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[Illustration: 1. BLIND-STAMPED LEATHER BINDING OF THE _WINCHESTER
DOMESDAY BOOK_. ENGLISH, 12TH CENTURY.]
THE DECORATION
OF LEATHER
FROM THE FRENCH OF
GEORGES DE RÉCY
BY
MAUDE NATHAN
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND EXAMPLES OF
LEATHER DECORATION FROM VARIOUS
SOURCES
LONDON
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO LTD
1905
BUTLER & TANNER,
THE SELWOOD PRINTING WORKS,
FROME, AND LONDON.
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
PAGE
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE 5
INTRODUCTION
THE DECORATION OF LEATHER IN THE PAST 13
CHAPTER I
TOOLS AND LEATHER 15
CHAPTER II
METHODS OF WORKING IN LEATHER 19
CHAPTER III
LEATHER MOSAIC 42
CHAPTER IV
DYES, _PATINES_ AND GILDING 64
CHAPTER V
THE CHOICE OF DESIGN AND COLOUR 76
APPENDIX
LEATHER HANGINGS AND FURNITURE 80
NOTE
SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON
LEATHER FOR BOOKBINDING, APPOINTED BY THE COUNCIL
OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS, FEBRUARY, 1900 90
INDEX 96
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
FIG. PAGE
1. Tracing-point 20
2, 3. Incising knife used downwards like a pencil 21
4, 5. Incising knife used upwards 22
6, 7. Incising knife held like a graver and pushed forward 23
8. Executing a slanting cut when the edge of the leather
is to be subsequently turned up 24
9. Opener 25
10. Enlarging the outline with the opener 25
11. Slanting cut 26
11a. Showing the difficulty of raising the inner edge _A_ 26
12. Lowering the outer edge with a modeller 29
13. Ball-shaped steel tool with handle 32
14. Position of hands in embossing leather 32
15. Tool for working reed decoration 34
16. Using a hand punch 36
17. Cutting-out knife 40
18. Paring knife 43
19. Paring knife 43
20. Paring leather 44
21. Cutting-out knife 46
22. Cutting-out knife 46
23. Cutting-out knife 46
24. Cutting out inlay 48
25. Using roller to secure adhesion of inlay 51
26. First position of outlining tool 53
27. Second position of outlining tool 53
28. Gouge outliner 56
29. Outlining wheel 56
30. Gouge outliner 56
31. Straight outliner 56
32. Polishing mosaic 57
33, 34. Sticking inlay on morocco ground with tool (Fig. 33)
instead of roller, to avoid crushing the grain 60
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE _Page_
1. Blind-stamped leather binding of the _Winchester
Domesday Book_. English, 12th century. (_Frontispiece_)
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, LONDON.
2. Casket covered with stamped leather, _cuir bouilli_. German,
14th century. 22
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
3. Coffret covered with leather, incised, coloured and gilt. French,
14th century. 24
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
4. Casket covered with embossed leather, _cuir bouilli_. French,
early 15th century. 28
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
5. Case of cut and embossed leather, _cuir bouilli_. Italian, 15th
century. 32
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
6. Blind-stamped morocco binding with gilt roundels and coloured
cameo design. _Celsus._ _De Medicina._ _Venice_, 1477.
Italian, 15th century. 37
BRITISH MUSEUM.
