The Beginning of Leather

As evident from the history record, animal hide was used in different cultures and civilizations as far back as 1300 B.C. Historical evidence shows that the Egyptians have already started using leather by this time. Leather was also used by the primitive society of Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. Each of these primitive societies has its own unique method of turning animal hide into leather products. Some primitive societies were even using animal hide to fabricate containers for keeping wine.

The Greek made use of leather for the fabrication of garments around 1200 B.C during the time of Homeric Heroes. It was later adopted by the Romans. The Romans used leather in the fabrication of the heavy leather shirt used as protective armour for their soldiers.

However, during these initial times, there was no defined means of preserving leather. The animal hide used in those times where very crude. But in the course of history, the methods for softening and preserving leather were discovered by man. How man discovered these method was not known. It was believed that these methods were discovered either through trial and error method or by accidents. Some of the methods that were used in those days for the preservation of leather were smoking, greasing and the use of extracts from the barks of trees. However, the tanning of leather which has been improved on in the contemporary era started with the Hebrews. But when this act was discovered, it was not disclosed to everybody. It is an act that people held secretly and then passed it on to their children.

However, the tune of the music changed with the advent of European civilization. The trade guilds of the Middle Ages brought tanners together. During this time, licenses were given to people so that they will practice leather tanning.

Significant improvement was made in the tanning of leather in the 19th century. Tanning with the extracts from the barks of some trees known as vegetable which has been used was replaced by another method of tanning known as the chrome tanning. Chrome tanning is the use of chemicals for the tanning of animal hides. Though the vegetable tanning has not completely gone into extinction until now, the chrome tanning is widely used. Greater percentage of leather used today for the fabrication of leather accessories were all gotten from chrome tanning process.

Today, there are quite a number of tanneries where one can buy leather accessories as much as one wants. If you want to make use of leather for anything at all, it is important that you understand the type of leather you are buying and also the type of animal hides used in the fabrication of the leather. Below are some of the types of leathers that you can buy.

Suede Leather: This is a kind of leather produced by sanding the animal skin.
Full Grain Leather: As the name suggests, this type of leather is still as it was when it was gotten from the animal skin, only the hairs have been removed.
Top Grain Leather: This is when the full grain leather is split. The top part of it is what is known as top grain leather.

Source: http://www.maxwellscottbags.com/italian-leather-blog/2011/10/the-beginning-of-leather/

The Development of Leather

The early periods of human civilization saw the tanning method being used across many areas of the world. And with such usage emerged various new uses of the tanned animal hide, i.e. leather. The clever man found out that the piece of animal skin could be used other than clothing and footwear. For instance, a very helpful use discovered was that the water would stay cool and fresh in a bag made out of leather. Other items made from leather for common use were beds, carpets, tents, rugs, harnesses and armour.

The ancient Egypt civilization, the most developed civilization of that time, valued leather as an important item for trade. The Egyptians used leather as shields, belts, bags, cushion, harnesses, sandals and chairs and traded them. Some of the items among these are still used made from leather today.

Other civilizations to use leather as a raw material for different accessories were the Greek and Roman civilization. They made many new types of shoes and sandals out of leather. In the 18th century, the main material used to make capes and armour for battle was Leather. Shoemaking and tanning then became a successful profession among the Greek. Originally, tanning was a trade belonging to the cottage industry, but later it went on to be a full-time employment of the people, who spent hours processing leather and refining it to the best form. The Roman also created various products from leather. Hence, leather flourished in the roman and Greek civilization.

In the Middle Ages, the smartest nation to use leather in the best way was the Arabs. The Arabs produced different types of leather. The most famous of them called, “Genuine Morocco” which was created from beautiful goatskin from Morocco. Uses of leather for decorative art were discovered in Medieval England. Leather was used by the English people as a book covering and binding material. They made various kinds of boxes and containers, like dagger sheaths, sword cases, water bottles and box coverings. Since the standard form of transport used in those days was the horse, leather was utilized as the material to manufacture saddles and harnesses for the horses.

The methods which were used in the production of leather hardly changed when the 19th century came. Actually, over 200 years, the manufacturing process changed very little. But even the Industrial Revolution did not bring any change in tanning, which was and still is the most basic and the oldest methods in the field of leather. The art and craft of leather making developed with the introduction of science and technology. Nowadays, many products and accessories are manufactured from leather. The most common usage is in the field of clothing. Leather jackets, pants, waistcoats, coats, and shoes are the most famous. In accessories, leather bags and belts are the most manufactured products. Leather is also used to make seating in cars. The many innovations and technological changes, together with improved machinery continue to make leather a modern, successful industry.

Source: http://www.maxwellscottbags.com/italian-leather-blog/2011/10/the-development-of-leather/