The manufature of leather by Davis (1885)

Davis, C. T.; The manufacture of leather: being a description of all of the processes for the tanning, tawing, currying, finishing, Carey Baird, Philadelphia (1885)
URL (Internet Archive)

From the preface:

Considering the importance of the leather industry, it seems strange that up to the present time it should in technical literature have been so much neglected. There is not in England nor is there in America a single current book broadly treating all the branches of this subject, and the object of the present volume is fully to explain the details of manufacturing all kinds of leather in common use, and produced from hides and skins by the agency of the usual tanning substances. The author has not been satisfied to make use of the matter found in obsolete books, but has preferred to present a view of the state of the art as it to-day exists in the United States. The tools, machines, and in fact nearly all the mechanical appliances illustrated in the present treatise are of American origin, and in common use in the numerous tanneries and leather-finishing shops of the country.

The collection, compilation, and collation of the vast amount of technical and detailed information attainable relating to the various processes, and to the construction of the numerous machines herein described, have required almost herculean labor. But the work has been greatly aided by many of the leading tanners and curriers of the United States, who have not only placed at the author's disposal every opportunity for personal observation, but have promptly and courteously responded to his letters when containing requests for information. It is doubtful if such facilities as have been extended to him would be granted to a like professional writer on technical subjects in any other country in the world.