7. Case of cut and punched leather. German, 15th century. 40
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
8. Brown leather binding, cut and engraved, with punched background.
_German MS. Chronicle of Events._ German,
15th century. 44
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. 49
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
10. Cover of work-box of wood covered with embossed leather,
_cuir bouilli_. German, 16th century. 56
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
11. Powder-flask of wood covered with leather, _cuir bouilli_, cut
and embossed. Italian, 16th century. 56
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
12. Shield of cut and embossed leather, _cuir bouilli_. Italian,
16th century. 60
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
13. Top of casket covered with brown calf, cut and slightly
embossed. By Florence Hornblower. Modern English. 65
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
14. Embossed and punched brown calf binding. _Rubáiyát of
Omar Khayyám._ Designed by Mary G. Houston. Modern
English. 66
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
15. Mirror case of punched black leather, _cuir bouilli_.
Executed by Miss Casella. Modern English. 71
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
16. Black morocco binding with applied panels of tooled, cut,
painted and gilt calf. _Le Roman de Tristan et Iseut._
Designed by Robert Engels. Modern French. 74
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
17. Binding of stained calf, cut, embossed, tooled and
_patinated_. By Henri Godin. Modern French. 78
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.
18. Gold-tooled and inlaid morocco binding. _The Letters of
Princess Lieven._ By S. T. Prideaux. Modern English. 82
19. Back and seat of chair in cut, embossed and gilt cowhide
with punched background. Executed by Rosalie Vigers from
a design by Frederick Vigers. Modern English. 84
20. Embossed calf binding. _Book of Common Prayer._ Executed
by Rosalie Vigers from a design by Frederick Vigers.
Modern English. 86
INTRODUCTION
THE DECORATION OF LEATHER IN THE PAST
The following remarks, without attempting a description in detail of the
different phases through which the art of decorating leather has passed
since its origin in primitive times, deal with the treatment of leather
solely from the decorative point of view, the present volume being limited
to the consideration of this aspect of the subject.
In all ages man has sought to develop to their fullest extent the
possibilities of splendour in the materials of his dress, and an important
place in the wardrobes of our early ancestors was filled by skins shorn of
hair, thus lending themselves easily to decoration in many different ways.
The nomadic races, described to us as at first riding their horses
barebacked to the conquest of the West, soon adopted ornamental trappings
more suited to their position as conquerors, as shown by the marvellous
mosaics of piqué leather which from an early date constituted the
foundation of the war-like equipment of the Tartars and Moguls.
In addition to magnificently woven materials and damascened arms, the
Crusaders brought back with them to Europe, leather ornamented with wool,
silk and precious metals. Europe set itself to imitate this art of working
in leather, and found a source of faultless taste and purest models in
Spain, then occupied by the Moors.
For several centuries the art of decorating leather remained the
speciality of Spain. The word “cordwainer,” derived from Cordova, is a
witness of this monopoly by the Peninsula of everything connected with
leather-work, apart from the modelled and stamped leathers, introduced
into Venice from the East.
Other countries, however, were doing better work than that of imitating
the celebrated manufactures of Cordova. In Germany especially, leather was
discovered to be an ideal material for rendering the mantles and plumed
helmets of heraldry, while the marvels of carved and embossed leather
preserved in the Dijon Museum are a proof of the interest taken in
leather-work by the great decorative school of the court of Burgundy.
In the Middle Ages precious stuffs adorned with enamels, ivory and gold
were discarded as covering for the beautiful manuscripts executed by the
monks, and in their place heraldic subjects in carved and modelled leather
were introduced and lent a new character to books which were no longer the
exclusive property of crowned heads. The invention of printing afforded
the Renaissance movement the means of attaining its full development, and
soon called for a less archaic binding for its incunabula. Leather either
decorated in mosaic or tooled in gold formed a perfect covering for these
marvels of typography, and from the end of the fifteenth century to the
present revival of decorated leather both styles have been much in use.
There are various standard works on this subject, which may be consulted
by those desirous of studying its development further.
CHAPTER I
TOOLS AND LEATHER
TOOLS
The few tools essential in leather-work are illustrated in the text, where
their use is described. They comprise:
1. A Lithographic Stone or a Slab of Marble (preferably the former).
2. A Tracing-point and some 6H Graphite Pencils.
3. An Incising Knife.
4. Modellers of different sizes.
5. An Opener.
Special tools, Punches, Wheels etc., are treated of at greater length in
dealing with the different processes in which they are used.
