Wmm COMMODITIES
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Contractors to H.M* Government
* * *
Manufacturers of
OFFICERS GLOVES.
MOTOR GAUNTLETS AND AUTOMOBILE
GLOVES.
COLONIAL HAND WEAR " MAID O'THE
WEST."
GLOVES FOR EVERY OCCASION IN
LEATHER OR FABRIC.
" PERFECTION SUEDE " AND ANTELOPE
LEATHERS. UPPER LEATHERS.
GLOVE LEATHERS. LEATHER APRONS.
AEROPLANE SEATINGS.
H M
Also Exporters of
| WHITE WASHABLE & CHAMOIS LEATHERS. JJ
FOREIGN & COLONIAL WOOLS & HAIR.
FANCY LEATHER GOODS.
CLOTHING AND SUITINGS.
TANNING MATERIALS.
FOOTWEAR.
Importers of General Merchandise
1 lll!l!lll!l!l!ll!!l!lllllll!!lll!ll!i I
I F. BLAKE & CO. 1
Manufacturers, Import and YEOVIL En
Cable Blake Co.. Yeovil. Code Marconi International
Phone Yeovil, 47, Night 191.
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
(I463j)
GLOVES AND
THE GLOVE TRADE
1
a
PITMAN'S COMMON COMMODITIES
AND INDUSTRIES
GLOVES AND THE
GLOVE TRADE
B. ELDRED ELLIS
LONDON,- ,"".\ ; \ ; ,'. { :;,;
SIR ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, LTD.
PARKER STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C.2
BATH, MELBOURNE, TORONTO, NEW YORK
1921
COMMON COMMODITIES
AND INDUSTRIES SERIES
Each book in crown 8vo, cloth, with
many illustrations, charts, etc., 3 - net
TEA. By A. IBBETSON
COFFEE. By B. B. KEABLE
SUGAR. By GEO. MARTINEAU, C.B.
OILS. By C. AINSWORTH MITCHELL,
B.A., F.I.C.
WHEAT. By ANDREW MILLAR
RUBBER. By C. BEADLE and H. P.
STEVENS, M.A., Ph.D., F.I.C.
IRON AND STEEL. By C. HOOD
COPPER. By H. K. PICARD
COAL By FRANCIS H. WILSON,
M.Inst., M.E.
TIMBER. By W. BULLOCK
COTTON. By R. J. PEAKK
SILK. By LUTHER HOOPEK
WOOL. By J. A. HUNTER
LINEN. By ALFRED S. MOORE
TOBACCO. ByA.E. TANNER
LEATHER. By K. J. ADCOCK
KNITTED FABRICS. By J. CHAM-
BERLAIN and J. H. QUILTER
CLAYS. By ALFRED B. SEARLE
PAPER. By HARRY A. MADDOX
SOAP. By WILLIAM A. SIMMONS,
B.Sc. (Lond.), F.C.S.
THE MOTOR INDUSTRY. By
HORACE WYATT, B.A.
GLASS AND GLASS MAKING. By
PERCIVAL MARSON
GUMS AND RESINS. By E. J.
PARRY, B.Sc., F.I.C., F.C.S.
THE BOOT AND SHOE .INDUSTRY.
. Sy J. S. HAR^INQT . \
BAS- AND '<& iMAEmS. By
- V
AND
. H. Y. WEBBER
f:r H.E..^INSTE*AD
A.^R; YVxwrts-*
PETR"OL*EU'M. By A. LIDGETT
SALT. By A. F. CALVERT
ZINC. By T. E. LONES, M.A., LL.D.,
B.Sc.
PHOTOGRAPHY. By WM. GAMBLE.
ASBESTOS. By A. LEONARD
SUMMERS
SILVER. By BENJAMIN WHITE
CARPETS. By REGINALD S BRINTON
PAINTS AND VARNISHES. By
A. S. JENNINGS
CORDAGE AND CORDAGE HEMP
AND FIBRES. By T. WOODHOUSE
and P. KILGOUR
ACIDS AND ALKALIS. By G. H. J.
ADLAM
ELECTRICITY. By R. E. NEALE,
B.Sc., Hons.
ALUMINIUM. By Captain G.
MORTIMER
GOLD. By BENJAMIN WHITE.
BUTTER AND CHEESE. By C.
W. WALKER-TISDALE and JEAN
JONES.
THE BRITISH SORN TRADE. By
A. BARKER.
LEAD. By J. A. SMYTHE, D.Sc.
ENGRAVING. By T. W. LASCELLES.
STONES AND QUARRIES. By J.
ALLEN HOWE, O.B.E., B.Sc.,
M.I.M.M.
EXPLOSIVES. By S. I. LEVY, B.A.,
B.Sc., F.I.C.
THE SLOTHING INDUSTRY. By
B. W. POOLE, M.U.K.A.
TELEGRAPHY, TELEPHONY, AND
WDIELESS. By J. POOLE,
A.M.I.E.E.
PERFUMERY. By E. J. PARRY.
THE ELECTRIC LAMP INDUSTRY.
By G. ARNCLIFFE PERCIVAL.
ICE AND COLD STORAGE. By B. H.
SPRINGETT.
OTHERS IN PREPARATION
-7*
PREFACE
THE primary object of this short handbook is to furnish
in popular form an account of an industry which,
although of comparatively minor importance in point
of value and extent, by reason of its antiquity and
the conditions under which it is carried on, presents
many features of exceptional interest. It has been
planned to meet the needs of that large class of drapery
buyers and assistants who are concerned with the
buying and selling of gloves for and to the public ; but
it is hoped that it may also find favour with a wider
circle of readers from the ranks of those who are curious
to learn something of the conditions under which
articles in e very-day use are produced. For that reason
technical language and terms have been avoided, or
where used are carefully explained.
A brief sketch is given of the history of the glove,
and chapters are devoted to the various processes
involved in the making of both leather and fabric
gloves.
It is the author's earnest hope, above all things, that
this little work, slight as it is, may kindle a deeper
interest in the British branches of the trade, the
activities of which deserve to be more widely known and
appreciated than they seem to be at the present time.
In conclusion, I must express my hearty appreciation
of the advice, suggestions and help extended to me by
several friends in the trade, and especially to Messrs.
Dent, Allcroft & Co., Ltd., F. Blake & Co., Thos.
Adams, Ltd., and Messrs. Beardsley, for their kind
courtesy and co-operation.
B. E. E.
London, December, 1920.
15235
HAND
IN
GLOVE
WITH
THE
WORLD'
TRADE MARK.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
PREFACE . ... V
I. THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GLOVE ... 1
II. THE GLOVE AS A SYMBOL .... 8
III. THE GLOVE IN THE REALM OF FASHION . 12
IV. LEATHER GLOVES I SKINS AND THEIR ORIGIN 23
V. SKIN-DRESSING AND TREATMENT . . 31
VI. DYEING AND DRESSING THE LEATHER . . 48
VII. GLOVE-CUTTING . . . ^ 60
VIII. SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES . 72
IX. FABRIC GLOVES I ORIGIN OF THE INDUSTRY 91
X. MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES ... 98
XI. MARKETING . . . . . .113
XII. DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY . .117
XIII. BRITISH GLOVE TRADE ORGANISATIONS . 136
GLOSSARY . . . . . .141
INDEX 144
o
GLOVE WORN BY CHARLES I
The Property of
FOWNES BROTHERS & COMPANY
(1463j)
ILLUSTRATIONS
VIEW OF A GLOVE FACTORY SEWING-ROOM Frontispiece
PLATE PAGE
1. GLOVES OF HENRY VI . . . .14
2. GLOVES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH .... 16
3. GLOVES OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS ... 18
4. VIEW OF A LEATHER DRESSING YARD . . 33
5. STAKING THE SKINS (HAND METHOD) ... 40
6. THE MACHINE METHOD OF STAKING ... 42
7. WASHING THE SKINS PREPARATORY TO DYEING . 49
8. PARING THE SKINS WITH THE ROUND OR MOON-
SHAPED KNIFE ...... 54
9. THE PARING WHEEL ..... 57
10. A GLOVE CUTTER AT WORK . . . .61
11. STAMPING OUT THE PARTS OF THE GLOVE IN A
CUTTING PRESS . . . . . 35
12. THUMBPLECE, TRANK AND FOURCHETTES FOR
GLOVE WITH ROUND THUMB .... 68
13. THUMBPIECE, TRANK AND FOURCHETTES FOR
GLOVE OF BOULTON THUMB TYPE ... 69
14. THE BROSSER POINT ..... 74
15. THE VICTOR POINT ...... 75
16. EXAMPLE OF RAISED POINT .... 76
17. RAISED POINT WITH SINGLE ROWS OF DOUBLE
NEEDLE STITCHING ..... 77
18. THE PARIS POINT ...... 78
19. TAMBOURING THE BACK OF THE GLOVE . . 79
20. HAND SEWING USING THE " DONKEY-FRAME " . 82
21. TYPICAL ROUNDSEAM SEWING MACHINE . . 83
22. SPECIAL MACHINE WITH TAPERED POST FOR
SEWING FINGERS OF- GLOVES ... 84
23. PRIX SEAM MACHINE ..... 85
24. SPECIAL MACHINE FOR PIQUE STITCH . . 86
ix
GLOVES AND
THE GLOVE TRADE
CHAPTER I
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GLOVE
IT is impossible to fix, with any certainty, when the
glove as we know it to-day first originated. How-
ever, there seems little reason to doubt that the practice
of protecting the hands with some sort of covering
reaches back to the very remotest days of man's history.
Indeed, one eminent anthropologist, no less an authority
than Dr. Boyd Dawkins, has suggested that the pre-
historic Cave-men, whose existence dates from before
the Glacial period, adopted some form of protection for
their hands which bore a close affinity to the glove
of modern times. If this theory is to be accepted, the
antiquity of hand-wear is apparent, for the Glacial period
is generally regarded by geologists as having commenced
some 240,000 years ago.
This contention, of course, is quite speculative ; but,
looking at the matter from a human point of view, it
seems perfectly reasonable to assume that the need of
protecting the hands, both against cold and against
rough usage in passing through thickets, etc., must have
been experienced at a very early stage of human develop-
ment. This possibly brought about the adoption of
some kind of rough coverings, rudely fashioned from the
skins of beasts of the chase, and it is probably in some
such manner that the first rudimentary gloves came to
1
2 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
be invented by our pre-historic ancestors. Support
for this view of the origin of the glove is provided by the
fact that crude, finger less coverings for the hand were
observed to be in use among the primitive peoples of
northern latitudes by the earliest Arctic explorers.
However that may be, coming to the times of which it
is possible to speak with more certitude, ample evidence
of the use Qf;h and- coverings at an early period of man's
history is forthcoming from ancient literature. There
Is little daubt .that gloves of some kind or another were
used by the ancient Persians and Greeks. Xenophon
ridiculed the Persians because they used them in cold
weather ; while in the " Odyssey," Laertes, the farmer
king, is described as wearing some form of covering to
protect his hands from thorns. Whether the glove was
commonly adopted by the Romans is at least open to
question, but it is known that they were worn to some
extent, and are referred to in classical writings variously
as " digitalia" and " chirothecae." Pliny the Younger
also refers to tjieir use by the amanuensis of the elder
Pliny, his uncle. Possibly, however, they were regarded
with contempt by the somewhat austere Romans as
articles of effeminate luxury.
In warfare and the realm of sport some form of
mailed glove or gauntlet seems to have been in use
from the earliest times of which we have any record.
The " Cestus " or " Caestus " is mentioned in the
account of the Trojan games, a thousand years before the
Christian Era, in Virgil's ^Eneid, Book V. They were
used not only as weapons of offence, but also as tokens
of defiance. It took several forms, but generally
consisted of thongs of leather wound or plaited round
the hands and weighted with metal. Some were
particularly formidable, and a single blow from one
was often sufficient to cause death.
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GLOVE 3
When the glove, as we wear it, came to be introduced
to these islands is a matter of controversy. Planch e,
the author of The Cyclopedia of British Costume,
declares that " Gloves do not appear to have been used
by either sex before the eleventh century." Yet it
seems certain that gloves were known in Britain at a
much earlier period. Whilst we have no evidence that
they were worn by the Ancient Britons, it is within the
region of possibility that they were brought here by the
Romans. They were certainly worn in Anglo-Saxon
times, though not to any very great extent. Some
authorities assert that gloves were already being worn
by the clergy and military in England and France by
A,D. 712 In the life of St. Columbanus, written by
Jonas, Abbot of Bobbio (Italy), in the seventh
century, gloves are spoken of as being used among the
monks to protect the hands in manual labour . Th at they
were in fairly general use among the French nobility is
certain from the fact that the Emperor Charlemagne in
A.D. 790 granted legal permission to the abbot and monks
of Sithin for the hunting of deer in order that the skins
might be available (among other things) for glove-
making. The Great Council at Aix (A.D. 809) seems to
have turned aside from its consideration of weighty
doctrinal disputes in order to prohibit monks from
wearing any gloves but those made from sheepskin,
deerskin gloves being reserved for bishops. This
regulation was made in order to arrest the growing
passion for ostentation and display among the religious
brotherhoods. The rule, however, proved ineffective,
and, finding it impossible to stop such exhibitions of
ecclesiastical luxury, another council, held later at
Poictiers, confined the use of gloves, sandals and rings
to bishops. . ^
Positive evidence that the glove was in use in England
4 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
prior to the eleventh century is provided by a law of
Ethelred (A.D. 978-1016) whereby merchants from the
Low Countries coming in their ships to Blyngesgate
(our modern Billingsgate) were directed to pay as toll
at Easter and Christmas " two grey cloths, and one
brown one, ten pounds of pepper, two vessels of vinegar
and five pairs of gloves " (vide Howell's History of the
World). But, although gloves were in use, it is question-
able if glove -making as an industry was carried on in
England to any extent at that period. The art of
leather -dressing was certainly practised in many of the
monasteries, and possibly glove -making may have also
furnished an occupation for the monks here and there
throughout the country, but the earliest references to
gloving as a craft in England do not occur until much
later. On the Continent, however, by the tenth cen-
tury, glove-making had become a recognised industry in
several centres, and the Norman conquest seems to have
brought in its train the gradual adoption of the glove by
the nobility and clergy of this country.
The gloves of this period were almost certainly
always made of either deer or sheep skins, or linen or
silk, and were frequently of the gauntlet type. Long
years elapsed ere they passed into common usage, even
among the classes to whom they were first introduced
the clergy, military and nobility. After the reign of
Henry I, however, the custom of wearing them gradually
came to be firmly established. Possibly it was the scope
which the glove offered for ornamentation that gave
the first impetus to its general adoption, for there are
indications that thus early in its history it began to
develop claims to be regarded as an article of fashion
as well as of utility. For instance, embroidered gloves,
and gloves with bejewelled backs are mentioned by
Planch e as having been in vogue in the twelfth century.
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GLOVE 5
In any case the foppery of the young Norman nobles
came in for contemporary condemnation, for we find
one writer of the period declaring with some acerbity
that they covered their hands with gloves " too long
and too wide for doing anything useful."
We have already stated that glove -making had become
recognised as an industry in several centres on the
Continent by the tenth century. France has always
been famous for its gloves, and the French glove industry
without doubt ante -dated that of this country. In
A.D. 1190 the first Corporation of Glovers of which we
have any knowledge was established by Philippe II.
This corporation was established at Paris and its objects
were (1) the regulation of the manufacture and sale of
gloves, (2) the supervision and adjustment of the
various interests of masters, journeymen and apprentices,
and (3) the tendering of assistance to aged and neces-
sitous members of the fraternity. The first Glovers'
Guild in Britain was established at Perth. It is said
that the Perth glovers received a charter in A.D. 1165,
from William the Lion ; but the evidence on this point
is not conclusive. Their records can be traced back to
A.D. 1390, and a charter was granted them in 1406 by
Robert III. The Glovers' Guild of Perth is still a wealthy
and influential corporation, although the craft has long
since ceased to characterise the town. By 1464, we read
that the London glovers were granted arms by Edward
IV, but the glovers of the metropolis had to wait until
1638 before they received their charter of Incorporation
from Charles I.
By the middle of the fifteenth century the English
glove industry must have already been regarded as
having attained a position of some importance, for in
1463, the importation of foreign gloves was prohibited
by an edict of Edward IV in order to afford protection
6 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
to the growing trade of his " loyal and peaceful citizens,
the glovers." Incidentally, this prohibition was renewed
in the following century (A.D. 1564) and also by Charles
II, and remained in force until 1825, when the importa-
tion of gloves was again permitted, subject to a small
ad valorem duty. This duty was repealed in 1860,
and subsequently the English glove industry was
severely hit by competition from abroad, particularly
in the lower grades of gloves.
Worcester, which is now the chief centre of the English
glove trade, was one of the earliest seats of the industry.
The Worcester glovers were incorporated in 1661, and
they early gained a very high reputation for Venetian
gloves, made in imitation of those imported from
Venice .
It may be interesting here to record that the charter
granted to the London Glovers in 1638 was ostensibly
given with a view to correcting certain abuses which had
crept into the craft, concerning which the glovers
themselves had petitioned the Crown. The preamble
is worth quoting even at this distance of time . W T e have,
of course, modernised the language to render it more
intelligible :
We have been informed that their families (the glovers') are
about 400 in number, and upon them depending above 3,000
of our subjects who are much decayed and impoverished by
reason of the great confluence of persons of the same art trade
or mystery into our cities of London and Westminster from all
parts of our Kingdom of England and dominion of Wales that,
for the most part, have scarcely served any time thereunto,
working of gloves in chambers and corners, and taking appren-
tices under them, many in number, as well women as men, that
become burdensome in the parishes wherein they inhabit, and
are a disordered multitude, living without proper government,
and making naughty and deceitful gloves.
The charter goes on to state that the reputation of
English glovers had been much damaged by the
activities of these strangers to the City. Therefore,
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GLOVE 7
the London Company was endowed with extremely
wide powers, and authorised to search for and destroy
bad or defective skins, leather, or gloves. In these
days, when traders or manufacturers most strongly
resent any interference with their liberties, and to whom
the mere suggestion of control or regulation of trade is
anathema, it seems strange to read of a body of manu-
facturers seeking to have their businesses subject to
supervision in this way. Such, however, was the
spirit of olden times. In those days infinite reliance was
placed on protection, and these ancient guilds were
endowed with the very widest powers and for a long
time even fixed the wages which artisans were entitled
to receive and the prices at which commodities were to
be sold. The wheel appears to be coming full circle
again ; for wages are now controlled by industrial
councils and Trade Boards, while there is a very clamant
demand abroad for the limitation of prices and profits.
To conclude this brief historical sketch, it is perhaps
necessary to remark that the use of gloves seems at first
to have been confined to men. Originally, as we have
already indicated, they were restricted to the ranks of
the clergy and military, and their use outside of the
church or the army was according to at least one
authority (Mr. S. William Beck) interdicted by law.
Indeed, ladies no not appear to have worn gloves until
the period of the Reformation, but during the sixteenth
century the fashion began to set strongly in their favour,
and since those days, the custom of wearing them has
gradually extended among all classes.
2_(l463j)
CHAPTER II
THE GLOVE AS A SYMBOL
MANY explanations of the origin of the word " glove "
have been advanced from time to time, and one of the
most generally accepted theories is that the word is
derived from the Saxon " glofe " to hide or to cover.
This root again, according to etymologists, is a modifica-
tion of the verb " geloben " or " geloven," to vow or
to have faith. Whether that derivation is to be trusted
or not, it is at least significant that the glove seems to
have been used from time immemorial as a symbol of
good faith or trust. We find it appearing as a legal
symbol in connection with the transfer of property in
the East from very early times, the handing over of the
seller's glove to the purchaser being the recognised
form of investing the new owner with his rights. It is
said that this form of investiture applied particularly
to the disposal of land. Biblical testimony is sometimes
advanced in support of this theory, some scholars con-
tending that the Hebrew word translated " shoe " in
the fourth chapter of the Book of Ruth (v. 7 and 8)
would be more properly translated "glove." (Hull's
History of the Glove Trade.) To confirm the contract
there mentioned, a " shoe " was handed by the kinsman
to Boaz, which " was the manner in former time in
Israel concerning the redeeming, and concerning changing
for to confirm all things." In any case, even in much
more recent times, the exchange of gloves was customary
among the Jews to ratify bargains and confirm
contracts.
Isaac D' Israeli, the author of Curiosities of Litera-
ture, and the father of Lord Beaconsfield, disinterred
8
THE GLOVE AS A SYMBOL 9
many interesting details concerning the symbolism of
the glove from obscure literary sources, where they lay
buried.
According to old Germanic law, the hand was the great
symbol of power, and no doubt the glove derived some
of its significance from that fact. Unquestionably in
the Middle Ages the glove enjoyed great importance as
a c ign r> r +itl^ nf inwgtitnrp. The Earl of Flanders
in A.D. 1294 delivered up the towns of Bruges and Ghent
to King Phillip the Fair, by handing him a pair of gloves.
Du Cange quotes a Charter of the thirteenth century,
wherein the re-investiture or restitution of land is also
symbolised by depositing a glove upon the earth. At one
time no town of Saxony could establish a free market
without Imperial sanction, and in token of his per-
mission the Emperor was wont to send his right hand
glove. Similarly, no new township could be estab-
lished without the same permission, which was accom-
panied by a like symbol of authority. The issue of
coins was also conditional upon the same curious for-
mality, and in some instances the recipients would
return a left-hand glove stocked with money in
acknowledgment .
In this country also it was at one time customary to
establish fairs and markets by virtue of the King's
glove, and it was for a long period usual to display a
glove prominently upon a pole in the centre of the fair
as a symbol of the King's indulgence. Here again we
have a typical instance of the ^use 6f the glove as a token
of protection : for in many cases its presence conferred
the extraordinary privilege that during the fair, criminals
and debtors enjoyed immunity from arrest.
The use of the glove as a token of loyalty or champion-
ship will be familiar to most people. In the days of
chivalry, for a knight to cast down his glove or gauntlet
10 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
was tantamount to a challenge to combat, and the usual
mode of acceptance was for the challenger to take up
the glove, at the same time casting down his own. A
striking instance of this custom was the Royal champion-
ship, which survived until the nineteenth century. At
the coronation of a king or queen of England at West-
minster the hereditary champion flung down his
gauntlet, whilst the herald proclaimed the challenge.
This part of the ceremony was first dispensed with at
the coronation of Queen Victoria.
Steevens, in his Notes on Shakespere, observes that it
was " anciently the custom to wear gloves in the hat
on three distinct occasions, viz., as the favour of a
mistress, the memorial of a friend, and as a mark to be
challenged by an enemy." Every reader of Shake-
speare will remember the incident in Henry V , where
the King, the night before Agincourt, walking in the
lines, takes a glove as a gage from one of his men-at-
arms.
A quaint old rhyme of the sixteenth century, A
Vision of Piers Plowman contains the following curious
reference to the glove :
Yea, I have lent lords, that loved me never after
And hath made mani a knight, both mercer and draper,
That paid not for his prentishod one pair of gloves.
This led the late Mr. S. William Beck, in his Drapers'
Dictionary, to suggest that the glove entered into the
ancient compact of apprenticeship in some manner.
It is impossible to confirm this, and a more plausible
explanation of the rhyme might be that the knightly
"mercers and drapers " referred to were apprenticed
free, that is, not even paying the nominal value of a pair
of gloves as premium.
