various procedures in the skinning and mounting of animals, the progress was continued until the present volume is the consummation of our efforts. We have likewise incorporated some reproductions from photographs of actual work by American taxidermists. All scientific technicalities which could possibly be avoided have been omitted in the text. Our aim has been to produce a work amply illustrating the various modes of procedure in the art of taxidermy, intended especially to instruct the beginner. Those who are experienced in the art may also be aided by some new and practical methods which we have included within these pages.
We have not followed any established order of zoological classification in the arrangement of the chapters, but have taken up the practical lessons on birds first, because they usually give the most satisfactory results to the beginner. The mammals, which are more difficult, come next in order and, lastly, the complicated preparations of crustaceans, fishes, reptiles, etc.

The British Library Database of Bookbindings online

This database is a finding aid to the British Library's bookbinding collections. It includes information and images for selected items from the Library's rich collection of fine bindings of books printed in western Europe from the fifteenth century to date. There is also a selection from the valuable bookbindings collections of the Library's partner, the National Library of the Netherlands. The database is a work in progress and its scope will be widened as resources allow.

(Text from the website database)