One of the leathers I found on my travels last month Ive called “Cognac” and is something I am very excited about. This is a unusual shell cordovan leather, produced by Chicago based tannery Horween, that has been given a traditional “russia grain” finish during production. Shell cordovan is a horse leather produced in very small quantities (you can read more about it in my blog post here), but this is something really quite rare – I’ve only seen once before in the 10 years I’ve been involved in leather work. I couldn’t resist it and so bought all I could.
Centuries ago, this “russia grain” pattern was a finish given to only the very best leathers. Traditionally, it was produced with a brass hand roller and was a skilled craft in itself. Before the skin was dyed and when it was still wet from the tanning, the roller was pressed over the grain side of the skin first one way, and then at an angle to the first run, to give the leather an embossed “criss cross” pattern. The rolling had no effect on the quality of the skin of course, but resulted in an appearance that was considered refined. The best leathers in the world became known for it, and in fact it was common for hides to be rejected if they didn’t have this finish.
I’ve been able to buy a small number of shells in Horween’s classic “number 8” burgundy / warm brown colour. It isn’t the easiest leather to photograph because it has a deep sheen that means the angle of the light subtly changes the appearance of the leather (as can be seen in the photo below), but it has all the luxurious characteristics of a shell cordovan leather with the addition of an interesting russia grain finish. I felt “Cognac” was a fitting name to give it as it not only describes the warm reddish brown colour of the leather, but also gives a sense of the quality of the product. I love it, and I hope you do too.
I am expecting to have Cognac ready to add to the store this weekend, along with Aegir, and four more new leathers.