Metal-Ware
Coming now to the production of metal wares, the articleMetal-Work(Vol. 18, p. 205), beautifully illustrated, is the work of three noted experts. The lateJ. H. Middleton, Slade Professor of Fine Art, Cambridge University, writes onMethods of Manipulation in Metal Workand tells of the metal work of Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, England, Persia and Damascus. J. S. Gardner, an expert metal worker, deals withModern Art Metal Work, and J. G. Horner contributes the section onIndustrial Metal Working, in which he deals withPlater’s Work,Coppersmith’s Work,Raised Work,Cast Work,Methods of Union and Protection of Surfaces. In connection with the last mentioned subject, see alsoJapanning(Vol. 15, p. 275),Lacquer(Vol. 16, p. 53), andPainter-Work(Vol. 20, p. 457). Further information about lacquering, with valuable formulas, will be found in the articleJapan(Vol. 15, p. 188). Some of the ornamental forms of metal work are described inRepoussé(Vol. 23, p. 108), by M. H. Spielmann, formerly editor ofThe Magazine of Art;Inlaying(Vol. 14, p. 574), andDamascening(Vol. 7, p. 783). See alsoGrille(Vol. 12, p. 596).
Plate(Vol. 21, p. 789), an article by H. R. Hall, of the British Museum, H. Stuart Jones, director of the British School at Rome, and E. A. Jones, author ofOld English Gold Plate, etc., is a concise, complete hand-book on work in silver and gold of any class other than those of personal ornaments and coins. It is profusely illustrated with plates and text-cuts, showing many exquisite models; and the reader can master the details of style in different periods and countries. The subjects of the assay of gold and silver plate and hall-marks are discussed, the former being treated more fully inAssaying(Vol. 2, p. 776), by A. A. Blair, chief chemist of the U. S. Geological Survey. The articleRoman Art, by H. Stuart Jones, has a section devoted toWork in Precious Metals(Vol. 23, p. 483).
Cutlery(Vol. 7, p. 671) is one of the articles pertaining specifically to hardware manufacture and trade, in which general processes of manufacture are described; and of allied interest areKnife(Vol. 15, p. 850),Fork(Vol. 10, p. 666),Spoon(Vol. 25, p. 733),Scissors(Vol. 24, p. 407),Shears(Vol. 24, p. 815),Razor(Vol. 22, p. 937),Chafing-Dish(Vol. 5, p. 800),Nail(Vol. 19, p. 153),Axe(Vol. 3, p. 67),Hammer(Vol. 12, p. 897),Chisel(Vol. 6, p. 247),Wire(Vol. 28, p. 738), andBarbed Wire(Vol. 3, p. 384). Articles describing all forms of agricultural implements will be found under their respective headings.
Glassware
Glass(Vol. 12, p. 86) is most complete in its consideration of the entire subject. The introductory section by H. J. Powell, of the Whitefriars Glass Works, London, author ofGlass Making, and W. Rosenhain, of the National Physical Laboratory, London, deals with the manufacture of optical glass, blown glass and mechanically-pressed glass. The necessary qualities of each kind are stated and the newest processes of manufacture described, with full information about materials. The second part of the article is devoted to theHistory of Glass Manufacture, by Mr. Powell and Alexander Nesbitt, who wrote the well-knownIntroductionto the South Kensington Museum Catalogue of Glass Vessels. Egyptian, Assyrian, Roman, Venetian, Bohemian and Oriental glass, as well as the modern types, are exhaustively described. The article is splendidly illustrated.Drinking Vessels(Vol. 8, p. 580), by Dr. Charles H. Read, of the British Museum, describes old forms of glass cups and goblets. It is most valuable for its information in regard to styles of different countries and periods, and the illustrations show many types.
Stained glass is the subject of the separate articleGlass, Stained(Vol. 12, p. 105), illustrated, by the late Lewis F. Day, author ofWindows, a Book about Stained Glass. It is both historical and descriptive in its nature, deals withpainted and stained glass, contains a table of examples of important historical stained glass, and treats of the latest progress in the art, including the productions of La Farge and L. C. Tiffany in this country. The art of fitting and setting of glass is described inGlazing(Vol. 12, p. 116), illustrated, by James Bartlett. Here we learn about the setting of window glass, the use of glass in decoration, systems of roof glazing and the use of wire glass.
