Skin in the Game: A Partnership with the Museum of Leathercraft to elucidate the Leather Industry

The Museum of Leathercraft [MoL], in conjunction with the University of Cambridge, has been successful in applying for funding to investigate the 'English Leather Industry in the Long Nineteenth Century' using the MoL archive and collections as an intrinsic resource.
The MoL was founded in 1946 by a group of leather chemists and polymaths, who quickly amassed a considerable and eclectic assemblage of leather artefacts and archival materials. Over the last 76 years, this archaeological treasure trove has been reviewed and organised
in a manner akin to an archaeological dig. Objects have been identified, recorded, and catalogued, alongside a combination of archival documents, labels, letters, and drawings, all examined and filed. This collection represents one of the largest, most well-recorded assemblages of archaeological artefacts of one of humanity’s earliest manufacturing
enterprises, one that sits at the intersection of industrial history, fashion, art, livestock, tools, machinery, books, footwear, chemistry, legal histories, and community.
The size and magnitude of this collection allow both historians and archaeologists alike the rare luxury to see the full breadth of an industry’s history and importance laid out. Despite such a treasure trove, this resource remains mostly unexplored by the academic community. It is our hope that the lack of study and cultural investment in this field can be
remedied through the combination of heritage and academic projects. By inserting the history of leather into the academic conversation, and by tying together the litany of leather items and artefacts into a single cohesive history, this unexplored industry can be ‘rediscovered’. The doctoral project employs a cross-disciplinary approach to explore the
key elements of the history of the British leather industry, employing data and artefacts that until now have remained outside the scope of most academic research.
Stuart Henderson is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge studying ‘The History of the Leather Industry during the Long Nineteenth Century’. Stuart holds a First-Class Honours degree and a Masters by Research (MRes) degree from the University of York in Archaeology, with the latter primarily concerned with the history of the parchment industry.
Dr Graham Lampard is Assistant Curator at MoL and previously worked for ten years forLeather International magazine as well as completing a PhD at Leicester University on the subject of mineral tanning mechanisms.