Re: MtMan-List: period tanning / Alans comments

[bspen@aye.net (Bob Spencer)]

John, I have run across many references concerning leather, whether offered
for sale, taxed, whatever, in my browsing through the on-line archive of
the Pennyslvania Gazette from 1728 to 1800. I've included some exerpts whic
seem to bear on some of the points of the current discussion concerning
dressed vs tanned, oil treated leather, etc. They are early, much earlier
than the mountain man era, but shows that the terms and procedures existed
long before that time. I hope you find them interesting.

July 10, 1766 The Pennsylvania Gazette

"The 5th inst. July, was broke open, the skin shop of Frederick Shinkel,
and the following things stolen out of it, viz. 22 large pattern deer
skins, Indian dressed, marked about the neck F, 6 ditto smaller, marked W,
and 33 ditto oil
 dressed. Whoever secures the abovesaid skins, so that they may be had
again,..."

November 23, 1752 The Pennsylvania Gazette

"...white oak hogshead beading, oil flints, Indian dressed deer skins,
English ditto, cocoa, chocolate, bohea tea, coffee, and bottles. ..."

December 9, 1772 The Pennsylvania Gazette

"...the shotbag is made of old sheepskin, English dressed;"


>Calf skins were commonly greased with equal quantities of cod-liver oil and
>tallow, called dubbing, after bark tanning.

September 10, 1777 The Pennsylvania Gazette

"N.B. Ready money is given, by said Mentz, for any quantity of tanned and
allom dressed sheepkins."

>I overheard a discussion years ago that declared brain tan was actually the
>"dressing" of skins and not a true tanning.  I don't remember the particulars
>but, wonder if you've encountered this distinction in your research.

August 24, 1785 The Pennsylvania Gazette

(detailing the amount of import tax)
"...womens leather and stuff shoes, 1 s per pair; all dressed or tanned
leather, 3d per pound; cheese, 3d per pound;..."

April 23, 1777 The Pennsylvania Gazette

"That the said Committee of fifty be authorised to take possession of all
tanned and dressed leather, bar iron, &c...."

November 7, 1781 The Pennsylvania Gazette

PHILADELPHIA, November 7.
Extract of a letter from General WASHINGTON, dated Head Quarters, near
York, October 27, 1781. (This is from a list of soldiers and an inventory
of gear (returns) surrendered at Yorktown)

"60 dressed calf skins, 22 hides tanned leather."

I'm sure you noticed that they tended to use the terms "tanned" and
"dressed" as though they meant different things. Throughout my browsing, I
never saw the term "Indian tanned", it was always "Indian dressed". They
did always distinguish between "Indian dressed" and English dressed",
though. You noticed also, of course, the "oil dressed" deerskins and "allom
dressed" sheepskins.

Bob

Bob Spencer <bspen@aye.net>
http://members.aye.net/~bspen/index.html
non illegitimi carborundum est