Full information about glass for optical purposes will be found underLens(Vol. 16, p. 421), illustrated, by Dr. Otto Henker, of the Carl Zeiss Factory, Jena, Germany;Lighthouse,Optical Apparatus(Vol. 16, p. 633), illustrated, by W. T. Douglass, who erected the Eddystone and Bishop Rock lighthouses, and Nicholas G. Gedye, chief engineer to the Tyne Improvement Commission;Telescope,Instruments(Vol. 26, p. 561), illustrated, by H. Dennis Taylor and Sir David Gill;Photography,Photographic Objectives or Lenses(Vol. 21, p. 507), illustrated, by James Waterhouse;Spectacles(Vol. 25, p. 617).
Chinaware, Pottery and Porcelain
To those engaged in the china ware, pottery or porcelain manufacture and trade, the great articleCeramics(Vol. 5, p. 703) will prove a revelation. It is the joint product of a number of experts, both practical and artistic, including William Burton, chairman, Joint Committee of Pottery Manufacturers of Great Britain, Henry R. H. Hall and Robert Lockhart Hobson, both of the British Museum, and A. Van de Put and Bernard Rackham, both of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is 85,000 words in length and contains over a hundred beautiful illustrations, including six plates in colour. It deals fully with the artistic and economic phases of the subject, the methods of manufacture, the different varieties of ceramics, their history, decoration, etc. Japanese ceramics are treated separately inJapan,Ceramics(Vol. 15, p. 183), illustrated, by the late Capt. Frank Brinkley.
Clay(Vol. 6, p. 472), by Dr. J. S. Flett, describes the occurrence, composition and properties of the various clays used in ceramics.
Terracotta(Vol. 26, p. 653), illustrated, by William Burton and H. B. Walters, of the British Museum, deals with the artistic use to which baked clay is put, whileTile(Vol. 26, p. 971), illustrated, also by William Burton, has great practical value for the present-day manufacturer.
Kaolin(Vol. 15, p. 672), by F. W. Rudler, of the Museum of Practical Geology, London, deals specifically with china clay and its preparation for the market.Gilding(Vol. 12, p. 13) contains material on the subject of the gilding of pottery and porcelain, andPaintinghas a sectionPainting with Coloured Vitreous Pastes(Vol. 20, p. 484), by Prof. G. B. Brown, of Edinburgh University, which describes the use of these pastes in ceramics.Enamel(Vol. 9, p. 362), illustrated, by Alexander Fisher, yields equally valuable information for those concerned with the decoration of china.
InMural Decoration, by Walter Crane and William Morris, there is a section devoted toWall-Linings of Glazed Brick or Tiles(Vol. 19, p. 17). Material of great archaeological interest relating to earthenware, etc., will be found in such articles asAegean Civilization(Vol. 1, p. 245), illustrated, by D. G. Hogarth, of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford;Crete,Archaeology(Vol. 7, p. 421), illustrated, by Arthur J. Evans, the famous Cretan explorer, andGreek Art(Vol. 12, p. 470), illustrated, by Percy Gardner, the classical archaeologist.
The following is a partial list in alphabetical order of articles and subjects in this field treated in the Britannica.
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ARTICLES AND SUBJECTS IN THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO THOSE IN METAL, HARDWARE, GLASS AND CHINA MANUFACTURE AND TRADE
Art and Industry
When you think of your home, making a picture in your mind of the familiar surroundings associated in your memory with your greatest pleasures, you are really thinking of furniture. Tradition makes the dwelling itself the tangible symbol of home, because when a primitive tribe ceased to be wanderers, the walls that excluded wild beasts and inclement weather and gave privacy were conspicuous evidences of a change for the better. But in our higher civilization our way of thinking has changed. Nothing seems to us more desolate than the bleak surfaces and harsh angles of an unfurnished house. Colour and softness and the curved lines which we instinctively love because they suggest softness come into the dwelling with furniture, and culture has progressed so far that the chair or bed must be a delight to the eye as well as to the weary limbs, that the dinner table and the bookcase must be so designed as to enhance the satisfaction we find in refreshing body and mind. You would not get so much pleasure as you do from your Encyclopaedia Britannica if its paper and print and pictures and the colour and texture of the bindings did not make it one of the chief adornments of your home; the volumes might be just as useful in a less pleasing guise, but you would not feel the same affection for the book.
