Leather 109
objects made from leathers manufactured during the period when the long-term
effects of these “improvements” had not been appreciated.
3.2 Alum Tawing
Until the beginning of the nineteenth century vegetable-tanned leather was
manufactured by the tanner and the currier who generally worked on larger
cattle hides. Sheep, goat, deer and dog skins were generally processed by the
whittawyer or the glover. Fur-bearing pelts were prepared in a similar manner
by the skinners.
The pre-tanning processes employed by the whittawyer were similar to
those of the tanner. Once the skins had been limed, unhaired, fleshed and
given a thorough bating they were put into large wooden tubs. There they
were kneaded with a mixture of alum and salt, a lubricant such as egg yolk,
butter, or olive oil and a carrier such as flour or oatmeal. Traditionally the
tawyer worked the mixture into the skins by trampling it in with his bare feet.
Once the required amount of the tawing paste had been taken up by the skins,
they were stretched out flat and piled overnight. The next day they were
mechanically worked again and hung to dry. The leather was then softened by
working them mechanically.
3.3 Oil Tannage
Widely-used alternatives to the alum-based tawing pastes were the various
oxidisable marine oils, which were applied in the production of the chamois
and buff leathers. The oils were trampled into the skins in a similar manner
to that used in tawing. The skins were then hung in warm, airy stoves for the
oxidation process to take place. After the oiling and stoving sequence had
been repeated three or four times, the leather was washed off in alkaline
liquors to remove excess oil, dried and worked mechanically to soften them.
3.4 Fur Dressing
Skinners processed pelts from a variety of fur-bearing animals ranging from
rabbits and cats to wolves and bears. The skins were usually obtained in a
dried condition and required careful wetting back before excess flesh could
be removed and the pre-tanning operations undertaken. Great skill was required
to ensure that the structure of the pelt was opened up sufficiently, while at
the same time the hair remained firmly attached. Skinners employed the
alum- and oil-tanning processes similar to those used by whittawyers.
Alternatively, fur skins were treated in baths of fermenting grains similar to