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Maryland State Archives Jeffersonian, Towson, Maryland mdsa_sc3410_1_81-1021 Enlarge and print image (6M) |
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Maryland State Archives Jeffersonian, Towson, Maryland mdsa_sc3410_1_81-1021 Enlarge and print image (6M) |
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Newsgravure Section, THE JEFFERSONIAN, Towson, iwjd., May 31, 1924.
^LEATHER AND ITS
IMPORTANCE TO ALL MANKIND
ion Has Advanced On Foot, The Well Shod Races Have Ever Been Victors Over The Unshod—Centuries Elapsed Before Light Was Thrown On Tanning Methods.
(By Nancy Hanks.)
It has been well said that civilization has advanced on foot. The well shod races have ever been the victors over the unshod. It has been thus from the begin-ing, that the races which had the intelligence and the means to protect their feet have developed the world. The progress of our civilization has practically been coincident with the development and use of leather.
Many many centuries elapsed before our earliest records throw any light on tanning methods.
The Egyptians taught the Hebrews the uses of leather, and in the writings that have come down to us from the prophets and Hebrew writers, leather is often mentioned as an article of clothing ; a covering for ships; carpets, shields, even weapons.
The first authentic records we have of any civilized state of existence go back to the time of, the building of the pyramids, nearly 5,000 years ago. From the carved tablets which the Egyptians used then we have learned much about the history of leather.
That the Egyptians and their neighbors valued leather highly is evident from the fact that it was classed with gold, silver, ivory and rare woods, and was given to kings and gods as tribut.
Some articles of leather, more than thirty-three centuries old, have been unearthed in tombs and are found to be in a perfect state of preservation.
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An early Arabian recipe for the making of leather as follows:
"The skins are first put into flour and salt for three days, and are cleaned of all the fats and impurities of the inside. The stalks of the plant, being pounded between large stones, are then put into water; applied to the inner side of the skin for one day; and the hair having fallen off the skin is left for two or three days and the process is completed."
The Hebrews, whose records and writings have given so much to the world,, also tell us much of the early days of leather. In Genesis, iii, 21 we read that, '' Unto Adam and also unto his wife did' the Lord God make clothes of skins and clothe them."
Prom the "Talmud" we learn that the Babylonians knew how to make leather, and that the tanners were not permitted to put their hides in soak on Fridays, as this would necessitate working on Sunday to remove them. Evidently, tanning was not a favored profession there, as Rabbi Judah says: "A man cannot get along without a perfumer (barber) and without a tanner. Happy is he whose art is of perfuming and alas for him whose art is of tanning!"
The Hebrews were the first to discover the value of oak bark in tanning, and this method was as good as any discovered up until the introduction of modern tanning methods in America.
Among the ancient Greeks, leather appears in their mythological stories handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth even before the poets put them into written form. Zeus, the great god, .is described wearing what is called the aegis, a rough hide that covered his head, neck, breast and left arm, and is supposed to be the hide of the goat that suckled him.
Helmets and shields of leather were worn by Grecian soldiers as far back as the earliest legends. Ovid describes the hero, Ajax, in these words: "Ajax, to shield his ample breast,
provides Seven lusty bulls, and tans their
sturdy hides."
•The famous legend of the founding of Carthage tells how Queen Dido, when promised only as much land as he covered by a bull's hide, cut the bull's hide into thin strips and encircled enough land to build the mighty citadel of Carthage.
Leather was used by the Greeks for building ships, sails and houses, as well as for clothing. The tanneries were placed outside the city walls, and the wet skins were often spread upon the ground for people to walk upon so as to toughen them. Two classes of labor were employed; tanners and leather cutters, and the latter were considered artisans of the very highest order. <
Homer's "Iliad," written about 1200 B. C, describes what is possibly the oldest form of good tanning—the "Shamoying" process. This is the method of opening the pores of the hide by repeated washings and thereafter forcing oil into them by heating and rubbing while the hide is stretched and staked out, requiring about two hours work.
In Rome, as in Egypt and Greece, the tanners were a distinct class of people. Much of the importance of leather to the Romans can be assumed from the fact that it was once used as a basis for money. Our word, "pecuniary" comes from the latin word "pecus," meaning "the hide." The Romans also gave us the word "tan" which comes from "tanare"— meaning "oak bark."
Romans, Greeks, Pompeiian tanners' all used limewater to speed up the process of dehairing a hide; with the scraping knife, and the beam . for completing the work. For tanning, oak bark was given-the preference. Hides were soaked in great vats containing oak bark and sometimes roots and berries of various kinds.
The tanned hides were packed flat with powdered seeds between the layers and left for months, after which they were hung up on poles and later smoothed out with steel rolling pins—a process discovered by the Hebrews.
Most of the workers were slaves, though a few were free men, and one, called Clion the Tanner, rose to great political
power.
- The first* mention of leather in France brings us to the story of Crispin and his brother Chispini-anus. Here were two tanners and shoemakers who became martyrs and now are the patron saints of shoemakers.
France was then called Gaul, a province of Rome, and it is considered most likely that the Crispin Brothers learned the art of shoemaking from the Romans.
Crispin and his brother were so charitable in giving shoes to the poor people who could not afford to pay for leather shoes that they were cannonized by the Church a few centuries later.