Form and Embellishment
To satisfy the spirit of home-love and house-pride in the making of furniture is an art, and the idea that furniture can only be artistic when it is made by hand, from a design that is to be used but once, is as nonsensical as it would be to say that a beautiful etching is not true art because a press produces it and others like it. “Fine art is everything which man does or makesin one way rather than another... in order to express and arouse emotion ... with results independent of direct utility.” These words from Sir Sidney Colvin’s delightful Britannica articleFine Arts(Vol. 10, p. 361), and another passage (p. 370), in which he speaks of “the artificers who produce wares primarily for use, in a form, or with embellishments, that have thesecondary virtue of giving pleasure,” might well be quoted to the supercilious and superficial critic who condemns every product which machinery has brought within the reach of the less fortunately situated. Furniture, made in one form rather than another, because that one form gives greater pleasure, is artistic furniture whether it is made of machined pine chemically stained or of handworked and hand-polished rosewood. The manufacturer and dealer who ingeniously minimize the cost of production and distribution are benefiting the public just as truly as did Thomas Chippendale, “at once an artist and a prosperous man of business,” or Thomas Sheraton, “the great artistic genius wholived in chronic poverty.” The adaptation and variation of their ideas, under modern conditions of manufacture, have given pleasure to tens of thousands for every one whose home was enriched by the original products.
Related Subjects
We have, then, in the furniture business, the combination of an art with an industry of the most practical and useful kind, and this art is one which does more than any other to “express and arouse” the home-cherishing emotions which solidify family life. The principles which underlie architecture, sculpture, painting, metal work, embroidery and the weaving of patterns all affect the design of furniture, since its contours and surfaces are obtained by the application of the structural and decorative laws of all of them, and it might therefore be said that the only course of reading in the Britannica which could fully justify the title of this chapter would be one which covered all these diverse fields. The reader can, however, with the assistance of other chapters of this Guide, easily find his way to the Britannica’s articles on each of these allied subjects, and an indication of the articles dealing specifically with furniture will at any rate serve his primary purpose.
“Art Nouveau” School
The keystone articleFurniture(Vol. 11, p. 363) is by James Penderel-Brodhurst, one of the greatest of living authorities, to whom many of the subsidiary articles are also due. The 37 illustrations on plate paper include two large views of the most famous and resplendent piece of furniture ever constructed, the cylinder desk, now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, made for Louis XV by a number of “artist-artificers,” the chief among them Oeben and Riesener, with bronze mounts by Duplessis, Winant and Hervieux. The article explains the scanty attention paid to furniture in ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, and throughout the Middle Ages in Western Europe, as due to the routine of life in centuries during which people spent their days in the open air, and went to bed as soon as it was dark, therefore needing but few household appliances. The Renaissance was the first era of sumptuous and elaborately varied furniture; and it was not until the 18th century that the art of the cabinet-maker was fully developed. The English periods of Queen Anne and early Georgian craftsmanship and the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI brought the development to its high-water-mark. Since then, there has been no really new departure except the “art nouveau” school, which professed to be free from all traditions and to seek inspiration from nature alone. The revolution which was thus attempted was not successful, and the permanent influence of the movement will, in all probability, be less notable for its effect upon style than for the very great service it rendered in reviving the use of oak. Lightly polished, fumed or waxed, this wood, which was so long neglected, is the most effective that can be employed at moderate cost.
Beds
The oldest and most indispensable of all furnishings is treated in the articleBed(Vol. 3, p. 612). The Egyptians had high bedsteads to which they ascended by steps, and the Assyrians, Medes and Persians followed the same custom. The Greek bed had a wooden frame, with a board at the head, and bands of hide laced across, upon which skins were laid. At a later period, as vase-paintings show, the Greeks used folding beds. Another ancient application of an idea commonly supposed to be of modern origin is found in the Roman use of bronze beds, and metal is so much more sanitary than wood for this purpose that it seems strange it was afterwards discarded for many centuries. The bed of the Emperor Eliogabalus was of solid silver,with counterpane and hangings of purple embroidered in gold. In Pompeii wall-niches for beds, like those still used in Holland, are found, and were apparently closed by sliding partitions as well as by curtains. To our modern ideas, this arrangement seems to have been disgustingly devoid of ventilation, but the four-poster, with its “tester” roof and its curtains, which was widely used until the middle of the 19th century, was not much better. Mattresses developed very slowly, for in the 18th century pea-shucks and straw were the stuffing materials employed in houses of prosperous people, and hair had not come into use. The article gives a full and interesting account of the quaint custom, instituted by Louis XI of France, and followed by many of his royal successors, of a sovereign remaining in bed while he received the visits of his ministers and courtiers.
