Samson Family Cordwaining
The Leather Jack - A Brief History
The leather jack has a long and checkered history, not unlike the history of those who used them. It is not clear when the Jack or tankard was first used, but they have been found dating back to the eleventh century. The Jack is a most convenient means of hiking a cool beverage to your mouth, because being made of leather, it will not shatter like glass, dent like tin or pewter, or dry out and crack like wood. Yet, they were firm enough to be of assistance for a clout, cuff or buffet in a barroom brawl.
Jacks were so-called because of the French, during the Napoleonic Wars, saw the British drinking from these large leather containers and thought they were drinking from their Jack Boots. Of course, they weren’t. Such tankards were called Blackjacks because they were dyed black as shoes. Tankards came in all sizes, with all sorts of marvelous names like fiskin and furkin and bombard and gill cup, although, such names may have been arbitrary and not scientific in their distinctions.
Jacks and tankards were made by Cordwainers, or shoemakers, who constructed them when they didn't have any “bespoke” orders for shoes. The materials of the tankard are the same as those found in a pair of shoes. The body of the Jack is made of sole leather stitched at the handle through four thicknesses using an awl and a boars bristle and then flaxen thread waxed with beeswax. The bottom is of leather or sometimes poplar, wood used in heels. The dye is shoe dye, and the finish, is applied as one would shine one’s shoes. The lining is all natural beeswax, melted down once, strained then lined in a rotation motion until the thickness is just right.
The leather jack has a long and checkered history, not unlike the history of those who used them. It is not clear when the Jack or tankard was first used, but they have been found dating back to the eleventh century. The Jack is a most convenient means of hiking a cool beverage to your mouth, because being made of leather, it will not shatter like glass, dent like tin or pewter, or dry out and crack like wood. Yet, they were firm enough to be of assistance for a clout, cuff or buffet in a barroom brawl.
Jacks were so-called because of the French, during the Napoleonic Wars, saw the British drinking from these large leather containers and thought they were drinking from their Jack Boots. Of course, they weren’t. Such tankards were called Blackjacks because they were dyed black as shoes. Tankards came in all sizes, with all sorts of marvelous names like fiskin and furkin and bombard and gill cup, although, such names may have been arbitrary and not scientific in their distinctions.
Jacks and tankards were made by Cordwainers, or shoemakers, who constructed them when they didn't have any “bespoke” orders for shoes. The materials of the tankard are the same as those found in a pair of shoes. The body of the Jack is made of sole leather stitched at the handle through four thicknesses using an awl and a boars bristle and then flaxen thread waxed with beeswax. The bottom is of leather or sometimes poplar, wood used in heels. The dye is shoe dye, and the finish, is applied as one would shine one’s shoes. The lining is all natural beeswax, melted down once, strained then lined in a rotation motion until the thickness is just right.
