Walrus leather

Pacific Walrus odobenus rosmarus

Description

Leather produced from any fur bearing swimming mammal such as the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), Pacific walrus (Odobenus abesus), sea lion (Zalophus caliifornianus) or Seal (Callorhinus alascanus). All are called walrus leather because, once processed, the skins are difficult to distinguish. Walrus hides are thick, tough, and smooth. Due to the scarcity of the animals at the end of the 20th century, most commercial walrus leathers were imitations made from embossed and grained sheepskins, goatskins, or cowhides.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus); Pacific walrus (Odobenus abesus); sea lion (Zalophus caliifornianus); seal (Callorhinus alascanus); walrus hides; pele de morsa curtida (Port.)

Resources and Citations

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• Edward Reich, Carlton J. Siegler, Consumer Goods: How to Know and Use Them, American Book Company, New York City, 1937

• Website address 1 Comment: American Leather Chemists Association Glossary at www.leatherchemists.org

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 857

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997