Chests and Chairs
The chair, to us the commonest of objects, did not come into general use until, as the articlesBench(Vol. 3, p. 715) andStool(Vol. 25, p. 967) indicate, these two had long been the usual seats. TheChest(Vol. 6, p. 106) was also used as a seat, and was the original form of wardrobe before hanging space and drawers were provided. The ecclesiastical chests, of great length in order that they might contain, without folding, church vestments stiff with embroidery, are the most ornate of all the models of furniture which have been preserved from the 13th and 14th centuries. The articleChair(Vol. 5, p. 801) shows that chairs were everywhere uncommon until the middle of the 16th century; and it was not until the 17th was well advanced that upholstery began to be employed for them. The typical Louis XVI chair, with its oval back and ample seat, descending arms, round-reeded legs and gay tapestry was the most beautiful and elaborate model that has ever been devised. But it was the original Chippendale design and the still lighter patterns of Hepplewhite, Sheraton and Adam that gave us the slender, compact and easily moved chairs which will always be the more numerous. It is interesting to observe that the revolving chair, commonly regarded as an office convenience of modern origin, has a pedigree of no less than four centuries.
Bookcases and Desks
It would seem that the old English makers of furniture went somewhat astray when they gave themselves the general designation, still surviving, of “cabinet-makers”; for we learn from the articleCabinet(Vol. 4, p. 918) that the elaborate cabinets which have come down to us from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries are almost invariably of Italian, Dutch and French origin, and it was in other branches of work that the English were most successful.The Cupboard(Vol. 7, p. 634) was used to contain books long before theBookcase(Vol. 4, p. 221) had assumed a distinct form, and in the earlier bookcases the volumes were either placed on their sides, or, if upright, were ranged with their backs to the wall and their edges outwards. Until printing had cheapened books, it was not the custom to mark the title on the back, and the band of leather which closed the volume, like the strap on an old-fashioned wallet, bore the inscription. Sheraton’s satinwood bookcases were among the most elegant of all his pieces. TheDesk(Vol. 8, p. 95) about the year 1750 had assumed the form which is now described as a library table—a flat top with a set of drawers on each side of the writer’s knees, when its vogue was interrupted by the invention of the cylinder-top desk. At first the cover was a solid piece of curved wood, but the “tambour,” or series of slats mounted on canvas proved more serviceable; and the American roll-top desk is now exported to all parts of the world. Other articles dealing with individual pieces of furnitureareWardrobe(Vol. 28, p. 323),Sideboard(Vol. 25, p. 38),Dresser(Vol. 8, p. 577),Cheffonier(Vol. 6, p. 22),Cradle(Vol. 7, p. 360),Buffet(Vol. 4, p. 757), andMirror(Vol. 18, p. 575).
Technical Articles
Of the more technical articlesTimber(Vol. 26, p. 978) shows the comparative advantages of all the varieties of wood used for furniture; and, as the list at the end of this chapter shows, there is a separate article on each kind.Tool(Vol. 27, p. 14), by J. G. Horner, is of great importance. It would fill 75 pages of this Guide, and contains 79 illustrations. The furniture maker will find in it complete information about all the hand tools and machine tools used in the industry.Joinery(Vol. 15, p. 476), by James Bartlett, describes, with practical diagrams, every variety of joint and dovetail. Sound guidance for the workshop will be found inGlue(Vol. 12, p. 143),Painter-Work(Vol. 20, p. 457),Lac(Vol. 16, p. 35),Lacquer(Vol. 16, p. 53), in regard to which there is also information in the articleJapan(Vol. 15, p. 188),French Polish(Vol. 11, p. 154),Weaving,Industrial Technology(Vol. 28, p. 440),Dyeing(Vol. 8, p. 744), by Profs. J. J. Hummel and Edmund Knecht;Rep(Vol. 23, p. 105),Tapestry(Vol. 26, p. 403), with numerous illustrations, by A. S. Cole;Silk,Manufacture(Vol. 25, p. 102);Plush(Vol. 21, p. 857),Velvet(Vol. 27, p. 979),Marble(Vol. 17, p. 676), by J. S. Flett;Onyx(Vol. 20, p. 118); andAlabaster(Vol. 1, p. 466).
