Leather

Leather is the dressed or tanned hide of an animal, traditionally with the hair removed. It has been internationally used for clothing, furniture covering, and accessories. Tannins from grapes, tea leaves, hops, and oak are applied liberally to hairless animal hides. Once this is done, the hides become more flexible, durable, and stronger allowing for reshaping and stretching. Leather comes in many different shapes and sizes, depending on what animal that particular piece came fromhttp://historicalresources.suite101.com/article.cfm/history_of_leather_making .

Leather jackets were introduced to American popular culture thanks to the actor Marlon Brando. In the 1953 film "The Wild One" Brando's character Johnny Strabler wore a black leather jacket as part of his bad-boy image. This helped lead to the wearing of leather jackets by the "greaser" subculture in the 1950s. Leather jackets have since taken on a variety of different looks, including different colors and combination's. One such example is the 1999 film “Fight Club”. Throughout the film, Brad Pitt’s character Tyler Durden wore several variations of a red leather jackethttp://hubpages.com/hub/The-history-of-leather.

Leather has been a part of everyday human life since the days of early man. Cave paintings depicting men hunting animals for food and removing their hides to use for tents, clothing, and footwear, have been found near Lerida, Spain. These paintings date back to the early Paleolithic period. After a successful hunt, early man discovered that the hides of animals would deteriorate quickly. They needed a way to keep the skins strong but malleable, so they would stretch the hides out over the ground and rub animal fats and brains on them until they dried. They also found that smoke from wood fires would help preserve the skinshttp://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Leather&id=2186656.

Romans used leather in nearly every facet of life. One of these ways was varying kinds of military equipment, including footwear, shields, harnesses, and saddles for horses. Rome unknowingly spread the use of leather through the invasions of other countries. One such country was Britain, who found many new ways to harness leather in everyday life. They would line the hulls of boats with leather, carry leather bags, and find several ways of their own to incorporate leather into articles of warfarehttp://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Leather&id=2186656.