Leather

Leather is hide altered through tanning and subsequent preparation. Animal species, tanning system, thickness and finish affect its behaviour, but photographs rarely establish all of them. Grain can be embossed, surfaces coated and modern imitation materials made to resemble leather. Keep a seller's description distinct from identified materials. Hand stitching, a Persian motif or shipping from Iran does not independently document the maker and the complete manufacturing process.

Leather may be a binding cover, a structural strap, a footwear component or a decorated panel. These objects have different supports and use stresses. A giveh can combine a textile upper with several sole materials; a book binding combines leather with paper, boards, sewing and adhesives. Record each component rather than labelling the entire object leather. Tooling, stamping, cutwork and stitching describe different operations and can coexist on one piece.

Cracks at folds, loose seams, powdery surfaces, detached linings and replaced straps affect both handling and value. Fresh colouring or a surface coating may hide earlier wear. Request photographs of edges, interiors and high-stress joins without requiring a fragile book to be forced open. A historic binding can be older or younger than the text it covers, so date the binding and manuscript separately when evidence permits.

Do not apply shoe polish, furniture oil, alcohol cleaner or a generic dressing to collected leather. Such products may darken surfaces, migrate into paper or complicate later treatment. Keep storage clean and sheltered from heat, damp and direct light; support an object's natural shape without stretching it. Isolate suspected mould and seek appropriate advice. Contemporary usable goods should follow the maker's care instructions, not a universal recipe borrowed from historic-object conservation.