Decoration and Ornament
Biographical Articles
Although wood, ivory, precious stones, bronze, silver and gold have been used from antiquity for the decorations of furniture, the modern maker will be more concerned withWood-Carving(Vol. 28, p. 791), illustrated, by F. A. Crallan, author ofGothic Wood-carving. In this article materials and methods are described, and there is much information as to the domestic use of wood-carving. The article will be most valuable to manufacturers and dealers who have to do with church fittings.Gilding(Vol. 12, p. 13) andCarving and Gilding(Vol. 5, p. 438) impart knowledge of a practical nature as to these processes. The art of inlaying is described inMarquetry(Vol. 17, p. 751) andBombay Furniture(Vol. 4, p. 185); see alsoVeneer(Vol. 27, p. 982). Materials other than wood used for inlaying are described, as, for example,Pearl(Vol. 21, p. 25) for pearl and mother of pearl;Ivory(Vol. 15, p. 92),Lapis Lazuli(Vol. 16, p. 199),Tortoiseshell(Vol. 27, p. 71),Brass(Vol. 4, p. 433), etc. The mention of the last two materials naturally suggests the name ofBoulleand the Britannica’s biography of that artist. Such biographies, as anyone interested in the subject knows, are most difficult to find, and they are included in much detail in the new Britannica.Boulle(Vol. 4, p. 321) was the most distinguished of modern cabinet-makers before the middle of the 18th century; and, beginning with that date, both France and England produced a number of men whose renown is scarcely less than that of the great painters, sculptors, architects or musicians of the period. The Britannica’s accounts of their lives, ideas and work will be of much value and interest to those who make or deal in furniture. For the French schools we get the essential facts about, for example,Oeben(Vol. 20, p. 11), to whom Louis XV’s famous desk owes its general plan;Riesener(Vol. 23, p. 324), his more celebrated pupil, who completed the desk;Röntgen, David(Vol. 23, p. 693), the maker of “harlequin furniture,” several of whose ingenious mechanical devices are described; andGouthière(Vol. 12, p. 291), the metal-worker whose furniture mounts are among the most noted art products of the Louis XV and XVI periods.Chippendale(Vol. 6, p. 237),with whom arose the marvellously brilliant school of English cabinet-makers, is the subject of a biography describing fully the characteristics of his designs; and the history of this school is continued under such headings asHepplewhite(Vol. 13, p. 305), whose taste at its best “was so fine and so full of distinction, so simple, modest and sufficient that it amounted to genius”;Adam, Robert(Vol. 1, p. 172), who left so deep and enduring a mark upon English furniture, andSheraton(Vol. 24, p. 841), “the most remarkable man in the history of English furniture,” whose extravagant creations marked the end of the great school. Many other biographies are included in the list appended.
CHAPTER IXFOR MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS OF LEATHER AND LEATHER GOODS
The purpose of the department of the Guide in which this chapter appears, addressed to persons engaged in certain important occupations, is not only to show them how Britannica-reading will enlarge their knowledge of some aspects and relations of their business, but also to show how Britannica-reading will help them to realize the importance ofeducating the general publicin regard to that business. This education of the public is not necessarily confined to advertising, although the best form of advertising that can be used by anyone who sells a good article, or an article that is good at its price, is probably to tell the public what it really is and how it is really made. In the direct personal intercourse between salesman and purchaser there is opportunity for the imparting of information which, if it possesses genuine interest, will be gladly received and will stimulate trade. Mere praise of an article is uninteresting and unconvincing; while facts that explainwhythat article is adapted to a particular use, andwhyit is better than another article sold at a lower price will always receive attention.
About Selling Leather Goods
All this is especially true of leather goods, for the public ignorance on the subject of leather is abysmal. Nothing is more universally used, yet ninety-nine out of a hundred who use it not only do not know what lies beneath the surface of it, but do not know that there is any difference in value between a natural grain surface and a mechanically grained false surface, and it is quite certain that nearly all the men and women who walk out of a store after buying skiver would be nonplussed if they were asked whether the upper or lower part of a split skin was the best.
