Tawing

Description

An old English name for an alum process used to preserve hides or skins. Tawing uses Potash alum, salts, and other materials such as eggs and flour to make a soft, flexible, stretchy skin that is usually white in color. Tawed skins are susceptible to degradation when wet.

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

• American Leather Chemists Association Glossary at www.leatherchemists.org