Old time finishes and dyes?

[Mungo]

I have just finished tooling a picture frame mat. The frame is a dark antique looking frame, and I'm thinking of just using neatsfoot oil to finish the mat. Maybe letting it darken some in the sunlight for a more "olden" look. What did leather crafters use, say, a hundred years ago to dye and finish their products?

[fredk]

100 years ago: chemical dyes were available, so was bees' wax and neetsfoot oil

150 years ago: the same

200 years ago: mostly natural dyes, eg reds/orange/yellow from saffron, blacks from walnut shells. Some chemical dyes starting to be made

[DrmCa]

Alder cones and bark give a very beautiful orange tan to hides.

[Alexis1234]

I have a 1875 book on harness making that gives recipes, but its mostly for black.

[mikesc]

The "Henry Ford Book of Harness" ?   ;-)

Broom ( the plant that was used to make brooms from ) will give a nice golden yellow, on if used to dye leather, or textiles such as cotton or woollen items ( on wool you may need to "strip" the oils first in order to get it to "take"..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broom_(plant)

Same page on "Jimbo's Book" will also link to woad ( which can get you blue ) and and other natural vegetable colours..and Turmeric ( here its called Curcuma ) will get you a very intense yellow..Henna will also work to colour leather..Henna's vary from bright red, auburn through to deep rich brown and black

 

There are many more..( especially for blacks and browns and "purple-ish" colours such as vinegaroon ..lots about vinegaroon here on Leatherworker.net etc ) but those should get you started..

HTH    :-)

Edited January 8, 2018 by mikesc

[Mungo]

There's a walnut tree near me. Think I'll go collect some shells after deer season. Thanks.