Another instance of the symbolism bound up with the
glove survives to the present day. This is the ancient
THE GLOVE AS A SYMBOL 11
custom of presenting the judge with a pair of white
gloves at a maiden assize (i.e., when no cases appear in
the list to be heard). It is not at all certain how the
practice originated, or when. Undoubtedly it is of
great antiquity. It has been suggested that it sprang
from the practice of prisoners, who, pardoned after
condemnation, were wont to present their judges with
a pair of gloves. This latter custom is referred to in
an old seventeenth-century rhyme, The Recantation
of an III- Led Life
Those pardoned men who took their princes' loves
(As married to new life) do give you gloves.
From the foregoing it will be seen the glove has long
figured as a token of trust and of honour, and also as a
symbol of defiance. To-day, it is esteemed the wide-
world over as a pledge of friendship and an emblem of
confidence.
CHAPTER III
THE GLOVE IN THE REALM OF FASHION
BEFORE gloves came into common use, other expedients
were adopted to protect the hand against the inclemency
of the weather. At one period the sleeves of ladies'
robes and cloaks were made long enough to be drawn
down over the hand. Neither did men disdain to
protect themselves from the cold by similar means.
Mr. J. R. Planche, in his Cyclopaedia of Costume, instances
examples from the dress of Anglo-Saxon times, where
the tunics worn by the men of that period were furnished
with a long wide sleeve, which in mild weather was
wrinkled up at the wrist and secured by a strap or
bracelet of leather, but which could be drawn down over
the hand in severe weather to afford the protection now
obtained from the glove. Muffs were also used for the
same purpose. Gradually, however, the advantage
to be derived from gloves came to be recognised, and
they have steadily grown in popular favour. From
records still extant it would appear safe to assume that
most early gloves were of the fingerless type, having a
separate stall for the thumb only. The glove fitted with
separate fingers developed later. In the first place
they were worn for the warmth or protection they
afforded their wearers, but from mere articles of utility
they ultimately came to be regarded both as a badge
of rank and as a means of ostentation and display. It
is impossible at this distance of time to trace the gradual
evolution of their development in these respects, but,
according to both William Hull and S. William Beck, by
the thirteenth century we find them figuring in the
12
THE GLOVE IN THE REALM OF FASHION 13
investiture of kings and among the symbolical vest-
ments of the clergy. The gloves of the early monarchs
were frequently adorned with precious stones and richly
decorated with gold or silver embroidery. In the case
of episcopal gloves, a pair worn by William of Wykeham
are still preserved at New College, Oxford (which he
founded in 1379), and these convey to us an idea of the
ecclesiastical gloves of those days. They were made of
red silk, the backs being embellished with a gold
embroidered circle surrounding the sacred monogram
" I.H.S." The thumbs and fingers are also decorated
with gold embroidery, whilst a curious embroidery
appears upon the gauntlets. As with all the specimens
of early gloves in existence, these are somewhat crude
in shape and appear to have been extremely loose in
the palm and remarkably short in the finger.
From these and similar examples to be found in
museums scattered throughout the country one is able
to form some impression of the character of the gloves
worn in mediaeval ages. No matter whether they were
made of leather, silk or linen, these early specimens were
almost without exception crude and inelegant in shape
and loosely fitting, but their lack of attractiveness in this
respect was more than compensated by the richness
and beauty of their decoration. In this country gloves
first came into fairly general use among the Norman
nobility, and immediately began to play their part in
the realm of fashion. For a long period, their use
seems to have been confined to men, but the costume of
the sterner sex in those days was far less sober than now,
and the gloves of the period were in keeping with the
rest of male attire. From the pages of William Hull,
J. R. Planche, and S. W. Beck, we learn what art and
skill were lavished upon these mediaeval gloves to make
them attractive. Rich embroideries, often executed
14
GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
with gold or silver thread, fringes and tassels, and even
jewels and precious stones, were employed for their
From Beck's " Gloves, Their Annals and Associations "
GLOVES OF HENRY VI
embellishment, and many of the gloves worn in those
days must have been of great beauty and value.
Beck, in his Gloves, their Annals and Associations,
gives a description of a glove once in the possession of
Henry VI. This appears to have been a rather plain
and homely article, and, we are informed, was made of
tanned leather, lined with deerskin, dressed with the
THE GLOVE IN THE REALM OF FASHION 15
hair still on. In shape it exhibits all the lack of elegance
and shapeliness characteristic of mediaeval gloves. In
style it is of the gauntlet type, with the top of the gaunt-
let rolling back on to the wrist. The thumb is of a
peculiar shape, resembling somewhat a heart that has
been elongated towards its apex. The dimensions,
which are also given, are rather interesting. From the
end of the middle finger to the commencement of the
gauntlet measures Sins., and the gauntlet Sins., giving
a total length of 13 ins. At the thumb this glove measures
4 ins. across, whilst the gauntlet is rather more than
5 ins. in width.
Mr. Beck, to whose work reference has already been
made, has probably contributed more to the history of
gloves than any other writer. His book is stored with
a wealth of detail which testifies to the admirable zeal
and painstaking industry with which he conducted his
researches after glove lore, and it is largely to him that we
are indebted for our knowledge of the character of
mediaeval gloves. Among the famous gloves he describes
and illustrates are specimens which are reported to have
been in the possession of prominent personalities in
English history, notably those of Henry VIII,
Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, James I, and
Shakespeare.
Those of Henry VIII are hawking gloves, and in their
heavy, bluff outline present an appearance strangely
in keeping with the popular conception of the character
of that monarch. Somewhat broad in the hand, and
rather short and broad in the fingers, they are of the
usual gauntlet type, and the only attempt at decorative
effect is furnished by a rather crude and clumsily
executed circular embroidery on the gauntlet.
In striking contrast to these are the gloves of Queen
Elizabeth, the ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots, and those
By permission of the Keeper of the Bodleian Library
GLOVES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH
THE GLOVE IN THE REALM OF FASHION 17
of James I. Those of Elizabeth may still be seen in
the Bodleian Library at Oxford. They are reported
to have been worn by her on the occasion of her visit
to the University in 1566. These are close upon 16 ins.
long, and are finished at the gauntlet with a 2 in. fringe
of gold thread. The gloves themselves are of exceedingly
fine white leather, beautifully embroidered with a
scroll-work of gold thread which covers the gauntlet and
is continued round the base of the thumb. The size
of these gloves is remarkable, the middle finger being
close upon 5 ins. long, the thumb quite 5 ins. and the
width at the palm 3J ins.
Beautiful as these gloves are, they are easily excelled
by those of Mary Queen of Scots, which are (or were
until recent years) still preserved in the Saffron- Walden
Museum. These are elegant in shape, and beautifully
made of buff coloured leather. The elaborate
embroidery upon the gauntlet, executed in silver wire
and various coloured silks is a remarkable example of
sixteenth-century work. The design includes roses
carried out in two shades of blue and crimson silk and
foliage of green silk, with a bird in flight. The gauntlet
is lined with crimson satin, and finished with a fringe of
gold lace, decorated with steel or silver spangles. The
opening of the gauntlet is connected by two bands of
crimson silk decorated with silver lace.
Yet another glove reported to have belonged to the
same unfortunate lady is preserved in the Ashmolean
Museum. These are of a plainer type, being neither
so beautiful nor so ornate as the Saffron -Walden speci-
mens. They are also less shapely, but the workmanship
is particularly neat. They are fitted with a short
gauntlet, which is embellished with decorative stitching
and rosettes of ribbons. These gloves, also, are rather
on the large side, from which one is inclined to conclude
18
GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
that the gloves of those days were purposely made on
roomy lines, rather than that gloves of such size were
necessitated by the proportions of their owners.
By permission of the Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum
GLOVES OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Other examples of beautiful sixteenth-century glove
wear are illustrated in Beck's pages. If these owe
nothing in point of interest to their identification
with illustrious owners, they are entitled to notice by
reason of their sheer beauty. One such pair of
sixteenth-century gloves is described by Beck in the
following passage
THE GLOVE IN THE REALM OF FASHION 19
The magnificent embroidery on the cuff of the glove, of which
both back and front are given, can hardly be done justice to in
description, or even in colourless print. Every flower, the
columbine and pink in particular, the butterflies, and even a little
goldfinch in the middle of the cuff, are rendered in natural colours
with an exquisite fidelity, and with such skill as to make them
veritable needle-paintings, in which, too, the needle well holds
its own against the brush. The work is done in fine silk, and the
shading is eloquent of the skill of early dyers, for the range of
colours admitting of such undefinable graduations must have
been very extensive. The colours are, of course, somewhat
faded, but, considering their age, are wonderfully well-preserved.
The raised gold work and stitching with gold thread are also
in excellent condition, though the work has in some places worn
out the white satin on which, with such excellent skill, it was
first grounded. The glove is nearly 13 inches in total length.
The whole cuff, 4 inches in depth, is lined with crimson silk,
and the side bands of cloth of gold ribbon, edged with gold
fringe, were probably attached to the gloves to confine the wide
leeves, and allow the ornamentation of the gauntlets unhindered
admiraton.
Exceptional interest attaches to a pair of gloves
illustrated and described in the same volume. These,
it is believed, belonged at one time to Shakespeare. They
are said to have been presented to Garrick by the Mayor
and Corporation of Stratford-on-Avon in 1769, and
ultimately passed into the possession of the Benson
family. They are made of stout leather, and are
ornamented with red and gold scroll work at the knuckles.
A fringed yellow ribbon borders the cuff, which is formed
of a double layer of leather, in the upper surface of
which is a pinked pattern.
In passing, it is worthy of mention that there is some
ground for assuming that William Shakespeare's father
may have been identified with glove manufacture.
Aubrey, the old chronicler, says he was a butcher, but
more modern opinion seems to incline to the belief that
he was a wool dealer and glover. It may well have been
that he was all three, for the callings of grazier, wool
stapler, and leather dresser not infrequently went
20 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
together. In any case, an examination of the poet's
works discloses numerous allusions to the glover's craft,
and such knowledge in itself affords strong presumptive
evidence that at some time or another Shakespeare had
ample opportunity to familiarise himself with the tools
and processes of the glover's calling.
To return to the part which the glove has played in
the realm of fashion, the advent of the Puritans to
power ushered in an era of severity in costume, and the
glove suffered in the general eclipse. The wonderfully
decorated gloves which had been pre-eminent during
the Tudor and Stuart periods found no place in England
under the Commonwealth, but with the Restoration,
all the old tendencies towards lavish ornamentation and
luxurious decorations reasserted themselves with renewed
vigour. Embossing and embroidery work in gold and
silver thread, rich silk and satin linings, fringes and
tassels and exquisite laces were all employed to adorn
and beautify gloves. Fringed gloves, in particular,
were very popular with the fashionable set in the days
of Charles II and James II, and the feeling for them
continued throughout the first half of the eighteenth
century, silver and gold fringes being specially favoured.
It is worthy of note in passing that the dandies of
London in the days of Beau Brummel were so enamoured
of fringed gloves, that they formed a " Club of the
Fringed Glove," though beyond the fact of its formation
we know nothing further of it. A curious sidelight is
thrown upon the importance with which the glove was
regarded by the gentlemen of fashion in the early
nineteenth century, by the following rules which, it is
said, were laid down by the famous Count d'Orsay :
" An English gentleman," he said, " ought to use
six pairs of gloves a day. In the morning to drive a
britzska to the hunt, gloves of reindeer. At the hunt,
THE GLOVE IN THE REALM OF FASHION 21
to follow a fox, gloves of shammy leather. To return to
London in a Tilbury, after a drive at Richmond in the
morning, gloves of beaver. To go later for a walk in
Hyde Park, or to conduct a lady to pay her visits,
coloured kid gloves, braided. To go to a dinner party,
yellow dog's-skin gloves. And in the evening, for a ball
or rout, gloves of white lamb-skin, embroidered with
silk." We have, happily perhaps, travelled far from
so slavish a regard for fashion's decrees as these rules
would seem to imply, but the glove is still almost
universally regarded as a badge of gentility. So far
as dress gloves are concerned, however, a few years ago
no gentleman would appear at a dinner or dance without
a pair ; to-day they are rarely used except at court or
state functions.
Latterly, with the demand expanding in an ever
widening circle, the bulk of the trade to-day is naturally
concerned with gloves of fairly stereotyped character.
Still, style changes do take place from generation to
generation and from season to season, even in the most
work-a-day sections of the trade. Thus, where a few
years ago the ordinary glace kid glove represented the
principal type called for, to-day it would be difficult
to ascribe pre-eminent popularity to any single class of
glove. Certainly there would seem to be almost as
great a demand for chamois, wash-leather, degrains,
suedes, and fabrics, as for those of the glace variety.
Naturally, being an auxiliary article of attire, the
glove is inevitably influenced by the changing moods
of fashion in costume. This applies more particularly,
of course, in the ladies' section of the trade. To-day it
needs, perhaps, to be emphasised that this tendency
of the glove to reflect the variations of fashion is becoming
somewhat more marked in the cheaper branches of the
trade than was wont to be the case formerly. Women,
22 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
even working class women, are much more discriminating
than they used to be. Witness the tremendous demand
for fringed gloves in recent years following a vogue
for fringe. A craze for stiff gauntlets of a military type
during the war furnishes another instance of the same
kind. Again, coloured gloves to match the tones and
shades popularly adopted from season to season are
also sought after. Nevertheless, it remains true that the
various styles of ordinary wrist-length glove, in tan
glace, slate or sable suede or degrain will always find a
sale to-day, no matter what strange and fantastic whims
are abroad.
So far as the fashion end of the trade is concerned,
however, a visit to any of the large wholesale glove
houses, or to any of the great drapery emporiums of
London, Paris or New York, would be sufficient to
disabuse the minds of those who imagine that the
making of gloves of superlative elegance is a lost art.
In some respects, notably in originality of conception,
variety of design, and beauty of workmanship, the
modern gloves of fashion excel those of earlier periods.
While they lack the over-elaborate ornamentation of
the Tudor, Stuart and Restoration periods, their
superior cut and finish and the tasteful beauty of
decoration compel our admiration. Many large manu-
facturers make a speciality of this branch of the trade,
and every season now brings its quota of new styles
and innovations. Highly skilled designers, thoroughly
familiar with the processes of the industry (and fully
conversant, be it said, with the limitations as well as
the possibilities of the glover's art) are retained by the
makers, and the combination of their art with the
skill and craft of the operative glover results in the
production of the fine gloves which adorn the hands of
the leaders of fashion in the world's capitals
CHAPTER IV
LEATHER GLOVES I SKINS AND THEIR ORIGIN
IN the preceding chapters we have dwelt briefly upon the
glove as an article of fashion : we will now devote our
attention to its position in the world of commerce.
Broadly speaking, there are three distinct classes of
gloves, i.e., (1) Leather Gloves, (2) Fabric Gloves,
(3) Knitted Gloves. Leather gloves and knitted gloves
without doubt are of great age. What is now usually
termed the fabric glove is of comparatively modern
development, although gloves of silk, linen and other
fabrics are referred to in old documents. In recent
years the manufacture of this latter type has made
striking progress, and many people in the trade believe
it has an even still greater future before it. Neverthe-
less, leather gloves still take pride of place, and represent
the largest and most important branch of the industry,
fabric gloves coming next in order of importance, and
knitted gloves last. Taking them in this order we will
deal with leather gloves first.
In the early days of the glove industry, leather
gloves were almost always made of either deer skin
(buck skin) or sheep skin. Nowadays, however, gloves
are made from a wide variety of skins Those chiefly
used are kid, goat, sheep, lamb, reindeer, antelope,
gazelle, calf and colt Kid and goat skins, and lamb
and sheep skins supply the greatest part of the leathers
used for gloving, whilst reindeer, antelope and gazelle
are used largely when available. We mention calf
and colt, for although they are rarely used to-day for
glove-making they were employed formerly to a limited
extent. Colt skins are still used in America for
workmen's gloves.
23
3 (1463j)
24 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
The French undoubtedly were the first to discover
that kid skins possessed special qualities which rendered
them eminently suitable for glove-making, and to that
fact, coupled with the development of exceptional
skill in skin-dressing, France owes the pre-eminent
position she has so long enjoyed for the production of
fine-quality gloves^ So long as the British glovers were
immune from the effects of foreign competition they were
content to rely mainly upon home supplies of raw
material, chiefly sheep, lamb and deer skins. After the
removal of the prohibition against the importation of
foreign gloves into England (1825), however, in order to
meet competition from France, British glove makers
commenced to import kid-skins in much larger quantities
and to dress them in the continental manner. For a
long time, the British trade suffered severely owing to
keen competition from across the Channel (French
manufacturers holding the advantage of having ample
supplies of skins near at hand and abundant supplies
of cheap labour). Steadily, however, the English
industry found its feet, and, largely owing to the enter-
prise and far-sightedness of a few eminent firms, who
concentrated upon the production of sound, reliable
articles, British gloves have won a special reputation
in the world's markets by virtue of their outstanding
merits. Latterly the industry has extended its efforts,
and to-day the home trade is probably in a stronger
position than ever in its history.
Without doubt, kid skins furnish the finest and thin-
nest of all leathers, and from them the majority of the
lightest and best quality gloves are made. Practically
all the supplies of these skins are drawn from Europe,
France being the principal centre, with Switzerland,
Germany, Austria, Northerrultaly, Belgium and Ireland
providing smaller quantities. lureland, by the way, was
LEATHER GLOVES : SKINS AND THEIR ORIGIN 25
at one time famous for supplying particularly fine skins
for a special type of glove known as " Limericks."]
It is said that these were taken from kids born pre-
maturely. (Large quantities of kid skins come also from
South America. ' The flocks of kids whose skins are
destined for the glove industry are raised mainly in
mountainous districts. In France, the kids are specially
bred and reared, and special attention is paid to their
nurture so as to avoid any blemish in their skins which
would be likely to detract from the value of the finished
leather. Milk-fed kids furnish the finest skins, for so soon
as the animal begins to eat herbage its skin thickens and
coarsens. Sometimes, however, the kids are allowed to
grow to their full stature, and when they are full-grown
they are known as " chevrettes " (the French designa-
tion for goats). As such, their skins yield a particularly
clear and strong leather, remarkable for the perfection
of its grain. Many of the so-called " kid " gloves sold
to-day are made from lamb skins, owing to the shortage
of suitable kid skins.
Sheep and lamb skins fall next in order of importance.
The chief centres of supply are Russia, South Africa,
Italy, Spain and the South-Eastern countries of Europe
(The Balkans), South America again contributing a
smaller quota.
South African sheep produce an excellent heavy-
weight skin, of a particularly large spread, but tight
fine grain. Formerly supplies were almost exclusively
drawn from the Cape and Port Elizabeth districts
hence the origin of the " Cape " glove. So-called
" Cape " gloves of the present day are no longer made
exclusively from South African skins, which are largely
used for heavy-weight gloves, such as motor and
military gauntlets.
Some of the very best types of lamb skins come from
26 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
Russia. These are known in the trade as " Kasans."
At present (1920) owing to the troubles in Russia these
are hard to obtain.
Excellent lamb skins are also obtained from Spain.
The " Mocha " or Arabian Hair Sheep furnishes
another skin very widely used for leather gloves. The
Arabian Hair Sheep according to some authorities is a
distinct type ; others contend that they have been
developed by the inter-breeding of Mocha goats and a
species of sheep. Their pelts are known variously
to skin-buyers as " blackheads," " redheads," and
" whiteheads," according to the colour of the hair on
the poll or head of the animal. Gloves made from these
skins are often confused with " suede " and so-called
" doe " and " chamois " gloves. Arabian sheep skins,
however, are not " sueded," but " degrained," or
" frized " which is quite a different process.
The district between Cairo and Khartoum supplies
another special type of sheep skin known as " Soudans,"
whilst Indian sheep skins are also used to a certain
extent.
Returning to lamb skins, these are procured from all
over Europe and from parts of South America. The
finest grade of all lamb skins, known as " Tuscany
skins," come from Southern Italy and are used for the
very highest class of lamb skin gloves. At one time the
home supplies of lamb and sheep skins entered very
largely into glove-making. To-day they are nothing
like so extensively used for " grain " leathers, being of a
rather coarse grain and lacking durability. They still
enter largely into the making of " doe " and " chamois "
leathers. During the war, however, many thousand
pairs of trench and motor-transport gloves were manu-
factured from them. These were made from sheep and
heavy lamb skins dressed with the wool on, the glove
LEATHER GLOVES I SKINS AND THEIR ORIGIN 27
being made with the wool inside for warmth. Similar
gloves are also made for farming use and rough driving
wear. Fine short wool lamb skins from the Pyrenees
and China are also dressed with the wool on and utilised
largely for lining ordinary leather gloves.
It is a peculiar fact that those sheep yielding the best
wool do not generally furnish the best skins for glove
making. Normally, the more hairy and wiry the wool
the better the skin from the glover's point of view. One
reason suggested is that the more wiry the wool the
finer and closer the grain of the leather an important
point in gloving.
The German and Austrian glove- makers used to
buy very large quantities of lamb skins from the
Balkans.
Gazelle skins are still used to a fairly large extent in
the glove trade. They are obtained from the hinterland
of Aden, and Africa, and are sometimes known as the
African small deer.
Reindeer skins, which furnish one of the finest
leathers for gloving are obtained from Alaska, Russia
and North Western Europe.
The foregoing will introduce the reader to the principal
skins used in the leather glove trade. Before proceeding
to describe the various processes through which they
must pass ere they reach the hands of the glove-maker,
it is necessary to refer to a few popular terms which are
frequently subject to misconception.
In the first place, considerable confusion exists as
to the terms " dressed kid " and "undressed kid." All
skins, of course, must be dressed before they become
leather, but some are dressed and finished on the hair
side (known in the trade as the " grain " side) of the skin,
and some upon the flesh side. " Dressed "kid is the
designation of the former, which gives a grain or glace
28 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
finish, whilst the latter are known as " undressed "
kid. Sometimes, however, the hair or grain surface
of the skin is removed, when the skins are known as
" degrains," " chamois " or " doe," but are sometimes
classed as " undressed " kid.
Glove trade nomenclature is often very misleading.
Some terms which had at one time a certain well-defined
meaning and were applied strictly to specific articles,
in the course of time have taken on a much wider
significance ; the field of their application has become
enlarged. " Cape " gloves furnish a case in point.
Originally applied to gloves made from skins procured
from Cape Colony, the name is now used for gloves made
from the skins of sheep, lambs, and even goats^obtained
from many other lands than South Africa, which have
been finished by the method known as " Nappa "
dipping or " Staining."
Similarly, the term " Mocha " is sometimes wrongly
applied to gloves made by the " sued ing " process.
Suede leather is dressed on the flesh side of the skin,
but the leather for " Mocha " gloves is " friezed " or
" frized " and not " sueded," and the finished or wearing
surface is on the hair or grain side of the skin, the grain
being removed to take the finish. " Chamois " is another
term which deserves a word or two of explanation. To
the laymen, the chamois (a species of mountain goat
peculiar to Switzerland) furnishes the raw material for
all leather and gloves known as "chamois." The genuine
chamois, is practically extinct so far as glove-making
is concerned. Here again, the name is preserved and
applied to a special manner of treating the leather. The
" genuine " chamois of to-day is usually nothing more nor
less than sheep or lamb skin, specially dressed with oil,
or maybe chromed. Gloves so made possess admirable
washing qualities a fact which is largely due to the
LEATHER GLOVES I SKINS AND THEIR ORIGIN 29
absence of acids or dyes, which otherwise would tend to
harden the leather in washing.
Sheep skins, particularly the heavier varieties, are often
split from edge to edge, yielding two thinner skins.
