September 2025. History of leatherwork. Adam Morrigan.
Adam from Red’sRawTawTan Leatherworks in Bideford, a leather craftsman trained in the UK and abroad, began his talk by explaining the use of animal skin by early humans. As evidenced in cave paintings and carvings, the sources of skin included bison, deer and even mammoths. The hides were used primarily for clothing to protect from the cold and material for shelters from the elements, but also in the production of tools and ceremonial items. Archeological excavations have unearthed bone and stone tools with wear patterns suggesting their use for cutting and scraping hides. Humans discovered that hides could be prevented from rotting by the use of plant tannins from oak, hemlock, or sumac, as suggested by the presence of these materials in archeological sites. Even animal brain tanning was used to soften the hide! Hides became important in cultural, ceremonial and spiritual activities for ritual clothing attire or a ‘canvas’ for early forms of art.
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Leatherwork advanced with the introduction of stitching tools and the use of processed hides as a tradeable commodity. By Roman times leather was being used for footwear, belts, saddles, harness, armour, shields and written documents in the form of parchment. Eventually the source of hide for leather extended to sheep, cattle, goats, horses and pigs.
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Adam finished by talking about the different stages in the production of leather (including the unsavoury use of dung and urine!) and the craft of leatherwork over the past couple of hundred years, illustrated by examples of hides, leatherworking tools and finished leather products that he brought along to show us.