It was in the Middle Ages that industry first began to be organized into various trade guilds, or fraternities, usually called companies and sometimes,' "mister-ies." These guilds were very powerful and ruled the apprentices and members with an iron hand, often even playing an important part in politics. The leather workers were among the first to form a guild or fraternity. In France the Brotherhood or Fraternity of Leather - workers was established i n 1397 b y Charles the Sage, and was^ controlled by the Church. The right to become a tanner was bought from the King at a cost of sixteen sous, and each member was sworn to observe the customs-and moral precepts of the trade.
The guilds reached the highest stage of development and greatest power in London, where entire sections of the city were devoted to the cordwainers' ward or leather workers' ward. Each Guild came to enjoy special rights and privileges and to create monopolies by royal charters.
Among the first five so organized were the Saddlers and Skin-
ners. The others were the Goldsmiths, the Tailors and the Mercers. The Saddlers were, at that time, and continued to be, one of the most influential of all, and had their own guild hall, one of the first to be erected of many that followed.
In 1422 there were 111 different trades listed in London, and of these eleven were identified with leather.
When America was discovered, it was found that the Indians were well versed in the art of tanning and in the many uses for leather. It is not possible to find out how they acquired this knowledge, nor is it known when leather first jnade its appearance on this continent.
t Perhaps, as previously mentioned, it was brought over on the land bridge from Europe to America—but that is only conjecture.
The Indians, while they made a fairly satisfactory kind of leather, knew nothing of the superior bark method of tanning. They did, however, know a process for dressing soft leathers which they taught to the white settlers, and which has scarcely been improved upon even today. This is the famous '' Buckskin Tan''—and has never been surpassed for softness and pliability as well as for imperviousness to water.
The Navajos were especially remarkable for tfreir dressing of the hide, and for its ornamentation thereafter, but the Crow In-
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dians were generally considered the most skillful in their tanning methods.
The work of skin dressing was largely, if not entirely, performed by the women of the tribe. The skins were collected and heaped up in piles, wetted and allowed to decompose until the hair was loosened. Then the radius, or large fore leg of the reindeer was cleaned of its flesh and one side of the shaft, or central bone, was removed, leaving two sharp edges. One side was rounded and dulled, the other sharpened. Each skin
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was then placed' on a beam of wood, usually the trunk of a tree, and scraped with this implement, the motion being against the hair
and away from the worker.
For the flesh side different implement (Continued on
body of the.
of the
was
Page 8
hide a
used.
)
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For Good Concrete
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Broken sidewalks cause accidents and are an unsightly detriment to to the neighborhood. Replace your worn-out walk with one of Concrete. Concrete walks increase property values; improve the neighborhood; protect passersby; keep you, your family and friends out of the mud—and keep the mud out of the house. Lay Concrete walks now wherever you need them in front, around or in back of your house. Once properly laid, Concrete walks never need replacing.
Many home owners can do the work themselves; or any local contractor can do it quickly and inexpensively. The cost will be small; but the convenience, safety and satisfaction will be great. Any Security Cement dealer named below will give you helpful information.
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Dixon Connolly,
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MOSES KAHN OF OLD TOWN
"The Good Maker of Kahn's Good Klothes." COR. GAY and EAST STREETS
"Your Good Money's Worth Or Your Good Money Back"
"Old Town" Is Getting a Big "Hump" On
"MOSE" AND "OLD TOWN" ARE OLD PALS.
YEARS ago when "Mose" was a little "shaver" and lived in the bulrushes aalong Jones' Falls, he remembers a lot of good folks that moved out of "Old Town" and went into the newer sections of the city to live. He also remembers that in after years yearning for the peace and qpiet and contentment of their "Old Town" homes, many of them moved back and are still here, and like "Old Town" herself, seem to be born again and are active and foremost in all of "Old Town's" new enterprises. "Mose", poor boy, never had a chance to get out of "Old Town" (and he's glad he didn't) and the farthest he ever got away ^rom home— three or four blocks or so— was when he camae here, where he is today:—Gay and East Sts.—and went into business. And a very few people know, outside of his closest friends, that up until two years ago "Mose" and his family lived above the store, where he sold his good clothes. Yes, that's where "Mose" and his good wife lived and reared their little famaily—Bernard and Jerome-—two good boySi— for almost 35 years.
Growing Faster Every Day Than Any Other Section Of The City, And Growing Substantially, And Reaching Out For New Trade And Getting It, And Giving Everybody A "Show Down" For Their Money.
?MOSES KAHN OF OLD TOWN'
"MOSE" AND "OLD TOWN" WORK TOGETHER.
IT was the growth of 'Mose's' business that caused him to move (so that he could convert the upper floors into salesrooms) and influenced by uptown friends, he moved out of "Old Town." But bless your heart, honey, he's coming back. Yes, the "Boy" yearns for the morning suns of "Old Town" and for the twilights and evening shades and the silver moons. The grass is greener in "Old Town"; the birds sing sweeter and the girls are prettier and everything seems more homelike and cheerful.
Is it any wonder that 'Mose' loves "Old Town"—his old rootin' ground? Yes, he loves every bit of it. The ground to him is sacred, the people to him are dear—men, women anad children, aall. He loves "Old Town" institutions—her Churches and Schools and all he rold landmarks—old No. C Engine House, just a half block away from "Mose" and Old Belair Market—only one short block away—second biggest market in the city, but by all odds the best for it sells the best of everything at the lowest prices—just as "Mose" sells his clothing.
Here's What "Mose" and "Old Town"
Are Going To Do For You
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