That portion bearing the grain surface is known as a
" skiver," while the flesh side, or lower portion, is termed
a "flesher." It is from these latter that the leathers
known throughout the trade as " chamois " and
" doe skins " are often produced.
Before concluding this cursory survey of the various
skins used in the leather glove trade, it will not be out
of place to interpolate a few words as to the prospects
for supplies during the next few years. The late war,
which convulsed the world with devastation, has had
a very serious effect on the trade. In the first place
tremendous inroads were made upon the stocks of all
sorts of leathers which were required for many different
articles of military equipment. In addition to this,
the serious shortage of food experienced all over Europe
during the war led to the slaughter of all edible animals
on a wholesale scale, and the flocks of kids, sheep and
lambs whose skins were normally utilized for glove
making suffered with the rest. In the combatant
countries, many of the shepherds and goat-herds were
withdrawn from their avocations and sent away on
active service ; their flocks, in consequence, went
frequently neglected and untended. The result of all
this was visible soon after the Armistice (llth November,
1918) when the glove manufacturers began to devote
their energies to the revival of trading under peace
conditions. The herds of goats and kids and sheep
and lambs were then found to be seriously depleted
in numbers, but, what was more disconcerting, very many
of the animals remaining were in poor condition. Early
in 1919, it was estimated that the quantity of skins
30 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
in sight for that year was only just short of one-fourth
of the normal pre-war annual supply. Obviously, then,
the shortage cannot be regarded as of a temporary
character, and it is evident that years must elapse
before the herds can be restored to their pre-war
strength and condition.
Meanwhile the demand for leather gloves continues
unabated, and in fact tends to expand. Further, it has
to be remembered that practically all the skins suitable
for glove-making are also in demand by other indus-
tries ladies' shoes and fancy leather goods particularly.
In addition, Fashion, with the strange caprice that some-
times seems to sway her moods, has recently decreed in
favour of the use of soft leather for millinery and dress
trimmings. All this has naturally intensified the
competition for the very skins glovers need for their
industry. Thus we come face to face with one of the
main factors which have contributed to force up the
price of all kinds of leather gloves to levels undreamt of
in pre-war years.
In addition to this increase in the cost of the principle
raw material, the costs of making the gloves have also
advanced enormously. This applies, of course, to every
one of the very numerous operations which enter into
the making of the glove. The prices of all materials
used in skin-dressing have increased considerably as
compared with pre-war levels, so too have the silk and
cotton threads used in sewing ; whilst finally much
enhanced wages are now being paid to all workers
throughout the industry. Thus it will be understood
that cheap leather gloves as " cheapness " was under-
stood before the war came to shatter our notions of
value can no longer be obtained.
CHAPTER V
SKIN-DRESSING AND TREATMENT
SKIN-DRESSING for the glove trade is a specialised indus-
try, and involves a long series of complicated processes.
The various stages occupy anything from 6 to 8 weeks,
the time varying according to the kind of skins being
treated, the character of the dressing or tannage, the
locality where dressing takes place, and the season of the
year. Glove leather-dressing is now carried on at almost
every centre where glove- factories are to be found, both
at home and abroad^ Spain was at one time famous for
dressing glove leathers, if an old adage is to be believed,
for it used to be said : " For a glove to be good three
realms must have contributed to it, Spain to prepare the
skin, France to cut it, and England to sew it." Times
have changed, and Spain to-day supplies few dressed
skins for the glove trade. France is one of the principal
countries for such, supplying many parcels to this
country as well as to the French glovers. The chief
French centres are Annonay, Grenoble, Millau and
St. Junien. Annonay since the fourteenth century
has been pre-eminent for dressed skins, and its reputa-
tion in this respect is referred to in Mrs. Henry Wood's
well-known glove trade novel, Mrs. Halliburton^ Troubles.
Ottignies, near Brussels, Naples in Italy, Munich in
Bavaria, and Prague in Bohemia, are also well-known
dressing centres. In England, many thousands of skins
are dressed annually in the Yeovil district, at Abingdon
in Berkshire and at Worcester.
There is no doubt that the character of the water of
various localities has considerable bearing upon leather-
dressing, although some of the extravagant claims
31
32 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
advanced in favour of certain districts can be largely
discounted. That there is a great deal of truth in the
theory is evident from the fact that some localities
seem to yield better results than others even when there
is little or nothing to choose between the skill and
experience of the dressers concerned. The softer the
water the better, whilst the presence of certain bacteria
is also an advantage.
In the previous chapter the various .skins now used
for gloving were described in detail. Tney are purchased
in their raw state in the different centres where the
animals are reared. They ai;e then in the " pelt "
stage, that is, with the hair or wool still upon them.
Before they can be transported or stored they have to
be cured or treated to prevent decomposition and damage
by worms. There are several methods of effecting this.
Some skins are merely sun-dried, others are salted and
dried. Small skins are frequently dried and sprayed
with napthalene. Others are wet salted and packed in
barrels, a method which many leather-dressers would
like to see more generally adopted, although it adds
considerably to the cost of packing and shipment.
Again, large, skins are sometimes treated with both salt
and lime. /, Notwithstanding all these precautions,
great care has to be exercised while the skins are stored
prior to dressing in order to prevent damage by maggots
or worms. Constant changes of position and frequent
spraying with napthalene are the most effective safe-
guards against deterioration. Subsequently the skins
are sorted, being graded according to size, weight and
condition, and baled for transhipment.
On arrival at the dressing yards the skins are very
dirty and greasy, and the preliminary treatment they
undergo is a cleansing process, known as soaking, which
clears away all foreign matter and impurities. To
1
k
34 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
effect this, the skins with hair or wool still on are placed
in tanks or pits of clear, soft water. There they are
left to lie for some time. Salted hides require a longer
soaking than those which have been merely dried or
treated with napthalene, whilst a longer soaking is
usually necessary in winter, when the water is less soft,
than during the summer. After being thoroughly
soaked, the skins are sometimes passed through a rolling
machine, resembling in principle the ordinary household
mangle, but the rollers of which have a rubber surface.
This operation squeezes a good deal of water from the
wool or hair of the skins and with it much of the dirt
and impurities adhering to the wool.
The next operation is that ofjiepilatiori. or the removal
of the wool or hair. There are several means of dehairing
or unhairing, as it is more commonly called. Formerly
the use of a solution of ordinary lime was the only method
adopted, but latterly pastes made of sulphide of sodium
or red arsenic in combination with lime furnish more
expeditious means of loosening the hair. Every dresser
makes his own paste and the strength of the solution
naturally varies between one yard and another. Usually
the proportions of the solution vary from six to eight
parts of lime to one of sulphate of sodium or red arsenic.
Powdered lime is preferable, and it must be well mixed
with the other ingredient in water. Some time is allowed
for the lime to slake off and the paste is then thickly
painted over the flesh sides of the skins, care being taken
to see that the solution does not touch the wool, which
would otherwise be damaged. The skins are then
folded, wool side outwards, and left to stand for hours,
by which time the hair-sheaths or cells are loosened
and the wool or hair can be easily removed. The
sulphide of soda solution is most generally used for sheep
and lamb skins, and the red arsenic for goat and kid
SKIN DRESSING AND TREATMENT 35
skins, and their use is thought to improve the grain.
Before the adoption of such depilitants, after being
loosened with lime the hair or wool was removed from the
skins by the " beaming " process. The " beam " is a
sloping convex-shaped balk supported by a trestle,
and the " beaming knife " a blunt convex-shaped
knife with two handles. The skins are laid over the
" beam " and the loosened wool or hair scraped off with
the knife. Now, by the use of modern depilitants it
is possible to pull the wool or hair off by hand. At
Grenoble, and often elsewhere, fine kid skins are still
unhaired by thejjme and beaming methods.
Sometimes, of course, the skins are dressed with the
hair and wool still on, and used for gloves with the
natural covering of the animal for lining. Small lamb
and antelope skins are frequently treated in this way.
After unhairing the skins are thoroughly washed in
rotary paddle washing machines, and then placed to
soak in lime pits for some weeks. The lime pits are
rectangular in shape, the fronts of which arc preferably
constructed so as to slope back to the pit in order to
facilitate the draining of the skins. The lime used is
carefully slaked, all lumps being eliminated or reduced
to paste in the process, for unslaked lime would burn
the skins, doing irreparable damage. The well-known
purifying and cleansing properties of lime have the effect
_of_Jooseiiing all small hairs, hair cells, and particles of
flesh preparatory to fleshing. The skins remain in the
lime pits from ajfortnight to a month or more, and they
are frequently taken out of the pits, " hauled out "
or left to drain a short time, and then returned to the
same pit or another pit containing a fresher solution of
lime. After liming the skins are first subjected to another
course of washing in a paddle washing machine, and then
passed on to the fleshing department.
36 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
The fleshing operation, as the name implies, has for
its object the removal of all the loose particles of flesh
from the flesh side of the skin. Formerly done entirely
by hand by means of a special knife, the work is now
largely done in a fleshing machine. The hand operation
calls for exceptional dexterity. The fleshing knife is
shaped much like the beaming knife, but has two edges,
the inner of which is keen and sharp and the outer
blunt and dull. The dull edge is used to scrape away
the particles of flesh loosened in the liming process,
whilst the keen edge is used to shave off the remainder.
Great skill and care are necessary to avoid cutting into
the skin itself. Fleshing machines, which are now
rapidly superseding the hand process, are nearly all
constructed on the same principle. Spiral knives are
mounted upon a cylindrical roller, half the blades con-
verging to the left and half to the right. The skins are
fed into the machine grain side downwards and passed
under the knife cylinder which rotates at high speed
and cuts away all superfluous flesh.
Fleshing, by the way, occasionally reveals defects in
a skin which render it absolutely unsuitable for glove
leather. All wool and hair-bearing animals are fond of
scratching themselves by rubbing against bushes or
by rolling in grass stubble. It sometimes happens that
in so doing their coats get covered with minute thorns or
pieces of sharp spear grass. These have a trick of
penetrating right through the hide of the animals, where
they often pass unnoticed until the operation of
" fleshing " burrs them up and causes them to form small
holes in the skin itself. The writer has seen a lamb
skin so damaged that after fleshing it appeared to be as
full of holes as a strainer.
Deliming follows, in which the skins are washed in
warm or soft water in rotary paddle washing machines.
SKIN DRESSING AND TREATMENT 37
The next step, " puering," is one of very great impor-
tance. Hitherto the skins have retained their harsh
and rather gristly character and the object of the puering
process is to render them more soft and supple. Puering
also saponifies the lime and facilitates its removal.
Formerly dog-manure was used universally for puering
glove leather, but in recent years the substitution of
artificial puers has become general. One of the best
known chemical puers is " Pancreol " which is composed
of pancreatic extracts in combination with ammonium
salts and sawdust. The pancreatic extract is obtained
from the intestines of pigs and other small animals.
Animal galls and enzymes are also used to good effect.
Many leather-dressers, however, still contend that the
dog-manure yielded better results, but the drawbacks
associated with securing suitable supplies, and the
difficulty of standardising the strength of the mixture are
causing it to be discarded. There is no doubt that the
use of chemical puers is attended with many advantages,
and on hygienic grounds alone their substitution for
dog puer is to be commended. Puering, again, is a wet
process, the puer being put into solution with warm
water and the skins soaked in the mixture until reduced
to the necessary degree of softness.
After puering the skins are again thoroughly washed
and subsequently drenched. Drenching is a fermenta-
tion process, in which the skins are placed overnight in
a vat or tub containing an infusion of warm water and
either wheaten flour, pea meal, or bran. Fermentation
takes place and by the following day the skins are found
to be floating on the surface of the water in a very
swollen and puffed-up condition. Some dressers regard
a single " rising " of the skins as sufficient, but others
force the skins under water and allow the " rising " to be
repeated several times. French dressers, in particular,
38, GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
attach great importance to repeated " risings." By
this process the last vestiges of lime are removed from the
skin, which is by now reduced to a soft, pulpy, gelatinous
substance, in which condition it will readily absorb the
" tawing " or " tanning " ingredients necessary to
convert it into leather. Drenching is followed by
" scudding," which is the last of the cleansing steps
preparatory to " tanning " or " tawing." First the
skins are rinsed in warm or tepid water and then the
" scud," consisting of particles of lime deposit, short
hairs and scum, is gently scraped off the grain with a
scudding tool which though shaped something like a
beaming knife is fitted with a blade of slate or vulcanite.
Up to this point most skins, no matter their origin and
no matter the finish to be imparted to them, have under-
gone much the same treatment. They are now in the
stage known throughout the trade as "in the white."
All the operations hitherto described, however, are
preparatory to the process of leather-dressing proper.
There are several methods of dressing glove leather,
but that adopted for by far the greatest portion is the
process of tanning known as " tawing " in which the
skins are treated with a mixture of alum, salt, egg-yolk,
flour, and sometimes a vegetable oil. Bark-tanning is
adopted for tanning particularly strong glove leathers,
such as are used for driving gloves, etc., whilst there are
distinct tannages for " chamois," washable and Mocha
leathers, and " suedes " also are often subjected to a
special process.
The white tannage the tawing process is generally
used for kid, lamb, and light sheep skins. Leather for
white dress gloves and for the " nappa " and coloured
gloves, which have, of course, to be subsequently dyed,
are so produced. Every dressing yard follows its own
recipe for the tawing mixture, but a comparison of the
SKIN DRESSING AND TREATMENT 39
several mixtures would probably not reveal a great
measure of variation. An average tawing mixture
contains 5 parts of flour, 4 of alum, 2 of salt, and 1 of
egg-yolk. A usual method of mixing the tannage is
to dilute the yolk in warm water, the flour is then added
and mixed into a paste, after which the salt and alum
are dissolved in water and stirred into the mixture.
About 12 Ibs. of this tannage suffice to dress 100 Ibs.
of skins. Alum is one of the oldest of known tanning
agents, and this in conjunction with the salt furnishes
the real preserving or leather-making ingredient, the
flour (or meal which is sometimes substituted) and egg
yolk stuff or feed and lubricate the skin, helping to render
it soft and flexible. The dressing is applied by means
of a machine called a drum-tumbler. This is usually a
cube-shaped receptacle which is slowly revolved on its
own axis. The inner side of the drum is fitted with pegs
or staves. A certain quantity of water-^about 2 gallons
to each 100 Ibs. of skins being treated is poured into
the drum, the tawing mixture is added, and the whole
is then mixed together by rotating the drum for a minute
or two. The skins are then placed in the drum, which is
again set in motion and allowed to rotate slowly for some
hours. In this manner the tawing mixture is thoroughly
kneaded into the pores of the skin. From one to three
hours suffice to " taw " the lighter and thinner skins, but
somewhat longer periods are usual for larger and heavier
pelts. Frequently, however, after the drums are stopped,
the skins are allowed to remain standing in the drum for
some hours, after which they are withdrawn and piled
in baskets during the night to consolidate the effects of
the tannage upon the fibres of the skins.
After tawing, the skins are dried or " stoved " in large
specially constructed chambers heated by means of
steam pipes. Sometimes revolving fans are installed in
4 (1463J)
By permission of Messrs. Dent, Allcroft & Co., Ltd.
STAKING THE SKINS
The old hand method is still used for the lighter and thinner skins.
SKIN DRESSING AND TREATMENT 41
the drying-rooms to keep the skins in motion in order to
secure even drying.
The skins are now in what is termed the " crust "
stage, and as much unlike the beautifully smooth and
flexible glove leather as it is possible to imagine. In
appearance they resemble a piece of wash leather that
has been soaked and left to dry in the sun. The method
by which the stiff, unsightly " crust " skins are broken
out and transformed into a soft, pliable leather is called
" staking." Formerly this was done entirely by hand,
but now most staking is done by machine, though the
lighter and more delicate skins are still dealt with by
hand-stakers.
For hand-staking, the stake is a short post fixed
rigidly into the floor and rising about 3 ft. from the
ground. At the head of the post or stake is a blunt
knife, half-circular in shape. The skins are first softened
by damping in wet sawdust, and then drawn smartly
(flesh side downwards) over the edge of the knife until
all the harshness is broken out of them.
The staking machine, which has so largely superseded
hand-staking, is a wonderfully simple contrivance.
Two arms, mounted with small rollers, are actuated by
shafting gear so as to move in a forward direction, and
at the same time closing together much like a pair of
jaws. The jaws or arms of the machine meet in a grip
in a gap between two tables, and while still retaining the
gripping position are drawn swiftly backwards by the
rotary movement of the actuating gear. The operator
stretches the skin, flesh surface upwards over the gap
between the two tables, and the jaws with their rollers,
move forward and close on the skin, and are drawn
rapidly backwards over its surface. These movements
are rapidly repeated, the operator gradually moving the
skin between each forward movement of the jaws until
SKIN DRESSING AND TREATMENT 43
the whole has been broken out. The upper jaw or arm
of the machine is fitted with a roughened roller which
impinges on the flesh surface of the skin, and really does
the work of the stake in the hand operation.
Staking is always done on the flesh side of the skin,
otherwise the grain surface would be scratched to pieces,
rendering a glace finish impossible.
This concludes the preliminary operation of leather-
dressing, and the skins are now ready for the dyeing and
finishing processes which are usually carried out in the
glove factory itself.
" Tawing," however, is not the only tannage for glove
leather. There is a bark tanning process, in which,
after puering and drenching, the skins are steeped in
tanning extracts made from oak, chestnut, gambier,
sumach or other barks. By this method a strong
durable leather is produced coloured with the natural
tones of the bark used. As a rule only heavy-weight
skins are selected for this process, the leather for driving
gloves and similar articles being so produced.
The so-called " chamois " (often spelled " shammy ")
and " doeskin " leathers are produced by a special
tanning process. Sheep and lamb skins are commonly
used. Sheep skins are frequently split edgewise, the
upper or grain portion being termed a " skiver," while
the lower half is called a " flesher " or " lining." Skivers
are largely used for the boot trade, but the fleshers or
linings furnish the skins for making chamois leathers.
The flesh surface of these fleshers is frized or friezed by
means of a keen- edged knife, resembling a fleshing
knife, much as other skins are fleshed by the hand method
except that the frizing knife bites rather deeper into the
surface of the skin. Lamb skins which are to be
" shamoyed " are frized to remove the grain. After
frizing the skins are delimed, either by being washed in
44 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
weak lactic acids or by drenching with bran, wheat en
flour, or pea meal in the manner already described for
tawed skins. They are then washed, and the important
operation of kneading follows. This is a lengthy process
often carried out in a " stocking machine " in which the
wet skins are severely pummelled preparatory to being
dressed with oil. The " samming " process follows, the
skins being hung up and allowed to dry partially. An
oil dressing or tanning is then applied to the skins, cod
oil being usually used though other fish oils are suitable.
This oil dressing is applied in a very drastic manner,
and the method adopted is totally different to any other
system of tannage. The skins or fleshers are first
steeped in oil, the oil being poured over the skins as
they are placed in the vats. After an hour or so, the
oiled skins are taken out and pummelled again in the
stocking machine, and these alternate processes are
repeated for a number of times until the oil has per-
meated through each individual skin. Subsequently
i:he skins are stove-dried and in order to complete the
tannage the oil-dressed skins are heaped together so
as to generate spontaneous heat which causes the oil
to oxidise and fixes the tannage. During this process,
they have to be carefully watched and frequently
moved to avoid overheating. When oxidization is
completed, it is found that there is a certain amount of
free oil in the skins which is not absorbed into the body
of the leather. This is usually removed by pressing
the skins in a hydraulic press after they have first been
immersed in hot water. Finally an alkaloid wash is
applied and the leather is ready for staking and finishing.
The skins are bleached either by being spread in the sun
or by chemical bleachers, the former method being
much more preferable.
Yet another process is used for making the choice
SKIN DRESSING AND TREATMENT 45
white washable leather which has captured popular
favour to a remarkable extent in recent years. The great
drawback of ordinary " tawed " skins is that gloves made
from them cannot readily be washed or cleansed without
damage. Latterly, some dressers have endeavoured to
neutralise this drawback by applying combination
tannages or by applying a light chrome dressing after
tawing, which is said to render the leather more imper-
vious to water. This method, however, is not very
generally adopted, and the real washable leather is
found to give better results. In making this the skins
are soaked, dehaired, limed, puered and drenched in the
same way as for tawed skins, but the tannage applied
is a mixture of sodium carbonate and formaldehyde.
This is applied by the drum method, and occupies
rather less time than " tawing " An average solution
is composed of 8 parts sodium carbonate and 3 parts
formaldehyde. Subsequently a light dressing with a
weak solution of sulphate of ammonia is applied, after
which the skins are stuffed and lubricated in order to
feed and soften the leather. For this purpose special
patent preparations are frequently used, but some
dressers prefer their own nourishing mixtures. An
emolient of egg yolk and neatsfoot oil is very popular
for this purpose, while olive oil in conjunction with
soft or curd soap also gives excellent results.
Good Mocha is rather more difficult to produce than
any other gloving leather. After soaking and softening,
the skins are steeped for some time in lime liquors pre-
paratory to unhairing. The drastic depilitants (sulphide
of soda and red arsenic) are not used, the skins being
soaked in the lime pits until the hair is sufficiently
loosened. The grain is then removed by the " frizing "
knife, and the skins are put back into weak lime liquors
for two or three days. Washing in warm water follows
46 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
and the skins are then drummed in a 5 per cent, solution
of lactic acid in water at about blood-heat. After this,
they are rinsed, stuffed and dressed with alum, salt,
egg-yolk and flour, and subsequently dried or staked,
and ground upon a fine emery wheel. Another dressing
of yolk follows, and the skins are then ground again upon
a still finer wheel.
Processes for treating flesher sheep skins and other
skins to produce a simulated Mocha finish have been
patented. One method is as follows : After removal
of the outer grain, the skin is soaked in a solution of
potassium carbonate, and subsequently the inner
grain is removed. The skins are tawed in the usual
manner, but a small percentage of grape sugar is added to
the mixture to increase the body. Rice starch,
glycerine or tannic acid may also be added.
Imitation Mochas are produced in many ways. One
method is to dye and coat the skin with coloured pow-
ders. The skins are ground on the flesh side, which is
afterwards coated with a mixture of linseed oil, man-
ganese borate, benzine and colouring matter, and
finally sprinkled with starch, talc or other powder
dyed the same colour as the skin. This is beaten into
the skins, which are finally dried in stoves and finished
in the usual way.
Yet another process has been invented in connection
with the production of so-called Mocha leather. Instead
of " frizing " to remove the grain, a solution of caustic
soda and potash is applied which corrodes the grain,
and the surface is then ground off by means of an
emery wheel. Diluted vitriol and other acids are some-
times used first, to disturb the grains.
Such methods as these latter, however, are not
resorted to by reputable firms.
In glove leather-dressing there is of course ample scope
SKIN DRESSING AND TREATMENT 47
for varying the different processes. In the course of
time every establishment develops special lines of
practice which are believed to yield improved results.
Thus every dressing-yard has its own characteristics,
and the leathers produced therein often exhibit a dis-
tinctive character, which though apparent to the
expert could not be easily detected by the uninitiated.
In recent years considerable developments have taken
place in the industry, mechanical methods superseding
more cumbersome hand operations, whilst the ingredients
used for dressing have been much improved and stan-
dardised. Further developments along these lines are
anticipated, whilst the possibility of the invention of
much improved tannages must not be ruled out.
