| Early
man |
Use of raw hide. |
| |
Preservation with
fats, brains and wood smoke, a method still used by some. |
| |
Tanning with an
infusion of tannin-containing barks, leaves, twigs and fruits
of certain trees and plants. |
| |
Palaeolithic cave
paintings discovered near Lerida in Spain depict the use of
leather clothing. |
>
40,000 BC
(Middle Palaeolithic) |
Traces
of organic materials on stone tools found in the Ukraine suggest
they may have been used used for scraping animal skins clean.
The skins could have been used for clothing or shelter. |
| >10,000
BC |
Pointed
flint tools have been found which may been used for punching
holes in skin. The teeth in a Neanderthal skull found in France
had a wear pattern which matches that of more recent Eskimos
who chewed leather to soften it. |
10,000
BC
(Upper Palaeolithic) |
Excavation
of Palaeolithic sites has yielded bone tools used for scraping
hides and skins to remove hair. Their shape is similar to modern
tools used for the same purpose. |
| 5,300
years ago |
In
1991 the body of a bronze age hunter was found in the Alps.
His fairly elaborate shoes were made from various materials
including bear and deer skin. The body is on display at the
South Tyrol Museum
of Archaeology, |
| Ancient
Egypt |
Wall paintings and
artefacts found in excavated tombs show that leather was used
for sandals, clothes, gloves, buckets, bottles, shrouds for
burying the dead and for military equipment. |
| Ancient
Greece |
The ancient Greeks
were users of leather. References to leather can be found in
the works of Homer. |
| 8th
Century BC |
According
to Homer, the god Ailos gave Odysseus a leather bag filled with
storm winds to help him reach Ithaca. The Odyssey was composed
in the eighth century BC, and is set in the time of the Trojan
War around 1200 BC. |
| 8th
Century BC |
From
around the same time as Homer, leather scrolls have been found
with translations of Babylonian texts into Aramaic and Greek.
|
| Roman
Empire |
Widespread use of
leather for footwear, clothes, military equipment including
shields, saddles and harnesses. Excavation of Roman sites in
Great Britain has yielded large quantities of leather articles
including footwear and clothing. |
| |
The Romans brought
leather manufacture to Britain. |
| Ancient
Britain |
The ancient Britons
used leather for footwear, clothing, bags and for the hulls
of early boats called coracles. |
| Medieval
era |
Most towns and villages
had a tannery, situated on a stream or river which they used
as a source of water for processing and as a source of power
for water wheel driven machines. In some cases these tanneries
live on in street names like Tanner Street. |
| |
Footwear
of the middle ages
|
| 7th
Century AD |
The
Lindisfarne gospels, one of the oldest surviving documents
in the English language were written on vellum by monks on
Holy Island, Northumberland.
|
| 1320 |
Birth
of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, whose surname comes from the French
word chaussier, or shoe maker. The family's financial success
came from involvement in wine and leather. |
| 1398 |
The
Worshipful Company of Leathersellers are granted articles for
the regulation of their craft during Richard (Dick) Whittington's
reign as Lord Mayor of London. |
| 1444 |
The
Worshipful Company of Leathersellers received their first Chapter
of Incorporation from King Henry VI. |
| 1564 |
Birth
of William Shakespeare, to John Shakespeare, a glove maker and
wool merchant. |
| |
“Is
not parchment made of sheep-skins? - Ay, my lord, and of calf-skins
too.” (Hamlet, act V, scene I). Originally parchment came
from sheep skins and vellum from calf skins. Both were used
in Europe throughout the middle ages. |
| 18th/19th
Century |
The industrial revolution
created demand for new kinds of leathers such as belting leathers
to drive machinery and leathers for diaphragms and washers. |
| Late
19th Century |
The demand for softer,
lightweight footwear and a general rise in the standard of living
created a demand for soft, supple, colourful leather. The traditional
vegetable tanned leather was too hard and thick for these requirements
and thus the use of chromium salts was adopted and chrome tanning
became the norm for modern footwear and fashion leathers. |