Both the leather merchant and the public would be delighted to hear some of the curious things that the Britannica tells about leather, which is, from any point of view, one of the most interesting of all commodities; although few of those who use it, and perhaps as few of those who deal in it, ever stop to think how curious a relation there is between the original nature of the material and the qualities of the finished product. In cattle and sheep, the hide is a garment that covers every part of the body but the feet. Adapted to our own use, its most important service as a garment is to cover our feet. It is so far a natural product that no imitation of it possesses any of its chief merits, and yet so far an artificial product that when the hide has been removed from an animal, it requires treatment in order that it may not lose the flexibility which makes it, for a thousand purposes, more valuable than wood or metal, and in order that it may not decay.
What Skin Is
Skin is waterproof because its surface consists of scales, and although in most quadrupeds, as in man, these scales are so small as to be invisible, they will so resist the entrance of any tan liquor or other preservative fluid that they must be scraped away before the skin can be treated. Under these horny scales there is a layer of soft cells, and under this a membrane which makes the natural grain surface of leather. Under this, again, lies the “true” skin, inIn the upper of these two, the white fibres lie parallel with the grain. In the lower, the white fibres, which are here coarser, lie in bundles, bound together by yellow fibres, so that this layer is really a woven fabric. The spaces in the weave are filled with a soft jelly, and the fibres do not multiply among themselves, as cells do, but are developed, as they are needed, from this jelly. Tan liquor has the peculiar property of converting this jelly into a “leathery” substance, which although it does not then assume the shape of fibres, becomes nearly as tough as the fibres themselves, and thus makes leather more solid and stronger than the original skin; and the virtue of leather depends largely on the presence of this jelly.|Naturally Woven Fibres|two layers. The body of an old bull will have absorbed it, just as fat is absorbed in old age, so that the spaces in the weave of the fibre are left vacant, and (as the scaly outer surface of the skin has been scraped away to admit the tan liquor) any water with which the hide comes into contact will be soaked up. That is why old bull leather is not waterproof and is lacking in substance. Again, the weave of this innermost layer of skin, lying next to the flesh, varies in different animals. In sheepskin the fibres are very loosely woven, and for this reason great care is needed in preparing the leather, and when the skin is split, the under half is only fit for the light usage to which “chamois” leather is restricted. But however the quality, surface or thickness of the skin may differ, its true structure is the same in all animals used for leather, save the horse, which is exceptional in possessing, over the loins, a third skin, very closely woven and very greasy, which makes horsehide taken from this part of the body peculiarly waterproof, pliable and durable.
As you are in the leather business, you probably knew all these facts already, but perhaps they were not arranged in your mind in a form in which you could explain them to others as clearly as you will be able to do after reading the articles in the Britannica from which this general statement is summarized. And when you are reading about any other business, or about any other subject of any kind, you will find that the Britannicagoes to the root of the subjectin the same thorough way in which it deals with the fibres and the jelly that make up the substance of leather. Now for the articles in detail—or the principal ones; the others are sufficiently indicated by the list at the end of this chapter.
Skin(Vol. 25, p. 188), by Dr. F. G. Parsons, vice-president of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, with illustrations from microscopic enlargements, covers the comparative anatomy of the skin in all groups of animals, and the process of skin development in the embryo. The articles mentioned in the chapterFor Stock-Raiserstell you about the domestic animals whose hides are chiefly used for leather. The chapter onZoologyin this Guide gives a list of the articles on the other animals whose skins are tanned for fancy leathers. The main articleLeather(Vol. 16, p. 330), equivalent to 50 pages of this Guide, is by Dr. James G. Parker, principal of the Leathersellers’ Technical College, London, and author ofPrinciples of Tanningand other standard trade text-books. After explaining the distinctions between tanned, tawed, and chamoised leathers, it takes up the subject of sources and qualities of hides and skins, and describes the structure of skin in relation to the finished product. The characteristics and peculiarities of hides and skins from different parts of the world are thoroughly explained. We learn why hides from animals bred in mountainous districts are the best, and where the finest sheep- and goat-skins come from.