CHAPTER VI
DYEING AND FINISHING THE LEATHER
GLOVE leather as it leaves the hands of the dressers
is either white or tan colour, according to whether it
has been subjected to the white dressing (the " tawing "
process) or the bark tanning. For certain kinds of
gloves, such as white dress gloves or tan driving gloves,
the leather in this state can be graded and polished and
handed straight on to the cutting-room, but the majority
of leathers have yet to pass through several more
processes erejthey are ready for the cutters. As a rule,
all glove leather on receipt at the factory is put into store
and allowed to ripen for some time after its arrival.
Long experience has taught that it is best to allow
the skins to mature slowly after dressing. This ripening
consolidates the effects of dressing and enriches the
appearance and " feel " of the leather.
On emerging from the store, the skins are immedi-
ately dealt with by skilled sorters. Skin-sorting in
the glove trade is a responsible calling. - It demands
great experience and considerable judgment. As a
rule the sorters are drawn from the ranks of the older
cutters, and include probably some of the most expert
and experienced men in the factory. They have not
only to grade the leathers, but to /decide the class of
glove a particular skin is best suited to make, and they
often decide the colours it can be most profitably dyed,
and the kind of finish the skin will take best. The
knowledge a sorter must possess to exercise judgment
in such matters can only be acquired in the factory
through actual experience of the practical working of
skins. A good sorter can discriminate almost instinc-
tively between good and bad skins, and between those
48
By permission of Messrs. Dent, Allcroft & Co., Lid.
WASHING THE SKINS PREPARATORY TO DYEING
50 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
suitable for different purposes. In sorting he will
select a batch of skins of approximately the same char-
acter and grain, and these will be bundled together
for the subsequent processes and sometimes accompanied
on their journey through the different departments
with a docket indicating the number of skins in the
bundle, the class of gloves to be made, the finish, and
even the number of pairs of gloves the parcel of skins
is expected to yield.
After sorting, the leather is passed on to the washing
room to be prepared for dyeing or staining. The skins
are there washed in revolving drums of tepid or warm
water, by which they are cleansed from any dust or
impurities which may have accumulated upon them
whilst in store. Washing, at the same time, renders the
skins more soft and workable. One result of this cleans-
ing is that a certain proportion of the tanning and
stuffing ingredients is lost, and this necessitates redress-
ing or re-egging either before or after dyeing. Some
glovers believe it best to re-dress before dyeing, but
- others hold that if the re-dressing follows dyeing the
colours are rendered more permanent.
The__dyeing process itself is one of great interest.
^Actually there are two methods, one, the more common,
by immersion, which stains the skins throughout from
grain to flesh surface, and the other brush-dyeing, by
which the dye or stain is brushed on to the grain or
wearing surface of the leather only. The latter process
is the older, but it is now fast falling into disfavour, so
far as heavy, hard-wearing gloves are concerned, though
it is still used for the lighter classes of ladies' gloves. }
Whichever method is adopted, wood and bark dyes
furnish the bulk of the colours, though sometimes a
top dressing of aniline or coal-tar dye is added to obtain
a higher degree of brilliance. The dyes used include a
DYEING AND FINISHING THE LEATHER 51
wide selection of barks and woods, fustic, saffron,
logwood, gambier, sappan wood, ebony, gold tan,
mangrove, and oak bark, and redwood being among the
most favoured. Many glovers prepare their own dyes
from the dye-woods or barks, but the practice of
utilizing paste or dry extracts is increasing. In the
first instance the dye-woods yield practically only
the three primary colours, red, yellow, and blue, but
by careful mixing and dilution almost any shade can
be obtained.
In dyeing, the skins are first washed in a solution of
ammoniacal salts which serve as a mordant. If the
brush method is to be adopted, the salts are merely
brushed on the grain. In the/' drum " or " dipping "
process the skins are placed in revolving drums con-
taining the dyeing mixture, the drums being rotated
until the dye is worked thoroughly into the skins.
For brush-dyeing, a much more tedious and difficult
process, the skins have to be treated singly. Each is
taken separately and " slicked " or stretched out upon
a leaden slab or table, and the dye is painted or brushed
on to the required depth or fullness. The reasons why
" brush staining " as it is called, is falling into disuse in
this country are that not only does it involve more work,
but it is less satisfactory in its results than the " dipping "
process. Only the surface of the glove being coloured,
the tendency is for the dyed surface to wear off those
portions of the glove which have to bear the hardest
usage, the finger tips and palms, for instance, rendering
the glove patchy and unsightly.
" Strikers " are afterwards applied to fix the colours.
For this purpose a wide variety of metallic salts is
available ; iron, copper and zinc sulphates, titanium
salts, bichromate of potash, and nitrate of iron are
all used. One striker specially favoured is a patent
52 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
preparation sold as " Cori chrome." This is composed of
titanium lactate, and is specially valuable as it can be
used without any fear of the leather being damaged.
Before or after dyeing, the leather is re-egged and
re-dressed. In many factories, a similar dressing is
applied as in tawing, i.e., a mixture of alum, salt, egg-
yolk and flour ; other glove-makers deem it sufficient
to apply a dressing of egg-yolk and olive oil. This
re-dressing is performed in the manner described in the
previous chapter.
Here a word may be offered in explanation of the use
of egg-dressing for preparing glove leather. Only the
yolk of eggs is used, and millions of egg-yolks are annually
imported for the purpose, largely from China. The skins
themselves before the tannage is applied are thin and
empty, and for this reason they have to be stuffed or
nourished. Just as alum and salt furnish the preserving
tanning ingredients, the egg-yolk and flour or meal enter
into the pores of the skin giving it body and nourishment.
The physical explanation of the virtue of the egg yolk
dressing is that the yolk is composed of exceedingly
minute globules, and these it seems are capable of being
kneaded right into the pores and membranes of the skin.
There they act as lubricating agents and impart to the
leather that smooth, soft " feel " which is its peculiar
characteristic. Some of the finer oils would probably
serve the same purpose equally well but for the fact that
they are liable to stain the leather and render it greasy.
Egg-yolk, however, furnishes an ideal feeder and lubri-
cant without greasing or staining the leather, and
hitherto no effective substitute has been discovered.
Mrs. Henry Wood, in the novel we have already men-
tioned has left on record a picturesque description of the
method in which glove leather was dressed in the early
part of last century. " When the skins came in from the
DYEING AND FINISHING THE LEATHER 53
leather-dressers," she writes, " they were first washed
in a tub of cold water. The next day warm water,
mixed with yolks of eggs, was poured upon them, and a
couple of men, barelegged to the knee, got into the
tub and danced upon them, skins, eggs and water, for
two hours. Then they were spread in a field to dry,
till they were as hard as a lantern horn ; then they were
" staked," as it is called, a long process, to smooth and
soften them. To the stainers next, to be stained black
or coloured ; next to the parers, to have loose flesh pared
from the inside and to be smoothed again with pumice
stone."
From this quotation it will be seen that in principle
the process has undergone little change, the kneading
now being done in revolving drums, while drying in
stoves, supplants the open-air method. As a matter
of fact, the alum and yolk tannage is of great age and the
real origin of the process is not known. In the Sloane
MS., quoted by Planche, directions are given for making
cheveral (goat) leather for parchment by means of a
solution of alum mixed with the yolk of eggs.
When the leather has been dyed and redressed, it is
again dried in similar stoves to those used in the dressing
yards. In " stoving " the skins have to be most care-
fully watched, for if left too long they dry into a brittle
state and crumble to pieces. As it is, the skins emerge
from the stoves shrivelled and " crusty," and have
therefore again to undergo a course of staking. This is
performed also in the same manner as in the dressing
yards, all except the lightest and thinnest skins
being machine-staked. If the original staking after
tawing effected a marked change in the character and
appearance of the dressed leather, the results of staking
the dyed skins is even more remarkable. In the crust
stage the dyed skins are if anything more unsightly than
By permission of
Messrs. Dent, AUcroft & Co., Lid.
PARING THE SKINS WITH THE ROUND OR
MOON-SHAPED KNIFE
DYEING AND FINISHING THE LEATHER 55
when the leather is in the white, the dye appearing dull,
and somewhat streaky and patchy. After being well
staked, however, the leather resumes its beautifully soft
and pliable character, the colours become richer, more
lustrous and intense, while the beauty of the grain is
brought out to a fuller extent.
After staking the leather is ready for " paring."
This process has a dual object : it is necessary first as a
means of removing all roughness from the flesh side of the
leather, and secondly in order to reduce the skins to a
uniform thickness. The skins of all "animals are
invariably thicker at the necks and on the backs than at
the flanks, but before they can be manufactured into
gloves they must be brought to an even thickness all
over. Formerly paring was entirely a hand operation,
performed by means of the round or moon-shaped
glover's knife, familiar to many readers as one of the
symbols of the glover's art, and further by reason of
Shakespeare's allusion in Ths Merry -Wives of Windsor,
where Mrs. Quickly, speaking of Slender, asks :
Does he not wear a great round beard,
Like a glover's paring knife.
In hand-paring, the skins are slung over a slender
horizontal pole affixed between two uprights, and the
razor-keen knife is swiftly but carefully used to pare
away the surplus part of the flesh side.
Another method is sometimes adopted for small, thin
kid and lamb skins, called "doling." In this process the
skins are stretched out over a slab upon a bench, the
operator shaving off the unwanted portions by means
of a broad keen knife, shaped something like a broad
bladed chisel. Both this operation and " paring "
call for extreme dexterity, for the slightest slip on the
part of the operator would gash the skin and often the
operator's own wrist.
5 1463j)
56 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
Both these operations have now been very largely
displaced by the " wheeling " or " fluffing " method.
In this process the flesh sides of the skins are applied to a
swiftly revolving, wide, emery wheel and ground down to
a level degree of thinness. Attached lo each wheel is
a cowl running down to a shaft into which all the dust
and scraps are drawn by suction as they are frayed off
by the wheel.
The heat produced by friction in the wheeling process
tends to harden the skin, and a slight staking is usually
necessary to restore the leather to its former soft and
flexible condition.
We now arrive at the final finishing operations which
determine the ultimate character of the leather. The two
most popular finishes are the ordinary glace and the
suede. Glace finish, as was pointed out in the chapter
dealing with the various skins used for gloving, is the
name given to the ordinary grain finish. Leathers
with perfect, clear, bright grain are selected for this
finish, which is obtained by polishing the surface of the
skin with a lamb's-wool pad, glass slicker or revolving
felt wheel. Perfect kid, lamb and certain sheep and goat
leathers are finished in this manner.
The familiar " suede " leather is not a distinct leather,
but is the name of a particular finish. Skins with
imperfect grain are usually selected for this finish which
is applied to the flesh or " flower " side of the skin.
They are tanned in the usual way, and sueded by rub-
bing up the flesh side on a dry emery wheel. In America
the skins are tanned with formaldehyde and the
" sueding " is accomplished by rubbing up the flesh
surface of the skin into nap by means of a wet emery
or carborundum wheel, similar in design to the wheels
used for " fluffing." As with sueded leathers the grain
or outer side of the skin becomes the inner side of the
By permission o Messrs. Dent, Allcroft & Co , Ltd.
THE PARING WHEEL
58 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
glove, it is usual to remove the grain for the greater
ease and comfort of the wearer. Cheap suede leathers
are inferior to glace both in appearance and in strength
and durability.
" Mocha " glove leather is finished in a similar manner
to suede leather (with which it is often confused) with
the important difference that the wearing surface is
upon the grain side. The grain is first " freized " or
" frized " off, this operation being performed by means
of a knife similar to the knife used in beaming. As a
rule skins with shallow grain, such as those of Mocha or
Arabian sheep, the calf reindeer and the gazelle are
selected for this finish. " Mocha " finished gloves are
notable for their great strength and the beautiful velvety
character of their finish. High grade suede gloves are
sometimes sold as " Mocha," bat if the two are com-
pared closely, the superiority of the " Mocha " is very
evident. The Mocha is usually much heavier, and
usually much the stronger of the two. In the Mocha
finish although the grain is removed to take the finish,
much of the strength of the outer epidermis remains ;
but in sueded leathers not only is the grain side of the
leather removed, but the wearing surface is finished upon
the weaker side of the skin.
Modern " chamois " or " doeskin " leathers, as
explained in the previous chapter are produced
by a special tannage. With these again it is usual
to remove the grain and finish with the emery
wheel.
" Nappa " gloves are made from tawed leathers,
stained by the dipping process already described, and
completed with a glace or grain finish.
Real Cape gloves are usually bark- tanned and given
a glace finish, but many gloves sold as " Capes " are
tawed and dyed by the dipping process.
DYEING AND FINISHING THE LEATHER 59
" Dogskins " are merely heavy gloves made from
tawed sheep skins.
Whatever finish is imparted to the leather, after all
the operations of dressing and dyeing are finally com-
pleted, the skins are again passed over to the sorters.
Each skin is closely examined for flaws and faults, and
finally graded for quality. The sorters also decide the
number of gloves which can be cut from each skin. Kid,
lamb, and gazelle skins are exceedingly small. Kid
skins yield on the average from a pair to a pair and a
half of gloves. Some skins, however, are so very small,
that not even a complete pair of gloves can be cut from
them. When this happens the greatest care has to be
exercised in selecting and matching the skins for the
single pair of gloves. Average lamb skins yield from
a pair to two pairs of gloves, and sheep-skins upwards
of three pairs. Reindeer skins also yield several pairs ;
as a rule it takes three gazelle skins to make a pair.
This concludes our survey of the dressing and pre-
paring^ of glove leather. It is essential to point out,
however, that all the operations described involve much
time and afford employment for numbers of skilled and
experienced workmen. The dressing, dyeing and
finishing of the skins is, indeed, something of an art.
The workers have to be selected with care and trained
with patience. The technical skill necessary cannot
readily be taught : it has to be, acquired by actual
practical experience in the dressing- yards and factories.
As in the silk and cotton trades, generations of
association with the industry have, so it seems, engendered
a certain hereditary expertness among the workers in
those localities where the industry is established. Here
we light upon one of the probable reasons why gloving
is such a localised industry in every country where it is
carried on.
CHAPTER VII
GLOVE- CUTTING
GLOVING, as we have seen, enjoys an established claim
to rank among the oldest of handicraft industries, and
although machinery now enters very largely into all
operations which the making of gloves involves, there
are yet some processes calling for the exercise of mental
intuition in association with manipulative expertness
rather than for what one may term mere mechanical
dexterity. Such is particularly true of glove-cutting.
Formerly, of course, leather gloves were entirely cut
and slit by hand. Then the cutters actually cut
" tranks " of leather, the shape of a double hand (minus
the thumb which had to be cut separately) in outline,
tranks afterwards being handed over to the slitters who
slit the fingers, and the holes for the thumb and the
wrist opening. Nowadays, the " trank " is merely an
oblong piece of leather, bearing no resemblance whatever
to a glove, and the whole art and skill of the cutter is
applied to pulling and stretching the skins in order to
cut these " tranks " of appropriate dimensions for
different sizes and classes of gloves. The actual outline
of the glove is subsequently stamped out in a cutting
press.
As a rule the cutter receives a number of similar
skins, which are frequently accompanied by a docket
from the sorters or the foreman of the cutting- room
indicating the number, character and sizes of the gloves
to be made from them, the kind of stitch to be employed
in their sewing and the style of " point " with which they
are to be adorned. All these factors have an important
bearing upon the problem with which the cutter has to
60
By permission of Messrs. Dent, Allcroft & Co., Ltd.
A GLOVE CUTTER AT WORK
62 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
deal. For instance, some stitching takes up more leather
in the seam than others, and the same with the different
" points " (the " points " are the three lines of decorative
stitching or braiding on the back of the glove) and
naturally this has to be allowed for in cutting the trank.
Apart from these considerations, every skin presents
points of difference from all other skins, and has there-
fore to be studied by the cutter as a fresh problem.
Animals, like human beings, are endowed with certain
hereditary and individual characteristics which find
physical as well as temperamental expression. Just as
it is rare to find two human beings whose appearance,
proportions and character are alike, so also with the
animals whose skins are utilized in the making of gloves.
The difference between say a dozen kids or lambs may
appear insignificant to the unobservant, but to those
whose calling brings them into close contact with the
animals wide variations in size, shape and character
are evident. These variations are reflected in the skins
and remain through all the stages of dressing until as
leather they reach the glove- cutter's hands. Thus it is
that all skins exhibit marked differences in grain and
texture, shape, size and weight, -even within their own
class. Incidentally it is worthy of mention that in the
case of French kids, which are often specially bred and
carefully feared, the disparity between the texture of
one skin and another is perhaps less striking than in the
case of other animals which live under more natural
conditions. The differences in grain, texture and weight
of the skins are more the concern of the sorter than of the
cutter, but the differentiation in size and shape is of
considerable moment to the latter. Some skins are long
from head to tail and narrow across the shoulders and
flanks, whilst others are short in length but broader
across. Between these extremes there is room for a
GLOVE-CUTTING 63
great degree of variation. So no two skins are identical,
and each presents a new problem for the cutter to solve
in order that it shall be cut to the best advantage.
Here it may be expedient to interpolate a few words
as to the general structure of the skins used in gloving.
Actually, every skin is composed of three layers or strata,
(1) the epidermis or outer skin known as the " grain,"
from which the hair or wool of the animal springs,
(2) the Hyaline membrane a fine transparent membrane
which separates the epidermis from (3) the dermis, or
main body of the skin. From the head and over the
collar and along the spine (the crupper) where it is at
its thickest, the skin thins gradually away to the edges of
the flanks and the feet.
Intuition, born of experience, and skill in manipulating
the skins are the cutter's real equipment. The first
step is to pull and stretch the skin to ascertain its
" spread." A cutter will spend some time in this way
on a single skin, pulling it lengthways and sideways, and
so working out every inch of material to advantage.
Then by the aid of cardboard patterns cut in the shape
of the glove in double outline the skin can be measured
off and cut into oblong shaped " tranks " ready for the
cutting or punching press. Any pieces left over from
the skins are utilised as far as is possible for the odd
parts pf the glove, the thumbs, fourchettes", gussets,
etc. [' Here the work of the skilled cutter ceases, and] the
" tranks," after being examined are passed on to the
punching rooms, where the actual cutting of the glove
shapes is done.
On examining a finished glove it will be seen that it
consists of several separate parts. The main part,
forming the palm and back of the glove and the upper
and lower surfaces of the fingers, is in one piece, the
thumb is formed of a separate piece ; the sides oi the
64 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
fingers, called variously, " fourchettes," " forgits " or
" forks," are formed by additional pieces ; and in
between the interstices of the fingers, at the juncture of
the fourchettes, there are sometimes smaller pieces
called " piecettes " or " gussets " ; while at the base of
the thumb another small piece is sometimes inserted
known as a " quirk." Separate strips again are used for
" welting "the wrist and for strengthening the sides of
the wrist-opening, and often there is a small stay piece,
designated a " heart " or " protector " placed under the
binding of the palm at the opening. All these are
stamped out from the " tranks " of leather or from odd
pieces of the skins left over after the " tranks " have been
cut. Very little of the skin remains when all these
parts have been provided for, and even the remaining
small scraps and parings are not wasted, but are
collected and sold to the makers of artificial manure,
glue, etc.
The process of stamping out the parts of the glove
from the tranks of leather is exceedingly simple. As
a rule six tranks are cut at one time sufficient for three
pairs of gloves. The number, of course, varies according
to the class of glove, and the practice of particular
factories. These are placed back to back, so that each
alternate piece is suitable for a right-hand and a left-
hand glove respectively. A die, or calibre, as it is more
commonly called being really a pattern knife shaped
like a double thumbless hand with its keen cutting
edge facing upwards is locked in the base of the
cutting machine or press ; the " tranks " are then
placed upon the " calibre," and a heavy weight is forced
down upon them, and the cutting is done.
Cutting presses are actuated by different methods,
individual makers holding a preference for various
types. Some prefer the old " goose neck " presses
By permission of
Messrs. Dent, Allcroft & Co., Ltd,
STAMPING OUT THE PARTS OF THE GLOVE IN A
CUTTING-PRESS
66 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
operated by hand, whilst others have adopted electrically
operated presses. Many factory managers, however,
declare that these latter do not give such good results
as the hand cutting presses. Moreover, it is urged that
the damage they inflict upon the knife edges of the
calibres is too serious to be ignored. Whichever method
of operating is preferred, the principle remains the same.
Glove-cutting calibres are not of standard shape,
and there are consequently wide variations in the style
and cut of gloves made by different factories. Apart
from differentiation in -the calibres due to the style of
glove to be cut, there is also considerable difference
in the general shape of the calibres adopted in individual
factories. Some manufacturers contend that a better
fitting glove can be obtained by dispensing with the
gussets at the junction of the base of the fingers and
the " fourchettes," whilst others eliminate the " quirks "
or " gore " at the base of the thumbs. In the latter
case a small section of the main part of the glove or
trank is cut to run down the inner side of the thumb
opening. Thumbs so made are termed " Boulton
thumbs." Owing to the endless variations in the shape
of the human hand, it is impossible to ascribe perfection
to any single style of cutting ; some hands are better
fitted by gloves cut with " quirks " and " gussets," and
others are equally well suited by gloves from which either
" quirks " or " gussets," or may be both, have been
eliminated. Finger lengths also vary a good deal, and
here again different calibres are necessary. Some
manufacturers only make a standard length of finger
to each 'size of glove, but others turn out two lengths to
each size. Again, some calibres are fitted with adjustable
knives which permit the cutting of various finger lengths.
The steel punches for stamping out several pairs of
gloves at one operation were first invented in 1819 by
GLOVE-CUTTING 67
a French glove manufacturer, named Vallet d'Artois.
It was, however, left to a young medical student of
Grenoble, Xavier Jouvin, to develop and perfect the
invention of d'Artois so as to effect something of a
revolution in the glove trade. Jouvin in the course of
his professional work made a thorough study of the
human hand, and ultimately classified 320 different
sizes and shapes of gloves. At first the inventor reaped
little reward for his labours, but in 1839 his system was
awarded a bronze medal at the Industrial Exhibition
held at Paris, and subsequently was adopted by the trade.
All glove dimensions are calculated from the total
width of leather used at the widest part, i.e., at the
palm. Sizes also are based upon this measurement,
a size 6 glove having 6 French ins. in the double-
palm width. About 9J French ins. are equal to 10
English ins. There is a common error held in relation
to glove sizes. In ascertaining one's size, a rough
method is to measure the width of the closed hand at
the knuckles, and double the measurement ascertained
to find the glove fitting. Some people, however, measure
round the palm of the hand, and in the result find when
ordering gloves based upon this measurement, that the
fitting is quite a size too large. An individual who really
takes a size 6| glove, will on measuring round the palm
find his or her hand is quite 7 ins. round. It may seem
paradoxical, that the glove should really measure less
than the hand, but the fact is glove leather stretches
readily, while the wrist opening and the gussets,
fourchettes and quirks all allow a great deal of play to
the skin of the palm and back of the glove.
The average dimensions of the different parts of the
glove appended are given merely as an indication of
the relative proportions. They must not be regarded
as the proportions generally adopted, and are quoted
C
F
70 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
solely in order to give a clue to the average relative
dimensions.
If we regard the width as represented by unity, the
various proportions for an ordinary glove of wrist
length average approximately as follows
Times Width.
Length from end of wrist to thumb-hole . . - 6
thumb-hole to tip of second finger - 8
Total length of glove ... . L4
Length of thumb
,, forefinger
second and third fingers, slightly over '5
little fingers, rather less than
Width of thumb piece
,, of finger pieces, including fourchettes,
average ....... '32
In the accompanying diagrams the main parts of
gloves of the Boulton thumb type and the Round
thumb type are shown.