CHOICE OF SKINS
The art of working in leather is now so general that it is not difficult
to obtain skins specially prepared for the purpose. It is an essential
qualification that nothing of a fatty nature be used in their preparation.
The tanning process of the best skins, whether with a glossy surface
artificially obtained by rolling or with a dull surface, should be a very
simple one. Oak and sumach tannins (used especially for morocco leather)
are those which best preserve the suppleness and capillarity of leather.
The susceptibility of its colour to alteration from exposure to light is
greatly influenced by the materials used in tanning. Oak wood and chestnut
are the tannins least influenced by light. Skins tanned with _cassaigre_
and mimosa, light at first, become darkened in a marked degree by
exposure.[1]
[1] See the observations on the importance of the tanning process in the
preservation of leather, in the Note at the end of this volume.
So many varieties of leather are on the market that some guide will be
found useful in selecting the most suitable for the different methods of
decoration. These methods may be classified as follows:
Cut, or engraved leather.
Carved leather.
Punched or hammered leather.
Modelled leather.
Modelled leather with punched background.
Leather decorated by pyrogravure and pointogravure.
Stamped leather.
Open-work leather.
Leather mosaic.
The leathers which may be used in these various styles of decoration are
Sheep-skin.
Cow-hide.
Calf.
Ox-hide.
Morocco.
Russia.
Pig-skin.
Chamois.
Vellum.
Sheepskin does not lend itself either to incising or to carving and is
only useful for cheap work; it is very malleable and models easily, but
for that reason lacks the firmness of calf when modelled. It is also not
possible to get such good colour results with sheep-skin as with calf,
cow-hide, or ox-hide. It can be used for large work, such as
wall-hangings, screens, etc., but is not recommended. Beginners, however,
will find it useful on account of its low price.
Cow and calf are the most suitable leathers for really artistic work.
Cow-hide may be obtained with either a glossy or a dull surface; the dull
skins are sold specially prepared for decorating and give good results,
the smoothness of their surface making them particularly suitable for
modelling and pyrogravure.
Calf varies greatly in thickness and colour. It should be noted that in
carved and modelled work the advantages of great malleability in the
material are more than counterbalanced by the disadvantages; durable
results cannot be obtained with very malleable leather which yields easily
to the tool, and since high relief can be worked without difficulty in
comparatively thick leather by damping it, its use is much to be
preferred.
Ox-hide is frequently as thick as strong cardboard and is the ideal
leather for carving, hammering and pyrogravure. In cut decoration a better
effect can be obtained with this leather than with thinner skins, and
being very firm, it is equally suitable for modelling.
Morocco leather, which is mostly of the kind called “Cape morocco,” is
goat-skin with a grained surface produced by pressing hard seeds upon the
skin while it is still damp from the tanning. For bookbinding and similar
purposes this grain is crushed by pressing hot plates heavily on the
surface. The only way of decorating leather so treated is by an inlay (or
literally _onlay_) of skins of other colours, and is known as Leather
Mosaic.[2]
[2] See the chapter on Leather Mosaic, p. 42.
The so-called Russia leather is generally very light and soft and well
adapted to modelling on wax. It should not be cut.
Pig-skin is very firm and was formerly much used for the fine stamped
bindings of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. It does
not lend itself well to carving, but is very suitable for pyrogravure
because of the contrast between its light tint and the dark brown mark
produced by the hot tool.
Chamois leather, which is not always prepared from the skins of deer or
chamois, is only suitable for flat ornament. It may be decorated by
pyrogravure or with stencilled ornament, or used in its natural colour as
background to an open-work pattern of leather of another colour.
Vellum, a very thin and stiff white skin, can be decorated with brush or
pen-work. It is principally used for bookbinding. Those who wish to paint
on vellum can draw their inspiration from the marvellous miniatures of the
Middle Ages: a description of this style of decoration, however, does not
come within the scope of the present work.