Patent leather

Patent leather is a type of coated leather that has a very glossy, shiny finish. The coating process was brought to the United States and improved by inventor Seth Boyden of Newark, New Jersey in 1818, with commercial manufacture beginning September 20, 1819. Boyden's process, which he did not patent, used a linseed oil–based lacquer coating. Modern patent leather usually has a plastic coating.

History

In general, patent leather begins as a superior grade of fine grain leather that undergoes a process to achieve the glossy look. A member from the Baudry/Boudrie from Brussels Belgium invented patent leather in the late 1700s. An early reference to patent leather is in the 1793 British periodical, The Bee, or Literary Weekly Intelligencer, which notes—in an article entitled "Hand's patent leather"—that "a gentleman of the name of Hand" in Birmingham, England obtained a patent for preparing flexible leather having a glaze and polish that renders it impervious to water and need only be wiped with a sponge to restore it to its original luster. In November 1799, inventor Edmund Prior of Holborn, London, England received a patent for a method of painting and colouring all kinds of leather, and in January 1805, inventor Charles Mollersten of Hackney Wick received a patent for applying a chemical composition in the preparation of hides, skins, and leather to give "a beautiful gloss." However, patent leather primarily owes its popularity to Seth Boyden.