The main portions furnish the backs and palms of
the glove and the backs and fronts of the fingers. The
curiously shaped slits to the left of the centre of the
main parts are the holes for the thumb-pieces, whilst
the openings are the slits for the wrist openings, at
either side of which are placed the buttons and button-
holes or spring-dome fasteners. As a rule the back
half of the main piece is slightly wider than that for the
palm, the reason being that a certain amount of leather
is taken up in the " pointing," the decorative braid or
stitching to be found on practically all gloves. On the
left hand side of each diagram are the corresponding
thumb-pieces, the fourchettes being shown on the right
hand side.
To conclude, it may be mentioned that glove- cutting
is one of the oldest craft trades, and the system of
apprenticeship is still used for recruiting the ranks of
GLOVE-CUTTING 71
the cutters. Formerly the period of apprenticeship was
seven years, but four years is the usual term now. In
this branch of the industry, as in many others, father
and son have followed the occupation for several genera-
tions, and many people claim that such cutters enjoy the
advantage of hereditary skill.
6 (1463 )
CHAPTER VIII
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES
AFTER the tranks, fourchettes, quirks, thumb pieces and
gussets have been cut, they are carefully inspected in
order to ensure that all parts are correct in every detail.
They are then ready for sewing.
Nearly a hundred years ago, William Hull, the author
of A History of the Glove Trade, in the course of a
remonstrance against the removal of the embargo which,
prior to 1826, prevented the entry of foreign gloves into
England, wrote, "It is a happy circumstance for the
operative glovers that machinery cannot be brought
into operation against them." Since then, however,
great developments have taken place, and machine
sewing has all but superseded hand sewing from the
industry. Meanwhile, in one other respect the glove
industry still clings to old traditions. For generations
now the sewing of gloves has been conducted largely as
a cottage industry, and although to-day it is no longer
possible to claim that the factory system has no part in
the glove trade, a very great proportion of the making-up
or sewing of gloves is still executed by the operatives in
their own homes. This may seem curious in an age
when factory organisation and equipment, permitting
rapid and large scale production, have reached a high
standard of perfection, but although the factory system
in recent years has made very great strides in the gar-
ment making trades generally, the bulk of leather gloves
are still sewn by 'women in their own homes in the
country districts of gloving centres. All round Wor-
cester and Yeovil, in the County of Somerset, and in
72
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES 73
Oxfordshire and parts of Dorsetshire, Gloucester and
Wiltshire, thousands of women rely upon glove-making
either wholly for their means of subsistence, or in order
to augment the common family purse. Many firms, of
course, have their own factories where numbers of
girls are employed in the sewing operations, but it
frequently happens that the young gloveresses employed
therein, when they leave the factory to set up house-
holds of their own, continue to work at the trade as
out-workers in their own homes. In the factories,
power machines are used and production is usually more
rapid, but the home-workers execute their work with the
aid of treadle machines, which are usually supplied by
the firms for whom the gloves are being made.
The work of glove-sewing is divided into specialised
branches, and as a rule each individual worker has been
trained to do a particular part of the work. Thus,
" pointing " or the decoration of the back of the glove,
stitching in the thumbs, fourchettes and gussets, closing
of the glove, making of button-holes, sewing on of
buttons, welting and finishing are often done by different
operatives and frequently on entirely different classes of
machines. Many of the machines used are of foreign
manufacture, but the Singer Sewing Machine Manu-
facturing Company have paid considerable attention
to the designing and manufacture of gloving machines
and now make a complete range for all sewings. These
are meeting with increasing favour from British glove-
makers.
The first step in the sewing operations is the process
known as " pointing." There are some hundreds of
different styles of " points " now adopted, and they
vary from simple single lines of stitching to quite ela-
borate embroideries. In the case of the ultra-fashionable
gloves for ladies, there is also a tendency to substitute
74
GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
for pointing more general and more ornate embroid-
ered designs for the back of the glove, after the style of
THE BROSSER POINT
decorations to be seen in examples of seventeenth-
century glove work. Moreover, every individual maker
endeavours to create special designs, particularly for
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES 75
the higher types of gloves, in order to give an individual
character to his wares.
One of the most simple points is what is known as the
THE VICTOR POINT
Brosser or Brossier. This is a single thread design,
stitched by a machine fitted with a single needle and
single or double looper. Sometimes several rows of
plain stitching are employed for points, and such
work is frequently carried out on a machine of the
76 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
multiple needle type, i.e., one which operates two, three
or perhaps four needles simultaneously. Embroidery
EXAMPLE OF RAISED POINT WITH TRIPLE
ROWS OF DOUBLE-NEEDLE STITCHING
is usually simulated by means of combination stitching.
In such cases if the decoration is closely examined it will
be seen to be composed of a series of separate sewings
stitched so closely as to present a composite design.
RAISED POINT WITH SINGLE ROWS OF DOUBLE
STITCHING
78
GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
Such decorations may involve separate operations,
each being the work of a distinct machine. A centre
line of roundseam stitching flanked by two outside
THE PARIS POINT:
AN EXAMPLE OF MACHINE EMBROIDERY
rows of chain-stitching is a simple example of this class
of point. The well-known Paris pointing can be produced
in a similar manner. Some points again are made with
groups of ordinary plain stitching the ends of which are
rounded, or may be finished with arrow or spear heads.
Another class of point which is exceedingly popular
By permission of Messrs. Dent, Allcroft & Co., Ltd.
TAMBOURING THE BACK OF THE GLOVE
The work is done by hand in a fraire, holes being first perforated
by a stamp or preen
80 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
is that known variously as the Ribbed, Raised or Beaded
Point. There are single rib, double rib and treble rib
points, and these are sewn with multiple needle machines,
fitted with a drawstitch mechanism for drawing the
leather into ribs or beads.
Corded points are formed by stitching a cord of silk
or other material to the backs of the gloves. Prac-
tically the only hand-made points now met with are
what are known as " Tambour " points, and even
these are eliminated by most makers. This is really
a crocheted point. In making it, the back of the
glove-trank has first to be perforated to furnish a series
of holes, this being done by means of a preen or stamp.
The. trank is afterwards stretched in a tambour
embroidering frame and the point is crocheted through
the holes. The reason tamboured points have fallen
into ill-favour is two-fold. In the first place the
necessity of perforating the trank is a grave drawback
owing to the liability of the glove to split along the line
of the holes. Secondly, such work takes a considerable
time, even for expert workers, and is thus rather expen-
sive, whereas the effect of a hand crocheted point can
be very closely simulated by combinations of machine
stitching. Nevertheless there is still some demand for
this class of decoration. Silk threads of varying tex-
tures are used for making the various points, a great
variety of colours being used.
Pointing, owing to the work frequently involving the
use of more than one machine, is more often than not
a 'factory operation.
The various sewing operations involved in closing and
finishing the glove follow. These again are, for the most
part, machine sewings ; although there is still a strong
demand for hand-sewn gloves. Many people still seem
to be of opinion that hand-sewing is stronger than
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES 81
machine, yet it is more than doubtful if this is actually
the case.
For the general stitching employed in closing leather
gloves, that is, round the outer edge, round the fingers,
and round the base of the thumb- piece, one of three
kinds of stitching is invariably employed. These are
known as " Rojundseam," " Prixseam " or " Prickseam "
(abbreviated in the trade to " P. R. X. M.") and
"^Pique" (abbreviated to " P. K."), or " Lapped Seam."
Roundseam sewing takes the place of the oldest form of
hand- sewing. It is called by the French, " La
Surjeteuse," literally, " over the edge," and is usually
used for the finest and lightest kid and lamb skin gloves.
The two edges of the leather are brought together back
to back, and the thread is sewn through and over the
edge at each stitch, hence the name. Furs, by the way,
are joined by much the same method. In the machine
(of the single needle and looper type) the leather is fed
by a ' ratchet wheel, the needle pricking through
both thicknesses of leather and the looper doing the
over-casting to complete the stitch.
The Prixseam sewing is the type favoured for the
heavier classes of gloves, such as driving gloves and
gauntlets, real cape, etc., by reason of its great strength.
It is not a sewing, however, which makes for elegance.
In this sewing, the pieces of leather are brought together
back to back, both edges being exposed, and the stitch is
sewn through and through parallel to the edges.
Most Roundseam and Prixseam machines sew with
the needle in a horizontal plane.
What hand-sewing is still resorted to is usually of
the Prixseam variety. It is usually done in a frame,
known as a donkey-frame, the vice or head of which
somewhat resembles a donkey's head in shape. The
edges of the glove are brought together and fixed in the
82 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
head of the frame, the top of which is composed of a
serrated or toothed edge of metal, so that the seam to be
By permission of Messrs. Dent, Alkroft & Co., Ltd.
HAND-SEWING USING THE " DONKEY FRAME "
sewn runs along the line of the serrations or teeth of the
edge. The gloveress using the machine sews with her
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES
83
needle through both edges of the exposed leather,
using the teeth to guide her stitches so that a neat and
regular seam results.
TYPICAL ROUNDSEAM SEWING MACHINE
By far the most common stitch adopted for the
majority of gloves for ordinary wear is the Pique, or
Lapped" Seam sewing. In this one edge of the leather
is lapped over the other, leaving only a single raw edge
exposed. It is an extremely neat sewing and is at the
84
GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
same time strong and durable. Pique sewing machines
are sometimes fitted with a tapered vertical post to
facilitate the sewing of the finger ends. Other special
SPECIAL MACHINE WITH TAPERED POST FOR
SEWING FINGERS OF GLOVES
forms of sewing are adopted by individual firms, Dent's
" Magpie " stitching, a combination of black and white
sewing, being a case in point.
After pointing, the gloves are passed on to the glove-
makers proper ; whose task it is to sew the various
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES
85
parts together, close the fingers and thumb and the out-
side seam. This work, as may be imagined, requires
considerable dexterity. The sewings involved are
short (the longest runs being only of a few inches) and
the operative has to concentrate her whole attention
PRIXSEAM MACHINE, SEWING IN HORIZONTAL PLANE
upon the work in hand, twisting and turning the glove
about, and continually stopping and restarting the
machine as each section of sewing is completed. For
this reason, although many glove-sewing machines are
capable of running at relatively high speeds, high-speed
sewing as it is understood in many branches of garment-
making has no place in glove manufacture, where neat-
ness and even regular sewings are of considerable
86
GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
importance. Nevertheless, it is interesting to watch
a skilled glove-maker at work and to notice with what
rapidity the sewing can be done in spite of the intricacy
and detail involved in the work. Where the sewing is
SPECIAL MACHINE FOR THE PIQUE* STITCH
done in the factory it is possible to subdivide. the work
to a greater extent than is usually the case with gloves
sewn by home-workers. Some operatives will be
sewing the fourchettes, quirks and gussets and thumbs,
whilst others will be closing the fingers, the thumbs
and the outside seams. In this way even greater
speed and expertness are attained than by operatives
who perform a number of different operations.
The next operation is the welting and binding of the
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES 87
wrist, and for this again a variety of special machines
is available. With some gloves the wrist edge is merely
turned and stitched down by means of a chain stitch,
lock stitch or diamond stitch machine to form a welt or
binding , whilst in others a separate strip of leather is
used to make the welt or binding. Welting also includes
the sewing of the reinforcing pieces of material along
the wrist opening where the buttons are sewn.
Latterly, the Singer Company have introduced a
special triple lock-stitch machine, in which the needle
vibrates forwards and backwards so as to lay three lines
of thread instead of one in each stitch. This makes an
exceedingly strong sewing and is occasionally employed
in finishing some -of the stronger types of gloves. The
strength of seams sewn by this method is trebled, and the
use of it avoids the danger of ripping. This stitch can
also be employed to form decorative points.
Button-holing and the affixing of buttons follow, and
these again are now almost universally accomplished by
means of special machines. ' There are several kinds
of button-holing machines on the market, but the
principle of all is very similar. They are fitted with
knives which cut the holes, before or after stitching.
Purl stitching is commonly used for finishing the button-
holes. Sometimes the holes are strengthened by over-
lapping the edges of the material forming the hole itself,
another method being to reinforce the hole with small
pieces of leather sewn to the under-surface. The button-
sewing machines are wonderfully ingenious. These not
only sew the buttons but knot and cut the threads.
They can be gauged to make a specified number of
stitches for each button, and the machine is automatic-
ally set so that the operative cannot vary that number
of stitches. The knives cut the thread on the last
stitch, leaving it the proper length to begin the stitch
7 (1463j)
88 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
for the next button, so that there is absolutely no
wastage of thread. Special clamps are sometimes fitted
which can be adapted to any required size of button
within certain limits. Recently the Singer Company
have introduced a machine of the chain-stitch type
which sews on buttons with stitching resembling hand-
sewing. These work at remarkable speeds, sewing
1,000 stitches a minute. In four-hole buttons the
stitches are sewn across diagonally, but the machines can
be adjusted by merely pressing a lever to sew two-hole
buttons.
Domes or clasps made on the press-stud principle are
very frequently used as fasteners in place of buttons
and button-holes, although buttons are preferred by most
people for the simple reason that they can be readily
re-sewn should they become detached, whereas domes or
clasps are not so easily attached when they pull through
the leather. The two separate sections of the dome are
inserted into the glove by machines of much the same
type as those used for inserting the brass eyelets for the
lace-holes of boots and shoes. The domes themselves
are made from a wide variety of materials, although the
spring and post must be of metal. Most domes are made
entirely of metal, but others are made partly of glass,
imitation pearl, horn, pyroxlyn, vegetable ivory, bone
or celluloid or some other similar compound.
Alternative means of fastening the glove are adopted
for the sac-wrist types, i.e., those gloves which are not
slit at right angles to the wrist opening. Sometimes a
strip of elastic is gathered into the glove a short distance
from the wrist opening itself, whilst the strap or buckle
type of fastener is also very popular, particularly for
men's gloves.
There are many types of lined gloves for winter
wear, varying from the rather expensive antelope or
SEWING AND FINISHING LEATHER GLOVES 89
lamb skin gloves made from leather dressed with the
hair or wool still on, and cut and finished so that the
coat of the animal forms a natural lining for the glove,
to the ordinary wool or fur- lined glove. For wool-
lined gloves, knitted woollen hosiery fabric, either
plain or fleecy is employed, and this is sewn to the inner
side of the glove in the course of making. Rabbit and
hare fur are frequently employed in a similar manner.
After the gloves have been finally completed by the
sewers, they are handed over to the finishing room. Here
they are dressed into shape on metal " hands " which are
kept at a uniform heat by steam or electricity and
finally ironed out and finished for packing. Paired and
banded into half-dozen pairs, they are boxed ready for
despatch to the wholesalers.
To those unacquainted with the ramifications of the
industry it may seem an exaggeration to claim that an
ordinary pair of leather gloves may have required
as many as 72 distinct operations before they leave the
manufacturer's premises in the form they are offered for
sale, yet such is the case. Gloving, indeed, involves
throughout all its processes considerable technical
skill in association with highly trained and experienced
labour. In the initial stages, particularly in the dressing
and preparing of the skins, the dyeing and finishing of
the leather, and in the cutting operations, the utmost
skill and care are essential. A slight miscalculation
or error at any of these stages may easily result in
reducing valuable skins to a practically worthless
condition.
Fur Gloves. The development of motoring and
aviation has led to a large demand for fur gloves. These
are consequently being produced in increasing numbers.
Almost any fur is suitable, but naturally the bulk of
the trade in fur gloves runs on the cheaper kinds of
90 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
furs rabbit, hare, etc. These gloves are made in a
great variety of styles, from the bag- shaped fingerless
variety to those of normal shape, whilst occasionally
gloves are made with separate sections for the thumb
and first fingers. As a rule fur gloves have only the
backs of fur, the palms and under surface of the fingers
being of sheep or deer skin. Thus the cutting of the
glove is done by rather different methods than for
ordinary gloves of leather. The fur for the back and
leather for the palm are cut with a knife by means of
a cardboard shape, and the parts are afterwards
assembled and sewn in the usual manner.
CHAPTER IX
FABRIC GLOVES : ORIGIN OF THE INDUSTRY
THE fabric glove industry, though still regarded by many
people as a minor and subsidiary branch of the glove
trade is of considerable and growing importance.
Although in point of value it still falls far short of the
trade in leather gloves, the number of fabric gloves
manufactured every year possibly approaches the number
of leather gloves. World production already runs into
several million dozen pairs annually, and tends to
increase. In many respects the fabric glove trade can
claim to be regarded as a distinct and separate industry
from leather gloving. Although many manufacturers
of leather gloves both here and in France have taken
up the making of the fabric article, the production of
fabric gloves is no longer confined to the well-known
gloving centres. Nevertheless, there are many authorities
in the trade who claim that the best fabric gloves are
made in those centres where glove-making has long
been established. Gloving, we will repeat, may be
regarded as an industry where hereditary skill the skill
of operatives born, so to speak, into the industry
confers decided advantages ; and there are many
experienced glove buyers who hold the view that such
hereditary skill is of as great advantage in the sewing and
finishing of fabric gloves as of leather. Be that as it
may, the Germans succeeded in building up a great
fabric glove industry in Saxony, where previously
gloving was almost, if not entirely unknown ; while
a number of fabric glove factories have been established
in several English centres where previously glove-
making had not been carried on. At the same time
91
92 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
it must be conceded that the fabric industry owes much
to the leather industry, for practically all the operations
of cutting and sewing in the former are based upon and
inspired by experience gained in the latter section of the
trade.
Looking to the future it is fairly safe to prophecy
that the prospects before the fabric trade are exceed-
ingly promising. The limited supplies of skins, and the
long and costly processes to which they have to be
subjected ere they can be fashioned into .gloves, mean
that for some years the supplies of leather gloves are
likely to be somewhat restricted. At the present
time, the production of many English factories is less
by from 33 to 50 per cent, as compared with pre-war
output, principally owing to the shortage of skins, but
partially, of course, as a result of shorter hours in indus-
try and the depletion of the ranks of the operatives
caused by the war. These factors are world-wide in
their incidence, and therefore it would seem safe to
suggest that leather gloves for some years to come will
be relatively scarce and dear. On the other hand,
more attention is being devoted to the production of
fabric gloves not only in this country but in America,
France, Japan and Canada. The necessary supplies
of cotton and silk, it is true, have been adversely affected
by war conditions, but the prospect of a more speedy
return to normal conditions in this respect would seem
to be more promising than in the case of skins for
leather gloves. Again, thanks to the development of
rapid knitting machinery, the fabric can be produced
in very large quantities. Fabric gloves, therefore, are
much more easy to produce and consequently much
cheaper than the leather article. Moreover, every
year witnesses considerable improvements in the char-
acter of glove fabrics, " sueded " leather being simulated
FABRIC GLOVES ! ORIGIN OF THE INDUSTRY 93
in fabric with remarkable skill. Thus there is a growing
tendency of the fabric glove to trench more and more
upon what was, until a few years ago, regarded as the
exclusive field for leather gloves. This tendency is
specially noticeable in the growing production of fabric
gloves for men's wear. There may be a limit to the
possibilities of development in these respects, but it
has certainly not yet been reached.
Like many another industry that ultimately passed
into other hands the fabric glove industry originated
in the United Kingdom. Not only were the yarns
used spun in English mills, but the machines upon which
the fabric was knitted were invented in this country.
The origin of modern fabric gloving dates from the middle
of the nineteenth century, when the first warp knitting
machines for glove fabric were invented and perfected
at Melbourne, in South Derbyshire. Up to that time
textile gloves were either made from woven fabrics,
linen and silk largely, or were of the fashion-knitted
seamless type. The majority of the latter were hand
knitted wool gloves, the fingers and thumbs of which were
shaped in the process of knitting. Such are still made
in fairly large quantities, although machine knitting
has largely displaced hand knitting, but wool yarns are
usually used. Attempts have been made to produce
fashion-knit cotton gloves, but these have failed to
prove altogether satisfactory.
Following the invention and development of warp
knitting machines, considerable development was made
in this country in the making of gloves from knitted
cotton fabrics ; but some ten years later, in 1860, to be
precise, the duty on imported gloves was repealed,
with serious consequences to English gloving generally
and to the making of fabric gloves in particular. Then it
was that the German textile industry established in
94 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
Saxony, with Chemnitz as its centre, found an oppor-
tunity to lay the foundations of a fabric glove-making
industry which was eventually to become a great,
world-wide monopoly. The steps by which this was
achieved furnish an instructive object lesson in the
tactics adopted by the Teuton in his commercial
development. The initial advantage of the German
manufacturer rested solely in the abundance of cheap
labour at his command. German operatives, in those
days, were content to work much longer hours than the
English, and for wages which would have been regarded
as a beggarly pittance by British operatives. Moreover,
child labour was very largely employed. Beginning
by purchasing glove fabric made in England, which
they shipped to Saxony, there to be made up into gloves,
the Germans deliberately set out to capture the industry
for themselves. For many years they made little
headway except in the production of exceedingly
cheap gloves of inferior workmanship and finish. But
as time passed the German industry accumulated an
experience of its own, and by the end of the nineteenth
century competition had grown so keen that English
manufacturers were being undersold both in their own
home market and in the export trade. As in the case
of other industries the Germans schemed to capture,
this proved but a beginning, and a time came when the
Germans were no longer buying English fabric, but
were buying English-made knitting machines whereon
they produced German-made fabrics. Moreover, by
specialisation and organisation considerable improve-
ments and developments were made in the character
of the fabric itself. The production of glove fabric
was studied as a science. The knitting machines were
speeded up considerably, and production was inten-
sified by concentrating upon the manufacture of special
FABRIC GLOVES I ORIGIN OF THE INDUSTRY 95
types of fabric. Although the first German machines
were little more than bare-faced copies of British
machines, the Germans must be given credit for effecting
considerable improvements. They also made marked
progress in the finishing of the fabric, and in the inven-
tion of the well-known duplex fabrics and imitation
suede and chamois finish effects. These developments
accelerated the progress of the German industry at the
expense of our own and those of other countries. More-
over, enjoying the support of a Government at all times
solicitous for promoting the interests of German trade,
the German industry was enabled to market its produc-
tions overseas on severely competitive lines. As is
now well-known, every German industry before the war
was securely protected by tariffs and highly organised.
Prices were frequently regulated by a central body,
and it was often customary to fix two prices, one for
articles sold for home consumption showing a high rate
of profit (protected from foreign competition by the
tariff duties) and the other, a considerably lower price,
for export goods. The large profits made in the home
trade compensated for the narrower working profit
margin on export business. This practice is known to
have been adopted by the German glove industry.
Indeed, the fabric glove makers of Saxony are said to
have sold gloves for export at from 25 to 30 per cent,
under the prices at which the same goods were offered
for sale in Germany.
By such methods, English fabric makers and glovers
were driven almost entirely out of the business ; though
it is said, strangely enough, that even up till 1914,
English knitting machine makers were still exporting
to Germany machines for the making of fine glove
fabrics.
Such in brief outline is the story of the origin and
96 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
development of the German fabric glove monopoly.
The extent of that monopoly will be appreciated when
it is stated that in 1913 out of every 10 pairs of fabric
gloves sold in this country 9 pairs were of German
origin.
The effects of the German monopoly were seen in the
autumn of 1914, when, as the result of the outbreak
of hostilities, practically no supplies of fabric gloves
were forthcoming, and it became necessary to take steps
to re-establish the industry in the United Kingdom.
The initial difficulties were appalling ; for the making
of glove fabric and fabric gloves were to all intents
and purposes lost arts in Britain. It is true that even
in 1913 a few British firms were still producing fabric
gloves, but the total output of their combined factories
was comparatively small, and much of the fabric used was
imported from Germany. The truth is, for 20 years
prior to the outbreak of war in 1914, Saxony had been
the chief centre of the trade, and all the progress and
invention that had taken place during that period
represented German progress and German invention.
