Kid skins produced in other countries than France all have about the
same characteristics. But French Nationals remain invariably the best.
It may be added that kids raised in low, flat countries, like Belgium,
while presenting a fine appearance, never have the strength of the
highland skins.
Lambskins, like kid, are nearly all found in Europe, but they cover a
much wider range of territory. Like kid skins, they are carefully
nurtured and guarded against imperfections. They are grown in Italy,
Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia and
the Balkan States, the product of the latter being known—like the
sheepskins for “cape” purposes—as “Oriental leather.” For fine lambskin
gloves the best leather of all comes from northern Italy, and is termed,
commercially, “Tuscany skins”; these rival kid skins for fine grain and
durability. Next in value comes the fine French lamb known as “Rigord.”
Then follow the Spanish skins. The Russian (Kasan) and Oriental skins
are of equal value with some of the above named, many of them running
very fine in grain and producing remarkably durable gloves. As they tend
to be heavier in weight, however, the larger part of this class of
lambskins finds its way into men’s gloves. It is said that fully 80% of
Oriental leather goes to German and English tanneries, which prepare
more especially materials for the heavier grades of gloves.
In the tanning or dressing of lambskins, the processes are practically
the same as in the preparation of kid and goat skins for the glove
manufacturer. Lambskins also are subjected to the same examination by
experts to determine the colors they will take best. In fact, the only
real difference between fine kid and fine lamb gloves is that the former
is of a more delicate, yet firmer, grain, and produces a better wearing
article with more intrinsic value.
Nearly all colors, applied in dyeing both kid and lamb gloves, are put
on with a brush. The skins are laid on marble slabs, and the color
brushed on, a sufficient number of coats being given to produce the
desired shade and to fix it thoroughly and evenly. This explains why
colored gloves remain white on the inside, as the dyes do not strike
through. Some of the light, or extremely delicate tints, however—as
pink, cream, azure, lilac—will not take the color with brushing. In such
cases, the skin must be immersed in the dye, or “dipped”; and then the
color shows, of course, on both exterior and interior.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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