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    The Decoration of Leather
    The Decoration of Leather
    The Decoration of Leather
    Ebook165 pages1 hour

    The Decoration of Leather

    By Maude Nathan

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    About this ebook

    This vintage book contains a detailed and practical guide to decorating leather. Profusely illustrated and containing many examples of leather decoration from various sources, this volume will be of considerable utility to those with a practical interest in leather working and decorating. Contents include: "The Decoration of Leather in the Past", "Tools and Leather", "Methods of Working in Leather", "Leather Mosaic", "Dyes, Patines and Gilding", "The Choice of Design and Colour", "Leather Hangings an Furniture", "Some Extracts from the Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding, Appointed by the Council of the Society of Arts, February, 1900", et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on leather crafting. First published in 1905.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOwen Press
    Release dateSep 6, 2017
    ISBN9781473340220
    The Decoration of Leather

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      Book preview

      The Decoration of Leather - Maude Nathan

      1. BLIND-STAMPED LEATHER BINDING OF THE WINCHESTER DOMESDAY BOOK. ENGLISH, 12TH CENTURY.

      THE DECORATION OF LEATHER

      FROM THE FRENCH OF

      GEORGES DE RECY

      BY

      MAUDE NATHAN

      WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND EXAMPLES OF

      LEATHER DECORATION FROM VARIOUS

      SOURCES

      Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

      This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing

      British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      Leather Crafting

          Leather is a durable and flexible material created by the tanning of animal rawhide and skin, often cattle hide. It can be produced through manufacturing processes ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry, and has formed a central part of the dress and useful accessories of many cultures around the world. Leather has played an important role in the development of civilisation from prehistoric times to the present, and people have used the skins of animals to satisfy fundamental (as well as not so essential!) needs such as clothing, shelter, carpets and even decorative attire. As a result of this importance, decorating leather has become a large past time. Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, colouring techniques or both. Today, it is a global past time.

      Some of the main techniques of leather crafting include:

      Dyeing - which usually involves the use of spirit- or alcohol-based dyes where alcohol quickly gets absorbed into moistened leather, carrying the pigment deep into the surface. 'Hi-liters' and 'Antiquing' stains can be used to add more definition to patterns. These have pigments that will break away from the higher points of a tooled piece and so pooling in the background areas give nice contrasts. This leaves parts unstained and also provides a type of contrast.

      Painting - This differs from leather dyeing, in that paint remains only on the surface whilst dyes are absorbed into the leather. Due to this difference, leather painting techniques are generally not used on items that can or must bend, nor on items that receive friction, such as belts and wallets - as under these conditions, the paint is likely to crack and flake off. However, latex paints can be used to paint flexible leather items. In the main though, a flat piece of leather, backed with a stiff board is ideal and common, though three-dimensional forms are possible so long as the painted surface remains secured. Unlike photographs, leather paintings are displayed without a glass cover, to prevent mould.

      Stamping - Leather stamping involves the use of shaped implements (stamps) to create an imprint onto a leather surface, often by striking the stamps with a mallet. Commercial stamps are available in various designs, typically geometric or representative of animals. Most stamping is performed on vegetable tanned leather that has been dampened with water, as the water makes the leather softer and able to be compressed with the design. After the leather has been stamped, the design stays on the leather as it dries out, but it can fade if the leather becomes wet and is flexed. To make the impressions last longer, the leather is conditioned with oils and fats to make it waterproof and prevent the fibres from deforming.

      Molding and shaping - Leather shaping or molding consists of soaking a piece of leather in hot or room temperature water to greatly increase pliability and then shaping it by hand or with the use of objects or even molds as forms. As the leather dries it stiffens and holds its shape. Carving and stamping may be done prior to molding. Dying however, must take place after molding, as the water soak will remove much of the colour. This mode of leather crafting has become incredibly popular among hobbyists whose crafts are related to fantasy, goth / steampunk culture and cosplay.

      TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

      IN a preface which is omitted from this translation, the author claims for his work a place between the books dealing solely with the history and development of the art of working in leather and those of which the object is to impart a knowledge of the technique of its various processes to amateurs who may be unable or unwilling to undertake a regular course of instruction. He points out that leather, in its adaptability to many different kinds of treatment, is a material eminently suited to the interpretation of the style of decoration known as modern art.

      In the French edition there are numerous reproductions of examples of leather decoration and of ornament intended for adaptation to leather-work. In the following translation these illustrations and also a short chapter referring to them are omitted, and some examples of leather-work derived from various English sources are substituted. The text of the work has been generally somewhat abridged. The fact that there are many technical and other terms in French that have no exact equivalent in our own language, has rendered a free translation desirable, but the meaning of the original text has been carefully preserved.

      CONTENTS

      TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

      INTRODUCTION

      THE DECORATION OF LEATHER IN THE PAST

      CHAPTER I

      TOOLS AND LEATHER

      CHAPTER II

      METHODS OF WORKING IN LEATHER

      CHAPTER III

      LEATHER MOSAIC

      CHAPTER IV

      DYES, PATINES AND GILDING

      CHAPTER V

      THE CHOICE OF DESIGN AND COLOUR

      APPENDIX

      LEATHER HANGINGS AND FURNITURE

      NOTE

      SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LEATHER FOR BOOKBINDING, APPOINTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS, FEBRUARY, 1900

      INDEX

      LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

      ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

        1. Tracing-point

        2. Incising knife used downwards like a pencil

        3. Incising knife used downwards like a pencil

        4. Incising knife used upwards

        5. Incising knife used upwards

        6. Incising knife held like a graver and pushed forward

        7. Incising knife held like a graver and pushed forward

        8. Executing a slanting cut when the edge of the leather is to be subsequently turned up

        9. Opener

      10. Enlarging the outline with the opener

      11. Slanting cut

      11a. Showing the difficulty of raising the inner edge A

      12. Lowering the outer edge with a modeller

      13. Ball-shaped steel tool with handle

      14. Position of hands in embossing leather

      15. Tool for working reed decoration

      16. Using a hand punch

      17. Cutting-out knife

      18. Paring knife

      19. Paring knife

      20. Paring leather

      21. Cutting-out knife

      22. Cutting-out knife

      23. Cutting-out knife

      24. Cutting out inlay

      25. Using roller to secure adhesion of inlay

      26. First position of outlining tool

      27. Second position of outlining tool

      28. Gouge outliner

      29. Outlining wheel

      30. Gouge outliner

      31. Straight outliner

      32. Polishing mosaic

      33. Sticking inlay on morocco ground with tool (Fig. 33) instead of roller, to avoid crushing the grain

      34. Sticking inlay on morocco ground with tool (Fig. 33) instead of roller, to avoid crushing the grain

      FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS

      1. Blind-stamped leather binding of the Winchester Domesday Book. English, 12th century.

      SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, LONDON.

        2. Casket covered with stamped leather, cuir bouilli. German, 14th century.

      SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

        3. Coffret covered with leather, incised, coloured and gilt. French, 14th century.

      SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

        4. Casket covered with embossed leather, cuir bouilli. French, early 15th century.

      SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

        5. Case of cut and embossed leather, cuir bouilli. Italian, 15th century.

      SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

        6. Blind-stamped morocco binding with gilt roundels and coloured cameo design. Celsus. De Medicina. Venice, 1477. Italian, 15th century.

      BRITISH MUSEUM.

        7. Case of cut and punched leather. German, 15th century.

      SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

        8. Brown leather binding, cut and engraved, with punched background. German MS. Chronicle of Events. German, 15th century.

      BODLEIAN LIBRARY, OXFORD.

        9. Cover of case for a cup in wood covered with leather, cuir bouilli, cut, embossed, painted and gilt. Italian, about 1500.

      SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

      10. Cover of work-box of wood

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