Many special methods and processes both in connection
with the knitting of the fabric and with its finishing and
dyeing were German secrets.
When the German supplies were cut off by the war,
it was realised that an opportunity for reviving all
branches of the industry in this country had arisen.
The big English wholesale firms and glove manufacturers,
in co-operation with some of the leading builders of
knitting machinery and makers of the finer hosiery
fabrics concentrated their attention upon the problem.
Some of the commoner fabrics were comparatively
easy to manufacture, but special fabrics of the " duplex "
typs and the popular " suede " finished fabrics were
another matter. The machines for making and finishing
FABRIC GLOVES ! ORIGIN OF THE INDUSTRY 97
these were far from simple in construction and for
a long time little progress was made in producing high
grade glove fabric. Necessity, however, is one of the
finest stimulants for inventive genius, and after much
experiment considerable progress has been made during
the last three or four years. Machines are now available
for turning out large quantities of high grade fabric, the
equal of anything that ever emanated from Saxony,
and in some respects German productions have even been
surpassed. The machinery installed in this country
at the present time is sufficient to produce between
5 and 6 million yards of fabric annually, which repre-
sents only about 500,000 to 1,000,000 yards short of
our normal annual consumption of gloves.
CHAPTER X
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES
FABRIC gloves, as the name implies, are made of a cloth
or fabric ; and just as leather gloving is to be regarded
as a branch of the leather trade, so the manufacture of
fabric gloves must be grouped as a section of the textile
industry. Glove fabric is sometimes spoken of as if
it were a woven cloth. It should be pointed out, how-
ever, that the fabrics principally used are fine gauge or
closely knitted cotton cloths of varying degrees of
fineness, those most extensively adopted being known
as Atlas cloths, Milanese, Milanese Lisle, Sueded and
Duplex cloths, whilst silk, taffeta and lace are also
used. | Fabric gloves should not, however, be confused
with the knitted gloves of the seamless type, which are
made as a rule from heavier yarns, usually wool^ and by
different processes. The latter gloves are knitted on
special machines which fashion or shape the glove in
the course of knitting. With fabric gloves, the fabric
is knitted and finished in the piece, the gloves afterwards
being cut from " tranks " of fabric and sewn much as
leather gloves are cut and sewn.
By far the greatest proportion of glove fabrics are
made from the finest grades of Sea Island and Egyptian
cottons. The raw cotton is first spun into particularly
fine yarns, the bulk of the spinning being carried on in
the Manchester district. It is worthy of note in passing
that even when the fabric glove trade was little more than
a German monopoly, Lancashire supplied practically
all the spun yarns used for making glove fabrics, large
quantities being annually exported to Saxony for the
98
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES 99
purpose. Nowadays, Lancashire supplies many million
pounds of yarn to the mills in the Nottingham, Ilkeston,
Melbourne and Leicester districts, where the bulk of
English glove fabric is produced.
' The most suitable fabrics for glove-making are what
are known in textile phraseology as " warp knitted " ;
that is, cloths knit from warp yarns only, and not from
weft yarns. Some of the finer gauges of interlock
knitted fabrics are also used for gloves, but to a far less
extent.
In order to convey an idea of the distinctive character
of the fabric it is expedient to explain briefly the differ-
ence between the various kinds of textile piece goods.
Broadly speaking, textile fabrics may be manu-
factured on four distinct principles, i.e., weaving, knitting,
felting, or twisting. Felt fabrics, formed by compressing
the actual raw material (usually wool or fur) under the
application of heat and moisture, and twisted fabrics,
such as laces, embroideries, braids, etc., formed by
twisting warp threads or yarns, may be ignored : in
point of volume they represent but a small fraction of
the textile trade. Woven fabrics, which form the largest
group of textiles, consist of two distinct sets of yarns
warp yarns, running lengthwise parallel to the selvedge
of the piece of material, and weft yarns which are
woven at right angles over and under the warp yarns in
the process of weaving. Such woollen cloths as serges,
worsteds and cheviots, and cotton cloths such as calicoes,
zephyrs, etc., are typical examples of woven cloths.
Knitted fabrics, which form the only other inportant
group of textiles, are produced by looping either weft
yarns or warp yarns into a chain of loops, cohesion into
a solid fabric being obtained by interlocking each row
or chain of loops to the next row or chain. Hosiery and
underwear fabrics, stockings and scarves are typical
100 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
examples of knitted fabrics, and glove fabrics may be
regarded as falling within the same category. Glove
fabric, however, should not be classed as a hosiery
fabric. Although both hosiery and glove fabrics are
made on the same principle that is, by means of the
looped or knitted stitch the actual processes involved
and the machines on which they are knitted present
rather different features. Practically all hosiery gar-
ments and fabric are knitted from weft yarns, in which the
threads of yarn are knitted across the width of the gar-
ment or fabric, the length of the piece being gradually
built up by the addition of successive rows of loops or
stitches as in hand knitting. In the manufacture of
warp-knitted fabrics, such as are used for gloves, however,
a large number of warps of yarn are simultaneously
knitted longitudinally through the machine, each
thread of yarn passing over two or more needles, so that
the automatic interlocking of the loops Jinks up each
row of stitches with its neighbouring rows and thus
builds up the width of the piece. By this process a
fine, close and solid fabric is produced, which is strong
and sufficiently elastic for the purpose of gloving.
The foregoing gives but a bare outline of the
principle involved in warp knitting and the actual
making of glove fabric is a highly technical business,
and involves a series of extremely delicate and intricate
operations.
Before passing on to describe the actual process of
knitting the fabric, a few words need to be said about
the character of the yarns employed. Yarn, it may be
necessary to explain, although in appearance somewhat
similar, differs considerably from thread and the two
should not be confused. Yarn is more supple and
softer than thread, which in the process of twisting,
doubling and polishing takes on its harder character.
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES 101
Every class of yarn, whether of wool, silk, or cotton,
varies considerably in texture or fineness, and each class
embraces many important divisions. For instance,
in the case of the cotton knitting yarns with which we
are now dealing there are ordinary fine yar.ns->, mcrceris/jd
yarns, and lisle thread yarns. Again withra. "thase broad
classifications there are widely varying-; cJeg^eeG >od tfinsr
ness. For the purpose of identification* all r< ya'rns 'are
numbered and designated by a count. Thus we have
20's, 30's, etc., up to 200's and 300's. These counts
are calculated by finding the relation of the weight of
the yarn to its length. A simple rule for ascertaining
the count of a cotton yarn is to find how many yarns
there are to the pound and divide by 840. Thus if
the pound weight of yarn contains 16,800 yards, the
" count " would be 20 and the yarns would be designated
20 's. From this it will be appreciated that the finer the
yarn, the higher the " count " will be.
The yarns most suitable for glove fabric are the ordinary
fine cotton and Lisle yarns. As we have already
indicated, Sea Island and Egyptian, the two finest
descriptions of cotton, are used almost exclusively, and
some idea of the fineness of glove fabric yarns will be
gathered from the fact that the " counts " vary from
70's in the commoner and cheaper descriptions up to as
high as 120's in finer fabrics. Even these latter do not
yield the finest fabrics, which are made from what are
known as Lisle thread yarns. Originally Lisle thread was
a specially spun linen thread which had its origin at
Lille, the great French textile centre. Now, however,
the name is applied to any yarns, whether linen or cotton,
produced by doubling two separate strands which have
been previously spun in opposite directions. The range
of counts of Lisle threads used for glove fabric vary
from 180 up to as high as 260. These knit into a
102 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
remarkably close, fine fabric which is used for making
the very highest quality gloves.
Yarn comes in from the spinners sometimes in the
form of hanks and sometimes wound on spools, cops or
cones. Considerable attention is paid nowadays to the
selection -of yarns for glove fabrics, whilst in the early
stages- of " winding "'-' and "warping" the yarn the
utmost 'care is 'taken, to secure the elimination of imper-
fections which would be likely to give rise to patchy
or uneven places in the finished fabric. Thus, whether
yarn has been wound or not before it reaches the fabric
manufacturer, it is frequently rewound on to suitable
spools or bobbins for the next process of warping."
Good winding is regarded as essential to good knitting,
and especially so in the case of glove fabrics which
include the finest of all knitted fabrics. There are
several types of winding machines used, but all follow
much the same principle, and the operation, which
is highly technical in character, need not be described
here.
The next process, that of " warping," is of even
greater importance. " Warping " consists of winding
a large number of threads of yarn side by side on to a
" warping mill." To effect this a number of bobbins or
spools of cotton are placed upon a framework or stand,
called a " creel " or " jack," the number of bobbins
" warped " at a time varying according to the gauge of
the machine for which the warp is being prepared.
The " warping mill " consists of a large drum or reel and
round this the yarn is wound, often being measured by
clock work in the course of winding and each section
of threads being warped from the same number of
revolutions of the reel. From the reel the yarn passes
through a perforated warping plate, which fixes the
distance between the threads, and the warp is then wound
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES 103
either on brass bobbins for the Milanese machine, or
on to rollers, sometimes called " beams," for the Atlas
machine. In warping the utmost attention has to be
paid to the tension of the yarn, for upon this factor the
closeness of the ultimate fabric largely depends.
We pass now to the knitting of the fabric.
Warp knitting, reduced to its simplest form, as already
explained, may be described as a series of simple chains
of loops running longitudinally the whole length of the
fabric, each chain being attached to its nearest neigh-
bours on either side and so forming a continuous
fabric. There is, however, more than one type of
machine now used for knitting glove fabric. The chief
are the Atlas and the Milanese. The Atlas machine, or
loom as it is sometimes called, is a verticle needle fast
warp machine, and although it is the older of the two it
has shewn itself capable of greater development and is
now more widely used owing to the fact that it enables
a greater variety of fabrics to be produced and can be
run at very high speeds. The Milanese machine,
however, produces rather finer fabrics.
The Milanese loom is what is termed a two-bar machine,
that is, there are always two rows or " bars " of cotton
yarn in the machine. Brass bobbins of cotton warp are
mounted on travelling carriages and these move auto-
matically along their base from the back to the front
of the machine. A thread from the top " bar " and a
corresponding thread from the bottom " bar " are fed
to each needle. In working the brass bobbins carrying
the thread on the bottom bar move slowly transversely
across the machine from left to right, while those on
the top bar move from right to left. At each side of the
machine there are attachments for transferring each
thread as it reaches the extreme end of its sidewards
journey from the top bar to the bottom bar and
8 (1463j)
104 GLOVES AND^THE GLOVE TRADE
vice-versa. Thus, while the threads are continuously
travelling from one end of the machine to the other,
the threads of the top bar are constantly crossing those
of the lower bar. The needles (of the bearded type)
are mounted upon a bar running along the width of the
machine, and the yarn is knitted by the usual method,
i.e., by being forced over and under the beard of the
needle by means of a sinker.
During the process the needles are looping the yarn
into a strong and elastic knitted fabric. Some of these
machines are built to knit great widths of fabric, and
many contain up to 5,000 needles, and there being, as
explained, two threads to every needle, it will be seen
that 10,000 threads of yarn may be knitted simultane-
ously. The machines vary in gauge according to the
fineness of texture of the fabric being produced, and
some Milanese fabrics are so very fine that there are 56
threads knitted to 1 in. width of fabric. The gauge is
calculated from the number of needles to the inch.
The operations of the Atlas machine are rather more
simple. Just as in the case of the Milanese machine,
there are two bars or rows of warp thread at work ; but
these are wound on rollers or beams and instead of
working from one side of the machine to the other,
the threads of each bar travel only over a limited number
of needles, the number varying according to the quality
of fabric being knitted. The threads of the bottom bar
travel in one direction and return to their original
position, the threads of the top bar moving in the
opposite direction, and then return, the needles knitting
the fabric as the threads pass over them. Atlas cloth
so produced can always be identified by the shaded
bars running across the fabric, an effect which is due to
the fact that the various bars of thread travel in reverse
directions.
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES 105
These machines are also built in great widths and work
at high speed, and are thus capable of producing huge
quantities of fabric. The length of the pieces and the
width vary considerably, the finer fabrics being usually
shorter and narrower than the heavier makes.
Dyeing and Finishing the Fabric. After it has been
knitted the fabric has to undergo various dyeing and
finishing processes ere it is ready for the glove factory.
It is precisely these processes which have presented
the greatest difficulties in the task of re-establishing
the industry in this country. British dyers and finishers
had to start in this section absolutely de novo, and it has
only been by the slow and tedious path of practical
experiment that the necessary processes have been
evolved. The manner in which the various difficulties
have been surmounted is worthy of the highest praise
and commendation.
Glove fabric is received from the mills in the " grey "
state exactly as it comes off the machines. It is first
graded, and then bleached by the usual methods.
Dyeing, one of the most important operations, follows.
Here the greatest care is lavished. Fast colours are
essential, and as a great variety of tones is called for
(and these tend constantly to change), the dyers,
resources are taxed to the utmost. Certain colours,
however, may be regarded as staple lines, such as
lemons, greys, beavers, blacks, browns, and blues, for
these there always being a steady and constant demand.
Other shades vary according to the prevailing fashion.
The actual dyeing is carried out by running the fabrics
through the dyeing liquids by means of washing machines
of the rotary type, hand or power driven.
On leaving the dyeing-house the fabric is next treated
with chemicals to reduce its elasticity, and then passed
on to the drying- rooms. There it is stretched out upon
106 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
long frames, the atmosphere of the rooms being main-
tained at an even temperature of about 95 F. by means
of steam pipes. Above each drying frame, numerous
large fans are rotated to keep the air in constant
circulation, which facilitates drying.
In recent years a great demand has sprung up for
sueded fabrics, i.e., cloths having the appearance and
feel of suede leather, and duplex fabrics, or cloths of
double texture. Fabrics of these types were produced
with extraordinary success by the Germans, who jealously
guarded the secret processes by which these effects
were produced. " Sueded " and " duplex " cloths,
however, are now being produced by several English
firms with varying degrees of success. Probably the
most effective results have been achieved by Messrs.
Thomas Adams, Ltd., of Nottingham, who have devoted
considerable attention to the dyeing and finishing of
gloving fabrics, and use machinery of their own invention
and make. ( By the courtesy of this firm, the author
has been permitted to inspect the actual machines
used for these processes, and the methods of< working
them ; but it would be obviously unfair at this time
to disclose trade secrets of this nature which have been
discovered and perfected only after painstaking research
and the expenditure of considerable capital. All that
can be said is that) Tremendous strides have been made
in this branch of the industry, and although by no
means disposed to rest content with their achievements,
the British finishers need fear no comparison between
their fabrics and those of their German rivals.
In sueding the fabric, extraordinarily ingenious
machines have been devised for raising the nap of the
cloth in such a way that when the fabric is handled
it needs very close scrutiny to detect that it is not
actually leather. British finishers can also claim that
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES 107
they have gone a step further than the Germans in this
direction, and they are now producing heavy fabrics
with chamois and wash-leather effects which approx-
imated the actual articles with remarkable fidelity.
The making of duplex fabrics also involves secret
processes which cannot at present be divulged. These
fabrics, again, were invented by the Germans ; but
to-day satisfactory .methodsJiave been discovered for
producing them in 4his- country7 Duplex cloths consist
of two separate fabrics which are stuck together by
ingenious means. The great advantage of these fabrics
is that they allow the making of much stronger and
stouter gloves than ordinary single fabrics, particularly
where suede and similar finishes are required. English
makers, however, are also carrying duplexing a step
further even than their rivals did, and the process is
now being employed to join an ordinary glove fabric
with fleecy and other similar fabrics so that when the
glove is made the fleecy side is turned inside the glove
and forms a warm lining.
In addition to the " duplex " fabrics, English inventors
have succeeded in producing other types of interlock
or double fabrics, but these do not as yet compare with
the "duplex."
During the last few years more attention has been
devoted to weft fabrics, and developments in this
direction are to be looked for. (if suitable fabrics could
be produced for gloving, weft knitting offers certain
advantages owing to the reduced cost of production.)
Speaking generally, however, warp fabrics have certain
advantageous characteristics which it has so far proved
impossible to reproduce in weft knitted goods.) Warp
fabrics, for instance, can be knitted with a great variety
of stitches and gauges. They are more rigid than
Weft-knitted cloths and yet retain sufficient elasticity to
108 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
yield the pliability essential for gloving material. They
are more durable, wear better, and are not so liable to
" run " when cut as are weft fabrics. Moreover, the
close knit of the warp fabric lends itself readily to
" sueding " and other popular finishes.
Cutting and Sewing Fabric Gloves. The making of
fabric gloves follows rlosely the procedure adopted in
making leather gloves. The fabrics are received at the
factory in pieces varying from 12 to 40 yards in length.
These are first very carefully inspected for faulty knitting
or finishing defects, any imperfect patches being rejected
and cut out. The fabric is then divided into shorter
lengths and ultimately into " tranks," as in the case of
leather gloves.
The actual cutting out of the glove is executed by
means of calibres and screw presses (of the same type as
described in Chapter VlO but larger quantities of
fabric gloves can be cut out at one operation than is
possible when leather gloves are being cut. Usually,
about a dozen pairs are cut at a time. Thumb-pieces
and fourchettes, and gussets and quirks, when used,
are cut out by separate machines.
In the sewing and stitching of fabric gloves a very
wide range of sewing machines is used, and co-incident-
ally with the revival of the industry in Great Britain the
Singer Company have shown commendable enterprise
in developing and improving suitable machines for the
various operations. As in the case of leather gloves,
a great variety of styles of points is called for. Com-
binations of roundseam (La surjeteuse) with chain or
other stitching furnish a very popular design, a single
central row of roundseam, flanked by a single row of
chain-stitch on either side forming a particularly neat
point. A richly embroidered effect is produced by
employing a double chain-stitch machine sewing several
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES 109
parallel rows of stitching. Other machines of the
multiple needle variety are also employed to good effect,
whilst special machines for ribbing or beading the fabric
are also utilised. Another popular point, known as the
" Kohler," is produced by a double needle machine, the
needles of which are set tandem fashion, i.e., one behind
the other, one sewing with a fine thread, whilst the other
sews with a thicker thread, and the combination results
in a singularly artistic point.
In the closing of the glove, the sewing of the four-
chettes to the fingers, and the closing of the thumb,
diamond stitching is more frequently preferred. The
pique stitch is used to a large extent for the heavier
makes of fabric gloves those of " duplex " and similar
material. With these gloves a Boulton thumb is very
popular as it gives greater freedom to the wearer. In
some cases pique stitching is partially employed, the upper
seams of the fingers only being sewn on that principle,
diamond stitching being used for the remaining seams.
This is known as half-pique. Thumbs are often inserted
by means of a twin needle chain-stitch machine.
For " welting " or " binding " the edge of the glove,
sometimes called " wristing," a hem is often formed
merely by turning the edge of the material at the wrist
opening and sewing it down with a chain-stitch machine.
For the better class of work, however, twin-needle
embroidery stitch machines are preferred. In other
gloves again a separate narrow strip of fabric is welted
round the edge of the glove. Small strips of material
are also usually sewn up the edge of the wrist opening
to reinforce the section of the fabric which is to carry
the buttons or fasteners. Many machines for wristing
are fitted with a cylindrical arm or base which enables
the operative to hem the wrist after the glove is
closed.
110 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
Button-holing and button-sewing, both machine
operations, are very similar to those described for leather
gloves. Finally, the gloves are ironed-out on heated
hand-shaped instruments, after which they are banded
in half-dozen pairs and boxed ready for sale.
Silk Gloves. In recent years the demand for silk
gloves has grown very insistent, the popularity of these
articles having shown very marked progress. Silk
gloves are essentially luxury articles, and appeal more to
the fashionable ladies of the United States, London,
Paris, and other European capitals. Comparatively
small quantities are made in the United Kingdom and
in France, but the real centre for their production is the
United States, where they are manufactured with marked
success. The late Julius Kayzer, who migrated to the
States from Germany whilst a youth, was the pioneer
of the American silk glove trade.
The making of these gloves is very similar to the making
of cotton fabric gloves. The silk is spun, and wound
on to spools, and subsequently warped. The warps are
fed to fine gauge knitting machines of the Milanese type,
and knitted into a fine doss elastic fabric. Afterwards
the fabric is carefully dyed. Special machines are used
for dressing the silk after dyeing, by which the extreme
elasticity of the fabric is reduced.
Finally the material is cut into short lengths from
which the parts of the glove are stamped out, assembled
and sewn in the usual manner.
Woollen Gloves. Woollen gloves represent another
important branch of the glove trade, and although their
sale is more or less confined to the winter season, it is
a large and growing business. Their manufacture is
to be regarded as a branch of the hosiery trade, and the
woollen gloves of Leicester, Hawick and other English
centres enjoy a world-wide reputation. Practically
THE MAKING OF FABRIC GLOVES 111
all hosiery firms of any importance specialise in their
manufacture. Originally they were produced as hand-
knitted articles, and naturally the output was then on
somewhat limited lines. However, with the rapid
improvements which have taken place in the knitting
industry during the last half- century, the manufacture
of woollen gloves has shown remarkable development,
and a wider range and variety of articles are now avail-
able. The improvement in manufacturing processes,
leading to rapid and cheap production of these goods,
has been of particular benefit to the working classes,
providing them with serviceable winter hand-wear at
a price well within the reach of the poorest.
Woollen gloves, speaking broadly,- are of two types,
i.e., the seamless variety, and what is known as the
wrought glove. The seamless glove is fashioned to shape
in the course of making. These are usually produced
partly on a hosiery knitting machine of the circular type,
and partly on flat hand-knitting machines. The wrist
section is frequently formed with a ribbed cuff, while the
hand and fingers as a rule are made with a plain knitted
stitch. The cuff and the hand can be knitted on circular
machines or flat machines while the thumbs and each
finger are knitted separately on flat hand machines.
Special types of machines have been designed for
automatically knitting the rib cuffs with a plain
hand.
Wrought gloves are all knitted on straight bar machines
and can be made with a great variety of stitches and
patternings. Each part of the glove is fashioned to
.shape with a selvedge, and afterwards the parts are
seamed by a special sewing machine designed for
joining hosiery and known as a cup seam machine.
Until recent years the woollen glove has been re-
garded rather as an article of utility than of luxury, but
112 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
recently the manufacturers have devoted a great deal
of attention to producing fancy effects. Exceedingly
fine wools are being used, and checks in contrasting
colours and other beautiful effects are now available
in the long gauntlet style of glove so much in demand
among ladies.
CHAPTER XI
MARKETING
WE have now concluded our brief description of the
making of the glove, and a few words will suffice to
explain the method of distribution.
Many of the big retail stores buy the majority of their
gloves (as they do the major portion of the merchandise
they handle) direct from the manufacturers at home or
abroad. Most drapers a*^ retailers in this country,
however, ~only requiring smaller quantities at a time,
secure their supplies through the intermediary of a
wholesale house. Some of these wholesale houses are
known as general houses, carrying a great variety of
merchandise largely in common demand (" bread and
cheese lines " is the vulgar description used in the dry
goods trade) ; others are known as specialty houses
which have built up a reputation for stocking the newest,
freshest and most fashionable merchandise in certain
classes of goods. Thus in the wholesale glove trade
there are many houses which handle gloves among
a host of other articles, and a smaller number of firms
which make a special feature of gloves, and it is through
the latter that most of the novelty styles are to be
obtained. In addition there are several very large
firms of glove manufacturers having their own wholesale
warehouses in London and throughout the world,
through which they dispose of their own factory output
(supplemented by the products of smaller firms) directly
to retail customers.
