The 2nd of what we hope will be an annual lecture in memory of the Somerset Tanner, Tom Poole, from Nether Stowey. He lived from 1765 to 1837 bridging the period when modern scientific understanding was entering society, and with it the leather industry. Sir Humphry Davy, famed for nitrous oxide and the miner’s lamp, […]
HMS Mary Rose 1510-1545
The HMS Mary Rose sank in the Solent as it turned to join battle with a French fleet and very promptly sank. They trued to salvage it, which should have been possible, but failed up and gave up. Only half had survived under the mud when it was raised in the 20th century and it […]
Tom Poole the Somerset Tanner
In honour of Tom Poole to celebrate his 256th birthday Monday 14th November 2022 . A short essay with photos from the day which took place in front of his house with the Sheriff of Somerset unveiling a plaque to recognise his wonderful philanthropy and friendships Poem by the current owner of his home […]
Romance of leather at Richard Hodgson and Sons
(Update from an item first posted in VegLeatherHubAugust 7, 2015) The wonderful film of Richard Hodgson and Sons from 1937 that brings back many memories. My father used to buy dressing hides from them for Muirheads in Glasgow having joined them as a finishing chemist in 1934, I imagine they were being produced for Muirheads […]
Times change
For those who watch this website and in particular the blog you may have noticed that below the waterline quite a lot has been happening. I have been steadily trying starting to update some parts of the website and to improve the ease of reading. A new timeline for gloves has been introduced and will […]
A new book on Gloves is a major contribution to the understanding of the mystery of gloves
An academic career teaching French and writing about French literature is an unusual background from which to segue into the literature of gloves. Anne Green, Emeritus Professor of French at King’s College London, shows the value of such a move in her enthralling new book Gloves, An Intimate History. Talking to the glove network she came […]
Leather was first made a million years ago.
I took this photo of Roy Thomson in 2013. He had just been awarded a PhD by the University of Northampton for a thesis entitled “The role of leather science and technology in heritage conservation”. Sadly he passed away on Monday 14th June 2021. He had completed the leather degree at Leeds University some nine […]
Leather through the ages
Note: I wrote this in 2003 but the area it covers means I have not updated it, only corrected a few spelling and grammatical errors. It is a short read that I hope everyone finds interesting. Leather in ancient history was an important material. It was functional in a multitude of uses from armour to a […]
The written word spread wide
This item first appeared in International Leather Maker in June 2021 It has led to a lot of correspondence and comments and I am minded to try and take it somewhere. Here are the key points: I would like to get more of the colleges that teach leather in any way around the world to […]
Japan and its leather
In the same way that every grandparent will tell you that their grandchild is exceptional, every Japanese will tell you the same about their country. With the grandparent you smile benignly and hurry back to reality, but with Japan it is different, as more often than not Japan is truly different. Riello (2008) consistently highlights […]
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