In the 18th century, Russian leather was widely considered to be the finest in the world. It was known for being incredibly rich in color, supple, and water resistant. There was also something about its aroma that allowed it to repel insects. It was truly unique.
Tanneries in Western Europe tried to duplicate Russia’s distinctive, beautiful, and hardwearing leather. They even sent spies to try to uncover trade secrets. Unfortunately, very little became known. What they did find out, however, was that the pre-tanning stages alone took up to six months. During the tanning stage, the hides, soaking in previously-used tanning fluid, were more or less continuously turned by hand for about four months. Then they were transferred to pits where they soaked in water mixed with bark from willows, poplar, oak, and larch trees for about eighteen months. After that, they were cured, dried, beaten with mallets, pared with shaving knives, and then pulled over sharp-edged rings, which cut them with the fine cross-hatched scores they were known for.
Though the process was vaguely known, Western tanneries couldn’t reproduce it because they could never identify the formula for the mysterious dressing oils. By the time the Russian Revolution came in 1917, the new provisional government shut production down, and secrets of how it was made became lost for good.
Source : http://www.centurion-magazine.com/nc/sections/post/sunken-leather.html
In the late 1700s, Russian leather was sought after for not only being exceptionally beautiful, supple and water resistant, but for its aroma so rich it could repel insects. Leather craftsman throughout Europe tried to duplicate the results, even sending spies to Russia, but genuine Russian leather remained a rare and valuable enigma of the time.
In 1786, the Metta Catherina, a 100 ton Baltic brigantine, set sail from St. Petersburg with a full cargo of hemp and Russian leather bound for Genoa. When she encountered a storm on a dark December night, the captain ordered her into the safety of England's Plymouth Sound. The storm took a violent turn, though, and the ship was torn from its anchor. The crew survived, but the Metta Catherina and her cargo were lost, sinking more than 100 feet to the bottom of Plymouth Sound to rest in the silt and black mud for almost 200 years.
Centuries later, in 1973, a local diving club was exploring Plymouth Sound and happened upon a ship's bell on the ocean floor. After identifying it as part of the Metta Catherina, the complicated process of salvaging the sunken ship began. Not sure what they would find, or even what they were looking for, the divers worked to bring the ancient wreck to the surface piece by piece. They didn't know what they had, but as luck would have it, a young leather worker named Robin Snelson did. He introduced himself after overhearing one of the divers talking about the mysterious cargo in a Falmouth pub, and was later able to confirm that among the sunken treasure was indeed the lost Russian leather from 1786.
The hides were pulled up in bundles, and amazingly a remarkable number were found to be almost perfectly preserved, protected by a combination of water pressure and sediment – and miraculous good luck. Although early attempts at restoring the hides were disappointing, Snelson eventually perfected his technique, and the original beauty and magic reappeared almost flawlessly. The restored Metta Catherina hides were primarily reindeer, glowing anew in a range of rich red hues and even giving off the same distinctive aroma (now known to be birch oil) that made them so famous and treasured centuries ago.
Being a history student, I am always fascinated with items with history. As a result, I have requested a leather expert craftsman Rudy, to hand made one messenger bag for me to put my ipad and small items, using these rare vintage leathers..
Below is the initial design:
I am eagerly waiting for the bag to be completed... Will keep you posted...
For those who is keen to find leathers goods made from these lovely vintage leathers can find the link below.
http://www.celticempire.com/about.php