Ordinarily, gloves may be regarded as comparatively
safe merchandise to handle. Style changes do occur,
113
114 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
but these are neither so violent nor so frequent as in
certain other classes of apparel or dry goods merchandise.
The demand is fairly constant and steady, and it is
therefore easier to avoid dead stock than is the case in
a trade handling ultra-fashionable goods like millinery
or costumes. Nevertheless the glove-makers and whole-
salers have to watch the trend of events with care and
attention. Changing fashions, especially in ladies'
attire, exert considerable influence in glove styles. A
vogue for short-sleeved gowns brings a bigger demand for
long-sleeved gloves of the mousquetaire type. Recently
there was quite a rage for fringed dresses, and immediately
a demand for gloves with long fringed gauntlets arose.
Men, while not so susceptible to fashion changes as women, ""
have also to be watched with care. A few winters
before the war a sudden craze set in for white woollen
gloves. Half the men in the country seemed to be wear-
ing them, and the glove trade had much to do to meet
the demand. The season's colours, too, have to be
anticipated and allowed for. j
Unseasonable weather is perhaps the worst enemy the
glove distributor has to face : and the fact that it can
never be anticipated intensifies the evil. A delayed
spring, or a cold, wet summer will often have serious
effects upon the sale of the lighter classes of gloves for
summer wear. So, too, a mild winter curtails the demand
for lined and woollen gloves. Unseasonable weather,
in fact, can easily throw all the wholesalers' calculations
out of gear.
It will be understood, then, that the glove trade has
its pitfalls for the unwary, and wholesale merchanting
calls for considerable skill and experience. The buyers
for the big houses have to be very watchful and alert
in order to anticipate possible changes in public taste,
especially in the case of those catering for the high class,
MARKETING 115
or fashion end, of the trade ; and at the same time they
have to be prepared to face risks.
Competition in the trade is keen, and for this reason
the wholesale houses are always sending their buyers
into the manufacturing centres in order to keep in the
closest touch with manufacturing developments. With
those businesses which specialise in novelty lines this
is particularly true, and when a manufacturer produces
something exceptionally striking, one wholesale firm or
a large retail distributor will often undertake to purchase
the whole output of that range.
With regard to the retail trade the trade of the drapers,
hosiers and outfitters who pass the g'oves on to those
who will ultimately wear them little need be said here.
Many of the considerations we have indicated as bearing
upon the wholesale trade, apply also to the retail.
Generally speaking, however, the retailers' stock being
much smaller, he does not have to take such big risks
as the wholesaler. Practically every draper or hosier
carries a stock of gloves, and in many of the larger
stores of the West End and Suburbs of London and the
provinces, separate specially equipped departments
are set apart for their sale. With the retail, gloves
are popular goods, being clean merchandise of a
character easy to handle.
How to Judge Gloves. Gloves vary tremendously
in quality as all wearers of them will agree. It is true
in their case, as with all merchandise, that if a good,
sound, reliable article is desired one must be prepared
to pay a fair price for it. As practically everyone
wears gloves nowadays, the manufacturers have to
cater for a very varied demand, and consequently there
are very many styles and very many varying qualities
in each style. There are a great number of people who
cannot afford to pay for good quality gloves, hence
116 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
there is always a big demand for low-priced articles.
For these, naturally, the lower grades of material are
used, whilst their workmanship is not of the best.
Nevertheless one can pay quite good prices for gloves
and yet buy without discrimination.
Gloves of all kinds are divided into different classes
within their own group, according to quality, and the
various classes or grades are known *as " firsts,"
" seconds," etc.
The three main points to observe in buying gloves are
(1) the quality of the leather or fabric, (2) the cut, and
(3) the sewing and finish. In the case of leather gloves,
particularly, care should be taken to see that the material
is free from flaws, blemishes or harsh patches. The
colouring too should be of a regular, even tone. The
cut should be well-balanced and shapely, true to size
and to the shape of the wearer's hand. Many manu-
facturers make several varying finger lengths to each
size of glove so that those with long, medium or short
fingers can be equally suited. Another point to look
for is to see that the fourchettes, quirks and gussets
(the small pieces between the interstices of the fingers
and thumbs) are evenly cut and regular. The sewing
should be regular, following the line of the edge sewn,
with even intervals between each stitch, i
CHAPTER XII
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY
IT must be clear to everyone that the recent war has had
a tremendously disturbing effect upon the industry and
commerce of the world, yet few people outside immediate
business circles realise how far-reaching that disturbance
has been. The fact is, the whole system of international
commerce as it existed prior to the war has been largely
thrown out of gear owing to the welter of industrial
and commercial confusion which is proving one of the
worst consequences of the prolonged hostilities in
Europe. It is not merely that old and known standards
of commercial value have largely disappeared ; but,
what is in some respects even more disconcerting, the
very centres of production and avenues of distribution
have in many cases shifted. The trade of the world
at the present time is passing through a period of
transition, and there are possibilities of change without
parallel in the history of commerce. It is therefore
extremely difficult for any writer dealing with an indus-
try of international ramifications to give a clear, accurate
and reliable picture of the geographical distribution of
that industry. This is peculiarly true of the glove
trade. The industry has, it goes without saying, shared
in the general dislocation of commercial machinery.
Regarded from an international point of view, the trade
is in a state of flux, and no one can forecast with any
certainty what the position will be a few years hence.
Let us look at the international geographical distri-
bution of the glove trade prior to 1914, when the chief
centres of the industry were well-known and easily
117
118 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
defined. We shall then be in a position to form some
idea of the position to-day. Taking leather gloves first, in
those days France was the leading producing centre,
Austria-Hungary (Bohemia) and Germany competed
for second place, Belgium coming third, Great Britain
fourth, Italy, Denmark and the United States bringing
up the rear. It is necessary to bear in mind, however,
that British enterprise exerted considerable influence
in the foreign centres of production. Britain was not
only one of the largest importing nations in pre-war
years, but several large British glove houses owned and
controlled factories of their own in the principal
manufacturing centres on the Continent.
To-day the position may be set out roughly as follows :
France still holds her place as the leading leather glove
manufacturing country, the United Kingdom probably
takes the second position, the situation in the remaining
producing centres being obscure. But the annual
production is very much below pre-war quantities in
aU branches of the industry.
It would be absurd, however, to assume that the
present state of affairs is one that will continue
permanently. So far as one can gather, for the time
being, the production of leather gloves in Germany is
severely handicapped by the disturbed political situa-
tion prevailing, by the difficulty in securing supplies
of raw materials, and by the dislocation of the credit
system. In Bohemia, which has been transferred to
the new state of Czecho- Slovakia much the same applies.
Certainly until the political situation is clarified, neither
country can settle down to normal work, and until that
is possible it is futile to attempt to anticipate their
prospects of recovering the trade they have lost. Whether
our erstwhile enemies can ever regain the position they
held formerly, only time will prove. All that can be
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 119
said is that the industry of neither country is at a com-
plete standstill ; on the contrary there is ample evidence
going to show that the German and Bohemian manu-
facturers are biding their time, and merely await a
favourable opportunity to re-enter the world's markets.
The Belgians, of course, are making big efforts to
reconstruct their industry, which was centred largely
at Brussels. They are suffering from the disastrous
effects of the prolonged German occupation. Here the
prospects of recovery are more certain than in the case
of either Germany or Austria. Belgium enjoys the good-
will of the world, and the course of a few years should
again see the glove industry of that country thriving and
prosperous.
Meanwhile the manufacturers of leather gloves in
other countries, especially those of Great Britain and
America, are making very strenuous efforts to extend
the field of their activities. Far more success has
attended the efforts of British glovers in this respect
than is generally credited, although the measure of
success attained would be considerably greater were
the general conditions prevailing in the trade more
favourable. Unfortunately the situation is complicated
by a number of adverse factors. As we have already
explained in dealing with the glove leather situation,
our own glovers, in common with those of other nations,
are seriously hampered by the world shortage of skins :
but that is not me only hindrance to progress. Other
obstacles are presented by the delay in proceeding with
factory extensions and the installation of new machinery
and factory plant owing to financial conditions and
difficulties of other industries, while the general move-
ment towards shorter hours and higher wages in industry
has naturally a retarding effect on production.
With regard to the fabric branch of the industry, we
9_(1463j)
120 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
have already noted the effects of the war in our chapter
dealing with the history of the manufacture of fabric
gloves. Practically speaking, the Germans had prior
to the war a monopoly of the fabric glove trade : the
reasons for this have already been explained at length.
Of the 2,531,798 dozen pairs of fabric gloves imported
into this country in 1913, 2,511,009 dozen pairs were of
German origin, and the bulk of the remainder were
silk gloves of American make. In that year, and for
years previously, in point of quantity the British
production of fabric gloves was negligible. These
facts reveal the extent of the former German
predominance in this branch.
Since the war, the fabric glove situation has undergone
a great change. But, looking to the future, as in the
case of leather gloves, it is extremely difficult to offer
any reliable forecast as to how events will shape. Last
year (1919) although the imports of fabric gloves into
this country closely approached one million dozen pair
(less than one-half the pre-war volume), very few came
through from Germany. The official analysis of the
figures is not yet available at the time of writing, but
it is well known in the trade that the largest portion of
the gloves imported were of Japanese origin. The
Japanese, by the way, were very early in seizing the
opportunity presented by the temporary elimination
of German competition, and promptly took steps to
develop the manufacture of the cfieaper grades of
fabric gloves. Yet notwithstanding many advantages
considerable support from a progressive and sympathetic
government, good supplies of raw cotton, and abundant
cheap labour Japan has failed to make the most of
her opportunity. Her glove factories, hastily organised,
turned out gloves in extraordinarily large numbers :
but quality was sacrificed all through to quantity
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 121
production. The gloves sent from Japan to Europe
so far, have been for the most part cheap, inelegant
articles of poor quality fabric, atrociously cut and shaped,
and badly sewn and finished. They were, in the main,
totally unsuited for the European market, and were it
not for the absolute shortage of gloves of all kinds would
have stood little chance of a sale here. This year the
imports of such gloves from Japan have fallen off
considerably. So far as this country is concerned
Japanese competition is very little feared.
France last year was sending us bigger consignments
of fabric gloves than ever before in her history, and the
majority of these were very high grade articles.
Whether Germany can ever regain her monopolistic
position in this branch of the trade must remain a matter
of speculation. The German manufacturers are already
very active and it is unreasonable to imagine that they
will let the trade slip out of their hands without making
a fight. They have a generation of experience behind
them ; so far as is known their factories are intact,
while possibly the majority of their skilled workpeople
are available to help in the rehabilitation of the industry.
Momentarily their chief disadvantages are the unsettled
state of the country and the difficulty in securing
supplies of raw cotton, cotton yarns, etc., owing to the
depreciation of the mark. However, they are already
undercutting home producers in the British market
the low rate of the mark against the pound sterling
being a big advantage.
Meanwhile British manufacturers of fabric gloves
have made remarkable and steady progress. In point
of quality, British productions can now claim to compare
with the German : indeed, in some lines they are
certainly superior. Until recently, even the price
factor was in favour of British-made gloves and it was
122 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
possible to buy a better British fabric glove at a slightly
lower price than an inferior German article of the same
type. In recent months, however, the position has
changed in this respect. From a national point of view,
the progress made in this branch of the industry is
extremely encouraging : but no British manufacturer
is foolish enough to overlook the fact that much yet
remains to be done. Although the British fabric glove
in point of general excellence and quality will bear
comparison with any qualitatively the industry has
nothing to fear the output is, comparatively speak-
ing, still small. Much development must take place
before the home trade can claim to rival the highly
organised German industry of pre-war years. It is
this fact confronting the British fabric glove-makers
which gives them most concern. They have demon-
strated that fabric gloves of high quality and excellent
workmanship can be manufactured in this country on a
commercial basis ; they have laid foundations upon
which an important industry, offering employment to
many more workers, can be reared : but to develop
an industry of this kind necessarily takes time. Capital
has to be raised, factories built, and workers trained and
organised ; so that for a few years development must
proceed slowly and on tentative lines. The question
arises : can our continental rivals resume large scale
trading on their old methods before the industry here
at home has become established firmly enough to with-
stand competition ? This is the dominant question
present in the minds of the trade leaders to-day : it is the
vital consideration behind the policy of British glove
manufacturers at the present time.
The leaders of the industry urge, possibly with justice,
that during the war they were invited by the Govern
ment (through the Board of Trade) to endeavour to
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 123
develop the manufacture of fabric gloves in this country.
They responded to the call. Much time and money were
devoted to research and experimental work, workers
were trained, factories were built and a fair amount of
capital was sunk in the industry. When the armistice
was signed, the industry was just emerging from the
experimental stage, and everyone concerned felt that
granted favourable conditions during the next few
years there was a good chance for its development on a
large scale. So far, however, the trade holds that the
Government promises to take steps to check the " dump-
ing " of foreign made goods into this country have been
singularly ambiguous. A frank and unequivocal
official undertaking that under no circumstances would
they permit the home industry to be swamped by unfair
competition from abroad would do more to encourage
greater progress and development than anything else.
If that undertaking were forthcoming, there is no reason
to doubt that the manufacture of fabric gloves in this
country would in the^course of a few years reach
gigantic proportions.
As it is, a few of the smaller firms have already
abandoned the making of fabric gloves, whilst some of
those who strove the hardest to re-establish the industry
here are beginning to be discouraged.
The Industry in Britain. The glove trade of England
has witnessed considerable vicissitudes in the course of its
long history. As mentioned in an earlier chapter there
are many indications pointing to the making of gloves
in those early seats of learning and craftsmanship the
monasteries. In Anglo-Saxon times glove-making was
carried on by the tawyers or skin-dressers in association
with other crafts involving the working of leather. But
by the middle of the fourteenth century the glovers had
certainly come to be regarded as a separate trade. The
124 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
growing importance of the industry is reflected in the
records of the glovers' guilds which sprang into existence
at Perth, Worcester and London. There can be no
doubt these old guilds rendered very valuable services
to the industry, and probably did much to maintain
and improve the standard and character of the pro-
ductions of the trade. Their influence and powers
were considerable ; for, in addition to regulating the
manufacture and sale of gloves in the home trade, they
were also able to bring pressure to bear upon the Crown
resulting in Statutes of Edward IV, Richard III and
Elizabeth, which prohibited the importation of foreign-
made gloves. This prohibitive legislation remained in
force until the early years of last century. It has been
suggested that these protective measures were obtained
by the glovers not so much in recognition of genuine
grievances, but rather as privileges in return for moneys
advanced to the Crown or other services rendered.
Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that they
enabled the home industry to keep its head above water
when otherwise it might have been swamped by compe-
tition from abroad. They did not entirely prevent the
entry of foreign gloves into this country, and ample
evidence could be adduced to show that such gloves were
continually being brought in during the four centuries
while the Statutes were operative. Smuggling was a
profitable calling and comparatively easy to effect.
The laws were not rigidly enforced although they stood
upon the Statute Book ; but when necessity arose they
were remembered and put into effect. The protection
afforded by these laws was extended by an Act passed
in the reign of George III (1776) ostensibly to encourage
the importation of kid and lamb skins. English glovers,
even in those days, excelled in producing the heavier
types of gloves, whereas the French were more successful
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 125
with the lighter and more elegant articles. It was
hoped that by rigorously excluding French -made
gloves, the importation of suitably dressed skins for
the manufacture of the lighter class of goods would
follow as a natural consequence. To this end the
fines imposed on those detected importing foreign
gloves were increased to the point of severity whilst
the goods so seized were sold and the proceeds divided
between the officer making the seizure and the Crown.
Thus during four centuries and more the industry
enjoyed comparative freedom from foreign competition.
Whether the protection thus afforded was an unqualified
advantage in the long run is at least debatable. The
limitation of free competition, whilst it may have
enabled the glovers to pursue their industry without
fear of being driven out of business, had also the effect
of making them somewhat lethargic. When business
could be had for the asking, there were not and could
not be the same incentives to initiative, invention and
progress, as when trade had to be striven for in the
face of keen rivalry. Desirable as it might be that home
industries should be fostered and encouraged, there is a
limit beyond which State protection should not be applied.
It is perhaps difficult to fix an arbitrary limit, but it is
at least beyond serious contention that where protection
is so complete that the industry it is intended to safe-
guard is in danger of being stultified thereby, State aid,
whether direct or indirect, begins to be undesirable.
Artificial economic expedients for the stimulation of
industry need to be applied with considerable intelli-
gence, and it was the absence of an intelligent application
of the old prohibitive laws which rendered them harmful.
In 1826, the British glove trade was confronted with
its first great crisis. Three years earlier Huskisson had
initiated his Free Trade policy which was destined to
128 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
change the whole course of English political economy,
and by the date mentioned the old legislation prohibiting
the entry of foreign- made gloves was finally repealed
and all such wares were admitted, subject only to the
payment of certain ad valorem duties. The effect appears
to have been little short of disastrous, and the unem-
ployment and distress which followed entailed undue
hardships upon the unfortunate glovers. It was to
protest against the evil consequences which the removal
of protection brought in its train that led Mr. William
Hull to write his History of the Glove Trade (published
in 1834). The main portion of that publication is
devoted to the development of an argument in favour
of re-enacting the old prohibitory laws. While we may
now ignore Hull's remarkable and somewhat contro-
versial special pleading, some of the evidence he
adduced to support his case is worthy of citation as
illustrating the disturbance caused by the legislation of
those days.
Thus, in Worcester and its environs (Hull tells
us) there were in 1825 some 30,000 men, women and
children engaged in the trade, and the average produc-
tion of gloves amounted to 12,000 dozen pairs weekly.
Few people were then out of employment. In 1832,
according to a statement issued by a committee of
operative glovers of the town, out of 1,000 men, only 113
were in full employment, whilst 465 were partially
employed, and 422 were out of work. In London, the
industry furnished employment, prior to the removal of
the prohibition, for from 1,500 to 1,700 men, mainly
on making gloves from French kid skins. By 1834
several manufacturers of the metropolis had discontinued
making and had become importers of French made
goods. At Hereford, York and Ludlow the industry
was being driven out of existence. Ludlow, indeed,
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 127
which formerly employed some 900 hands, at the time
Hull was writing could only find employment for 163.
At Yeovil and the other west country centres much the
same experience was recorded.
However, debates in Parliament, and petitions to
Ministers were unavailing ; the government persisted
in their policy, and the industry continued to suffer.
By the early forties, it would seem, the distress had
reached its acutest pitch, and public funds were raised
for the relief of distress. By that time, however,
realising that they must rely upon themselves to dis-
cover the means for their own salvation, the more
resourceful and enterprising manufacturers were con-
centrating their energies upon special lines, and by paying
increased attention to the quality and excellence of their
merchandise they succeeded in building a reputation
which enabled the industry to embark upon more
certain paths of progress.
In 1860, the last vestiges of protection for the home
trade were removed, the small import duties upon
gloves of foreign manufacture being repealed in that
year. But by that time, the British leather glove trade
had established itself again upon a firm and sound
basis. In several respects its position was unassailable,
particularly in regard to the making of men's and the
heavier types of gloves. The withdrawal of the duty
had, therefore, comparatively little effect upon this
branch of the trade, which has since continued to
make steady progress.
To-day the British industry is chiefly centred in the
Worcester and Yeovil districts where gloving has been
carried on for centuries. In addition to this the industry
is scattered in many small hamlets of Somersetshire,
Dorsetshire, Devon and Wiltshire. Gloving is also
carried on to some extent in Oxfordshire, another
128 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
ancient seat of the trade, at Woodstock, and at Abingdon
in Berkshire. London, formerly one of the largest
British centres, now produces but few gloves. The
Parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, was at one time noted for
its glovers, but like the silk weavers of Spitalfields, these
have long since disappeared.
The making of fabric gloves in England is carried on
largely in the same centres where leather gloves are
made ; but during the war small factories have sprung
up all over the country. The making of the fabric
itself, however, is almost entirely confined to the
Nottingham (Ilkeston and Melbourne) and Leicester
districts. Nottingham produces the finer fabrics, and
Leicester the heavier cloths.
At the present time the home industry supports
between 15,000 and 20,000 workers, the majority of
them women, but this number tends to increase with
the development of fabric-glove making. The short-
age of suitable trained labour is not the least of the
difficulties which hamper progress.
Very large quantities of gloves were imported into the
United Kingdom in pre-war days, nearly all coming from
Europe, chiefly from France, Germany, Austria, Italy,
and Belgium. The table shown on the following page
gives the quantities of the Board of Trade returns for
the three years prior to the outbreak of war .
The extent to which the international trade has been
disturbed by the war is shown by the Board of Trade
returns for last year (1919), according to which British
imports of leather gloves only aggregated 243,254 dozen
pairs. The detailed returns showing the origin of these
are not available at the time of writing, but it may be
taken for granted that the majority of the leather
gloves imported last year came from France and smaller
quantities from Italy and the United States. Prior to
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 129
the war, Germany and Austria-Hungary sent us the bulk
of the cheaper classes of gloves sold, whilst France
concentrated upon the higher grades of women's dress
gloves.
PRE-WAR IMPORTS OF LEATHER GLOVES INTO THE
UNITED KINGDOM
(Dozens of Pairs)
1911. 1912. 1913.
France . . 470,686 493,067 466,688
Germany 1 . . 304,160 376,492 343,009
Austria-Hungary . 303,193 304,701 369,886
Belgium . . 222,236 232,745 278,926
Italy . . . 23,316 24,152 . 11,379
Other Foreign
Countries . . 1,707 2,658 3,933
1,325,307 1,433,815 1,473,871
Pre-war, the exports of gloves from Great Britain were
of considerable value. The following figures show the
quantities sent abroad in the three years prior to the
outbreak of war with their destinations
BRITISH PRE-WAR EXPORTS OF LEATHER GLOVES
(Dozens of Pairs]
1911. 1912. 1913.
Germany . . 15,351 17,026 16,291
France . . 29,824 31,276 33,307
United States . 75,402 75,907 67,239
Other Foreign
Countries . . 17,167 17,128 19,277
British Possessions . 64,482 99,100 93,123
202,336 240,437 229,237
It may be added that the total number of leather
gloves exported from Great Britain in 1919 only amounted
to 51,207 dozen pairs.
1 Probably not all these were of German manufacture.
Many gloves made in the Prague district of Bohemia would be
shipped via German ports and would figure in the returns among
the quantities credited to Germany.
130 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
Dealing with fabric gloves, the import figures for the
1911-13 period were
PRE-WAR IMPORTS OF FABRIC GLOVES
(Dozens oj Pairs)
1911. 1912. 1913.
Germany . . 1,819,480 2,051,379 2,511,009
United States . 20,677 24,183 17,162
Belgium . . 1,483 1,021 30
France . 75 60
Other Countries . 3,443 2,849 3,537
1,245,083 2,079,507 2,531,798
The monopolistic character held by the German
fabric glove industry in pre-war years is apparent from
the foregoing table. During the war no German gloves
were imported into this country, and few came in last
year, but they are again beginning to enter the market.
The total number of fabric gloves imported during
1919 amounted to 964,944 dozen pairs. The majority
of these came from Japan, but the imports from that
source have since fallen away considerably.
Pre-war the British exports of fabric gloves were
comparatively small in volume, but even then they
were expanding year by year. Even so, few of these
would be of British manufacture, and should be really
classed as re-exports. The figures were 1911 25,021
dozen pairs ; 191233,034 dozen pairs ; and 1913
65,456 dozen pairs. Last year (1919), however, no fewer
than 129,259 dozen pairs were exported. These
figures represent real and substantial progress which all
who have the interests of the home industry at heart
desire to see continued.
