What was a tanner in colonial times

You can set your address, phone number, email and site description in the settings tab. Link to read me page with more information. A tanneur , or tanner, prepared the skins of animals with tan or tannin tree bark powder , in order to produce leather by hand. A tannery was where the tanner worked. Tanning was considered a noxious or "odoriferous trade" and relegated to the outskirts of town and near a river or stream, usually amongst the poor.

In other words, tanneries smelled horrible. In the beginnings, leather artisans would get skins delivered from France. Eventually, with the arrival of more butchers, skins were produced locally. This tannery was particularly important, as it was awarded several contracts to supply footwear to the troops.

Montreal saw its first tannery at the end of the 17th century. Rural, small-scale tanneries also existed. These tanners produced leather based on the needs of the local inhabitants. Tanner by Stefan Bielinski Tanners transformed animal skins or hides into leather. The tanner stood between hunters and butchers the suppliers of skins and leatherworkers who made commercial products from the tanned hides.

While few early Albany people would have considered tanning to be their primary occupation, many butchers and leather workers had some first-hand experience with the operation. Merchants also owned tanning pits and then tanneries. Throughout the pre-industrial era, tanners were an important part of early Albany's Production Economy! The tanning process required a supply of skins , a supply of tannin , a tanning pit preferably near a supply of running water , a location away from densely inhabited areas, on-call labor to scrape and flush the skins, and patience as many months might pass before yielding an acceptable leather product.

Many steps were employed to turn skins into leather - although the number and order seem to be variable. Leather-related trades probably were the most prevailent production activity in early Albany. Leather workers sometimes operated their own tanning pits.

The tools were made of wood and metal. A vat hook has a long wood handle with a metal hook at the end. It was made to move leather. It was also used for dipping leather in and out of the pits. The mace is a four sided piece of wood with rough sides on a long pole. It was used for making the leather nice and smooth.

The sleekers were used for making leather smoother. Buffers made the leather shiny. A fleshing knife was used for removing the animal flesh fromthe animal. The fleshing knife is a curved piece of metal with two pieces of wood at the end of the blade. Tanners had a hard and stinky job. For instance, they had to smell.