Conservation of Leather, Skin and Related Materials

This second edition of Conservation of Leather, Skin and Related Materials draws upon the expertise of a diverse group of interdisciplinary contributors from across the globe to provide a well-rounded analysis of leather in its entirety.

The original edition has had enduring impact since its publication, remaining the authoritative text on leather conservation. This second edition avoids a prescriptive approach to the subject, instead providing conservators with the tools needed to identify requirements within their specific contexts and including a wide range of case studies from around the globe. The breadth of new material and topics addressed in this volume, along with the deliberate inclusion of skin in the title, represents both the expansion and reassessment of the discipline. In the decades between the publication of the first edition and this second edition, developments in research coupled with evolving ethical approaches have further clarified the diverse and far-reaching significance of the material category, positioning it within a broad, global context and highlighting the diversity and cultural nuance inherent to leather, skin and membrane-based materials.

Conservation of Leather, Skin and Related Materials is essential reading for conservators, curators and collections care staff. It is also of great interest to academics and students, particularly those engaged in the study of object conservation and book and paper conservation.

Arianne Panton, ACR, is an accredited conservator specialising in leather, skin, and related materials, and Manager of Conservation and Research at the Leather Conservation Centre. She holds MSc and MA degrees in conservation from University College London (UCL) and her research focuses on modern, heavily finished twentieth-century leathers.

Rosie Bolton is Head of Centre at the Leather Conservation Centre (LCC), Leicester, UK. She is a conservator of leather and related materials, specialising in the material category during an ICON internship at the LCC. Research interests include historic manufacturing processes, reflection of cultural context in treatment and conservation pedagogy.