Looking forward, it may be said the British industry
is now entering upon a new stage in its history. The
war has brought many changes, and the years
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 131
immediately ahead are full of possibilities. There is
undoubtedly immense scope for expanding the industry,
and it is to be hoped that the utmost advantage will be
taken of the opportunities for development as they
become available. Fortunately, there is evidence of a
new spirit of enterprise at work in the glove trade which
augurs well for the future. The trade is better organised,
now than in former years, and there is more co-operation
among the various sections of the industry and between
individual manufacturers. These signs are encouraging,
and coupled with a vigorous and progressive policy on
the part of individual makers, aiming at the production
of sound and reliable merchandise, should do much to
promote the healthy development of the trade in the
Kingdom.
The French Trade. The glove industry of France,
like that of Great Britain, is of considerable antiquity.
It is in fact safe to assume that gloving, as an industry,
was flourishing in France by the twelfth century. Records
are extant of a French Company of Glovers reaching
back at least to A.D. 1190. By that time the industry
was administered under a settled code of regulations.
These had for their object (1) the control of the conditions
of manufacture and sale of gloves, (2) the adjustment
of differences between masters, journeymen and
apprentices, and (3) the provision of aid and succour to
old and necessitous members of the craft. So far as
leather gloves are concerned, there can be no doubt that
France stands as the leading seat of the industry. Just
prior to the war some 25,000 workers were employed in
the making of gloves, and the French trade has always
enjoyed a special reputation for the production of high
grade gloves, particularly in the finer qualities of ladies'
hand-wear. Grenoble, the chief centre, is probably the
largest gloving town in the world. The town contains
132 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
over 60 factories and afforded employment in pre-war
days to over 17,000 employees. Several English makers
have factories in the town. Grenoble kid gloves are
famed the world over. Millau is the next French
centre in order of importance and is noted for its choice
lamb skin gloves. Next comes St. Junien and Niort
employing about 2,000 workers, whilst there is also a
good deal of gloving done at Paris and Chaumont. It
is not possible to give any reliable figures bearing upon
the present production of gloves in France, but in 1913,
the output was valued at 120,000,000 francs. France
also manufactured several thousand dozens of fabric
gloves largely from German fabric, be it said in pre-
war days. Fairly large numbers of such gloves are now
being made in the Lyons district from English and
French-made fabrics. The French industry is well
organised, and there are Chambers of manufacturers
at Grenoble and all the big centres. During the war
the industry suffered severely from one cause and
another ; but it is now making good progress, although
the post-war difficulties of supply and labour troubles
common to the trade all over the world are considerable.
Czecho- Slovakia. Formerly, Austria-Hungary pro-
duced immense numbers of leather gloves annually,
many of which found their way (largely via Germany)
into the markets of the United Kingdom, Russia, the
Northern European countries, and also into South
America. A great proportion of the output was repre-
sented by cheap " nappa " gloves. Many thousand
dozen pairs of so-called Mocha and of wash leather
gloves were also exported. The bulk of these, however,
were produced in Bohemia, which under the peace
treaty is now incorporated in the new State of Czecho-
slovakia, which means that Austria loses quite 80 per
cent, of the industry. The chief seat of the Bohemian
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 133
industry was at Prague, where from 850,000 tol, 000,000
dozen pairs used to be produced annually. Production
is now on a much lower scale owing largely to the
shortage of raw materials, labour and other difficulties ;
but the situation at Prague is said to be more promising
than at many other centres of Middle Europe. The
Erz-Gebirge district (now also part of Czecho-Slovakia)
used to produce some 200,000 to 300,000 dozen pairs
annually, but the industry was severely affected during
the war and the output is now much diminished. Moravia
and Silesia (which also must now be included in Czecho-
slovakia) used to yield about 100,000 dozen pairs
annually, but here again, production has decreased
considerably. At Caarden, also, there are a number of
factories mainly producing washable leather gloves.
There again the industry shows little sign of re covering
from the serious set-back caused by the war. In addition
to the shortage of suitable skins, the materials used
for making washable leather have been practically
unobtainable.
The Bavarian Industry. The leather glove industry
of Germany is chiefly carried on in Bavaria, Munich
being the principal centre. In pre-war days large
quantities of cheap but inferior gloves were produced,
the main proportion of them being exported to England,
Russia, Scandinavia and the United States. Cheap
fur gloves were a speciality rabbit and hare- lined
gloves being sent in large quantities to Russia and
Scandinavia. So far as export trade is concerned, the
industry has been practically at a standstill since the
outbreak of war. There is little prospect at present
that production can be resumed on the old scale for some
considerable time to come.
Other Centres. Belgium before the war produced
large quantities of gloves, Brussels being the seat of the
134 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
industry, and one or two British firms had dressing
yards and factories in the neighbourhood. A consider-
able amount of gloving was also carried on formerly
in Luxembourg. Both in Belgium and Luxembourg
progress towards recovery promises to be fairly rapid.
Italy produces considerable numbers of gloves
annually. Naples is the largest centre, but the gloves
produced there are on the whole of the cheaper variety.
Better quality gloves, but in much smaller quantities,
are made at Turin, Milan and Genoa.
Denmark had formerly a prosperous gloving industry
centred at Copenhagen, but not so much has been heard
of it in latter years.
Just as some of the European centres have been almost
crippled by the war, so the American and Canadian
glove industries, in the absence of competition, have
been able to make a great deal of headway. This is
particularly true of the American trade. The industry
there is practically confined t^the States of New York
and Jersey. One town, Gloversville, derived its name
from the industry. America is known throughout the
world for the production of high-class silk gloves, the
making of which is restricted more or less to the State
of New York.
Several British and French firms have in recent years
opened factories in Canada, whilst the establishments
controlled by Canadian glovers have also been con-
siderably extended and added to. A recent report issued
by the Census Bureau at Ottawa for the year 1918,
reveals the extent of the Dominion's progress in this
respect. In 1915 the industry was evidently declining.
At that time the output for the year was valued at
1,877,964 dollars, as compared with 2,995,356 dollars in
1910. In 1918, however, the output is stated to have
totalled 8,307,677 dollars, and even allowing for the higher
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY 135
values obtaining, it is clear that substantial expansion
has taken place.
Taking quantitative figures, over 776,706 dozen pairs
are officially reported to have been manufactured in
Canada during 1918. Of these 516,760 dozen were
leather gloves (other than kid), 7,583 dozen were kid,
whilst cotton gloves accounted for 138,434 dozen,
woollen, 63,505 dozen, and silk,. 50,424 dozen. About
one-half of these were dress or fashion articles, the other
half representing men's and boys' lined and unlined
working gloves. Of the dress gloves rather less than
one-third were women's. The capital invested in the
industry in 1918 is placed at 6,291,269 dollars, which is
exactly ten times the amount invested eight years
previously. Further proof is afforded of the rapid
progress of the Canadian industry by the growing volume
of gloving materials imported. On the other hand the
imports of gloves for 1918-1919 fiscal year declined
64 per cent, in value (notwithstanding the higher
prices ruling) as compared with the last fiscal year
before the outbreak of war. This, of course, was due
largely to the restrictions on exports from Europe.
10 (1463 j) 12 pp.
CHAPTER XIII
BRITISH GLOVE TRADE ORGANISATIONS
ALTHOUGH the old Glovers' Guilds of earlier centuries
are no longer in existence to exercise an influence over
the affairs of the glove trade, there are now several
organisations connected with the industry both on the
employers' and employees' sides. In the first half of
the nineteenth century, in common with the general
spirit of the times, there was little or no attempt at
combination, either on the part of the masters or of
the men. During the critical times through which the
English trade passed, firstly subsequent to the repeal of
the prohibitory import laws in 1826, and again after the
repeal of the import duties in 1860, we hear of sporadic
attempts at combination, but apparently nothing came
of them. In those days, it is necessary to remember,
the actual master glovers, although often men of sub-
stance, frequently lived among their workers, and the
community of interest between employers and employees
was far more apparent than it is to-day. Troublesome
periods were experienced, and differences arose from
time to time, but actual labour disputes were remarkably
few.
In the latter half of last century, however, a new
movement towards combination and organisation
definitely set in. The initial efforts, it is true, were
anything but promising. In the early eighties the
first recorded instance of any real attempt to launch a
glovers' trade union occurred at Worcester. There the
Glovers' Trade Society was formed in 1884. It was a
workers' society and its policy followed the usual lines
136
BRITISH GLOVE TRADE ORGANISATIONS 137
of nineteenth century trade unionism. Contributions
were levied upon the members for a benevolent fund
for the relief of necessitous members in times of sickness
or periods of unemployment due to slack trade. Inter-
mittent employment was the great bugbear of the
industry and, with a view to mitigating this evil, the
society aimed at the restriction of the number of
apprentices to be indentured to the trade, in the hope
that by thus thinning the ranks of recruits, employment
for those already engaged in the industry would be made
more secure. The society was, happily, far too weak to
push so short-sighted a policy to a conclusion. Neither
were the offices of the organisation ever called for in
more serious matters, and there is no recorded instance
of a strike in the trade. Throughout its history the
Glovers' Trade Society, membership of which was
confined strictly to male operatives, received but
inadequate support, and after languishing for some
twenty years it was dissolved in 1904.
In 1917, however, another attempt was made to organ-
ise the workers of the Worcester area, as a result of
which the Worcester Glove and Leather Workers'
Society was formed. This organisation admits female
workers, and boasts probably the largest membership
of any glovers' trade union. During the last two years
special efforts have been made to attract the women
home-workers into membership, and the position of the
Society has been strengthened by affiliation with the
Amalgamated Society of Gas, Municipal and General
Workers.
About six years before the first Worcester Society came
to its untoward end, the operatives in the Yeovil district
succeeded in founding the United Glovers' Mutual Aid
Society. In this case, again, the apathy of the operatives
for a long period prevented any real progress, but since
138 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
the war the membership has been very largely extended,
although it is still confined to male operatives.
Another trade union, the Amalgamated Society of
Glovers, was formed some twenty years ago at Stoke-
under-Ham for male operatives, and now embraces
workers engaged in the industry in North Devon and
Dorsetshire.
Strangely enough the organisation of the women
operatives, who comprise a majority of the workers in
the industry, has been largely left to unions not directly
associated with the gloving industry, and the National
Federation of Women Workers, the Dock Wharf and
Riverside Workers' Union, and the General Workers'
Union each claim a number of gloveresses among their
members.
On the employers' side, there are two important
organisations representative of the leather glove trade :
The Yeovil and District Glove Manufacturers' Associa-
tion, embracing over 30 firms established at Yeovil,
Stoke-under-Ham, Milborne Port, Sherborne, Martock,
Westbury, Taunton and Glastonbury, and the Worcester
and District Glove Manufacturers' Association, embracing
practically all the firms engaged at Worcester, and one
or two drawn from outside that area. In addition to
these there is a North Devon Glove Manufacturers'
Association. In 1919, a new organisation came into
existence embracing practically all makers of fabric
gloves. The National Association of Fabric Glove
Manufacturers of Great Britain, as it is called, has a
membership of about 40 firms representing some 6,000
employees. With it is affiliated the Glove and Warp
Fabric Makers' Association of Ilkeston (near Nottingham),
representing the fabric knitting branch of the trade.
In 1918 an Interim Industrial Reconstruction
Committee for the glove industry was set up on the
BRITISH GLOVE TRADE ORGANISATIONS 139
lines of the recommendations contained in the report
of the Whitley Commission. In this body all the
employers' associations and employees' unions connected
with the industry are represented, and questions relating
to wages, hours and conditions of employment through-
out the industry are referred to the committee for
discussion. So far the relations of employers and workers
have been singularly happy. Disputes have fortunately
been rare, whilst the worst evil strikes has been
conspicuous by its absence. Wage advances during
the last four years have been made representing about
150 per cent, above pre-war figures. Latterly, however,
it has become increasingly apparent that certain fabric
glove manufacturers do not see eye to eye' with the manu-
facturers of leather gloves, nor with those firms producing
both classes of articles. Some of the fabric manu-
facturers contend, possibly with some justice, that the
fabric glove being a cheap article in comparison with the
leather glove, will not admit of the same high standard
of wages as the latter. Recently, the fabric manufac-
turers' association even went so far as to reject (by a
majority vote) a recommendation of the Interim Joint
Industrial Council for a 17 J per cent, increase of wages-.
The decision, however, was not unanimous, and many of
the biggest firms manufacturing fabric gloves decided to
recognise the award made by the Council. It remains
to be seen whether the differences between the two
branches of the industry can be composed, or whether
the policy of the National Association of Fabric Glove
Manufacturers will lead to the disruption of the Interim
Industrial Reconstruction Council, in which case it is
expected the Government would set up a Trade Board
whose orders would have Statutory effect.
This difference of opinion among the manufacturers
exemplifies the need for a closer, or at least a more
JOA (1463 j)
140 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
co-ordinated, organisation throughout the industry.
On the employers' side there are still a number of establish-
ments unrepresented in any association, while sectional
differences and petty jealousies sometimes prevent the
best results accruing from those organisations which do
exist. It must be remembered, however, that organisa-
tion (in the modern sense) is in its infancy in the glove
trade. Possibly the passage of time will show individual
firms that although membership of a corporate body does
sometimes involve the subordination of individual
ideas to the general consensus of opinion, the sacrifices
called for are far outweighed by the security and
benefits which combination alone can confer.
So, too, on the employees' side, the multiplicity of
trade unions connected with the industry the glove
workers in some of them representing but a small
minority of the total membership of the unions does
not make for coherent policy or facilitate smooth
negotiation. Whether the time will come when the
industry will enjoy a single organisation on either side
remains to be seen. Such a development is recognised
as highly desirable by all progressive leaders of the
industry and by many of the more alert organisers
among the workers. The scattered locale of the trade,
and the strong sectional feelings animating each district
and branch, unfortunately militate against the recogni-
tion of that general community of interest which is
essential if the organisation of the industry is to reach
a higher pitch of perfection.
GLOSSARY
Atlas fabric. Fabric which has been knitted in an Atlas
machine.
Bandalette. Another name for the welt or binding sewn
round the wrist of the glove to finish the edge. Sometimes
called a Binding or Welting.
Beaming. The operation of scraping the skins for the removal
of hair.
Boulton thumb. In gloves fitted with Boulton thumbs, the
trank or main part of the glove is cut with a strip projecting
down towards the inner side of the base of the thumb opening.
No quirk is then required and a stronger glove is obtained.
Cape. Originally the name of leather made from Cape sheep
skins. Now applied indiscriminately to sheep and goat skins
tanned by the dipping method and given a glace finish.
Chamois. Originally leather made from the skin of the
Chamois or Swiss mountain goat (now practically extinct). The
term is to-day used for leather made by the " shamoying "
process in which fish-oil is largely used.
Chevrette. Leather produced from young goats.
Degrains. Leather the grain of which has been removed by
the frizing or freizing process.
Doeskin. Formerly deerskin or antelope leather, which is now
becoming exceedingly rare. Sheep-skins finished as " chamois "
leather are now sometimes sold under this name.
Doling. An alternative process to paring, used for thin skins.
Drenching. Skins after liming and puering are immersed in a
mixture of flour or meal and water. Fermentation ensues,
which reduces the skins to a gelatinous condition and facilitates
the reception of tanning ingredients.
Duplex fabric. Is produced by causing two separate fabrics to
adhere together by means of special solutions involving secret
processes.
Fleshers. Sheep-skins are frequently split edgewise, and the
half nearest the flesh of the animal is known as a flesher. These
are used largely for suedes, chamois, and washable gloves.
Fleshing. A mechanical operation for removing particles
of flesh from the skins preparatory to tanning.
Fluffing. Sometimes called " wheeling," is a mechanical
process which is rapidly superseding paring. The skins instead
of being shaved with a knife are ground down on emery or
carborundum wheels.
141
142 GLOVES AND THE GLOVE TRADE
Frizing or Freizing. A method of removing the grain of the
skins used for Mocha, reindeer gloves and other degrains.
Fourchcttes, Forgits or Forks. The six slender slips of leather
used to close the fingers of the glove.
Glace or grain finish. Gloves finished with the outer side
of the skin outwards are said to have a glace or grain finish.
Gussets. Small pieces of leather of diamond shape used at the
junction of the fingers and palm. They are sometimes known as
" piecettes."
Heart (or protector). Stay pieces used under the binding of
the palm.
Kid. The leather made from kid-skins. Lamb-skin leathers,
however, are now often sold as kid.
Lisle. Special fabric knitted from lisle threads made by
spinning yarns from two separate strands spun in opposite
directions.
Milanese. Fabric knitted in a Milanese machine.
Mocha. Actually the skin of the Arabian haired sheep.
Other skins are now tanned and finished by special processes
and sold as Mocha.
Morts. The skins of abortive lambs or kids. Sometimes
known as " slinks."
Overseam. See " Roundseam."
Paring. The process of planing the flesh side of the skin
to a uniform thickness. Formerly entirely a hand operation
it is now largely being displaced by. " wheeling " or " fluffing."
Pique (P. K.) sewing. A lapped-seam stitch, used for medium
weight gloves.
Prix seam (P. R. X. M. or Prick seam). A sewing passing
through the leather, leaving both raw edges exposed. A strong
sewing, if not neat, used for heavy gloves, more particularly
those made for driving.
Points. The decoration on the back of a glove.
Puering. The process by which the skins are softened after
liming, preparatory to tanning.
Quirk. A gusset or gore sometimes used at the base of the
thumb.
Roundseam (Overseam). A sewing for light-weight gloves, in
which the stitching is carried through the leather and over the edges.
Sac wrist. Gloves made without a slit at the wrist opening, a
strip of elastic being usually let into the glove at the wrist in
order to keep the glove in position on the hand
Slinks. Another name for " Morts." The skins of abortive
lambs or kids.
Staking. A hand or machine process for softening harsh dry
skins after they have been dried in stoves.
Strikers. Chemical salts used to fix the dyes for colouring
leather gloves.
GLOSSARY 143
Suede. Is not actually a distinct leather, but is produced
from " flesher " sheep-skins or lamb-skins and finished on the
flesh side by means of a wet emery wheel.
Sueded fabrics. Glove fabrics are sometimes passed through
special machines in order to brush up a nap on the surface of the
cloth to simulate a suede leather effect.
Tambour. A crocheted point.
Tawing. The term applied to the most common method
of tanning glove leather with a mixture of alum, salt, flour and
egg-yolk.
Trank. The name of the sections of finished leather stretched
and cut by the cutters ready to be shaped into gloves.
Warp fabric. Glove fabric is knitted from warps of cotton
or silk, as distinct from weft yarns.
Wheeling. Another name for fluffing, the process which is
superseding " paring."
INDEX
ATLAS Fabric, 104 et seq.
Austria-Hungary, the indus-
try in, 133
BARK tanning, 43
Bavaria, the industry in, 134
Beaming, 35
Beck, S. William, quoted, 7,
10, 12 et seq.
Belgium, the industry in, 120,
134
Brosser point, 74, 75
Brush-dyeing, 50 51
Button holing and sewing, 88
CALIBRES, cutting, 64, 66
Canada, industry in, 135
Capes, 25, 28, 58
Cestus or Coestus, 2
Chamois, 28, 43, 58
- process, 43 et seq.
Clasps, 89
Corded point, 80
Cutting (fabric), 109
- (skins), 60 et seq.
Czecho-Slovakia, industry in,
133
D'ARTOIS, Vallet, 67
D' Israeli, Isaac, quoted, 8
d'Orsay, Count rules for
wearing gloves, 20
Deliming, 37
Denmark, industry in, 135
Depilation, 34
Doeskins, 29, 43
Dogskins, 59
Doling, 55
Domes, 89
Drenching, 37
Drying (stove), 53
Duplex fabric, 107
Dyeing (fabric), 106
(skins), 48 et seq.
Dyewoods, 51
ECONOMICS of the industry.
118 et seq.
Egg yolk, use of, 52
Elizabeth, Queen, gloves of, 15
Ethelred, law of, 4
FABRIC gloves, history, 92, 98
, making, 99-113
Fashion, influence of, 12-22
Fleshers, 29, 43
Fleshing, 36
Fluffing, 56
Fourchettes or forks, 64
France, industry in, 132
Prizing or friezing, 43, 58
Fur gloves, 90
GAZELLE skins, 27
Geographical distribution of
glove making, 118
Germany, industry in, 119
- , monopoly of fabric glove
making, 92, 121
Glace finish, 56
Glove, parts of, 63
, diagrams, 68, 69
, proportions of, 70
- and Warp Fabric Makers'
Association, 139
Glovers' guilds, 5, 125, 137
- Trade Society, 137
Gussets, 64
HAND sewing, 81
Henry VI, gloves of, 14
- VIII, gloves of, 15
History of the glove, 1-7
144
INDEX
145
Hull, William, quoted, 8, 12
et seq.
IMPORTS and exports (statis-
tics,) 130 et seq.
Import prohibitions, 5-6, 126
Interim Industrial Recon-
struction Council, 138
Italy, industry in, 135
JOUVIN, Xavier, 67
Judging gloves, suggestions
for, 116
KASANS, 26
Kid skins, 24
Kohler point, 110
LAMB skins, 25, 26
Lapped seam, 81
Limericks, 25
Liming process, 35
London, Corporation of
Glovers in, 6
MARY, Queen of Scots, gloves
of, 17
Milanese fabric, 104 et seq.
Mocha, 26, 28, 45, 58
- process, 45, 58
Mochas, imitation, 46
NAPPA gloves, 58
National Association of Fabric
Glove Manufacturers, 139
North Devon Glove Manu-
facturers' Association, 139
PARING, 54 et seq.
Paris, Corporation of Glovers
of, 5
- point, 78
Perth, Corporation of Glovers
at, 5
Piqu6 stitch, 81
Pointing, 73 et seq.
Presses, cutting, 64
Prix seam, 81
Puering, 37
QUIRKS, 64
RAISED points, 80
Reindeer skins, 27
Ribbed or beaded points, 80
Ripening the skins, 48
Round seam, 81
SAMMING process, 44
Sewing operations, 72, 109
Shakespeare, gloves of, 19
Sheep skins, 25
Silk gloves, 1 1 1
Skin dressing, 31-47
Skins for leather gloves, 23-30
, average yield of gloves,
59
, variation in size and
character, 62
, construction, 63
Sorting (skins), 48, 59
Soudans, 26
Staking, 40-41, 53
Stocking process (chamois), 44
Strikers, 51
Suede leather, 56
Sueded fabric, 107
Symbolism, 8-12
TAMBOURING, 79, 80
Tanning processes, 38 et seq.
Tawing process, 38
Trade Unions and Organisa-
tions, 137
Tranks, 60, 68, 69
UNHAIRING, 34
United Glovers' Mutual Aid
Society, 138
States, industry in, 135
VICTOR point, 75
WARP knitting, 104
Warping operation, 103
146
INDEX
Washable leather, making of,
45
Washing processes, 32, 49, 50
Weft fabric, 108
Wheeling, 56
Wood, Mrs. Henry, quoted, 52
Woollen gloves, 111
Worcester Glove and Leather
Workers' Society, 138
Worcester and District Glove
Makers' Association, 139
Wykeham, William of, gloves
of, 13
YARNS for fabric gloves, 100
Yeovil and District Glove
Makers' Association, 139
Printed by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., Bath, England
w (1463j)
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
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