Medieval and Post-Medieval

Leather Stamps in Wood, Bone and Metal

Henry Foster (mka Noel Dyer)

Stamping as a decorative technique for leather items was popular throughout the Middle
Ages and, as evidenced by extant finds, reached its peak between the 13th Century and early 15th
Century. While stamped designs appear on a wide variety of leather items, extant knife sheaths in
particular provide a wealth of stamp examples. This project will explore the practical aspects of
manufacture of leather stamps using wood, bone and metal, and how these materials differ in use.

Extant examples of the stamp themselves are rare. The Portable Antiquities Scheme in the
United Kingdom contains a number of medieval to post-medieval examples. WAW-A96655,
SWYOR-B518A3, SWYOR-B53DF6, BH-1C77E4, and SUSS-01D624 are all copper alloy cast
stamps with their design cast in relief. While the PAS categorizes these as leather stamps,
WAW-A96655 is specifically classed as a book binders stamp.

WAW-A96655, 2011

The form of WAW-A96655 and SWYOR-B518A3, SWYOR-B53DF6 are so similar that it

can be concluded that they are built for the same purpose.

SWYOR-B518A3 SWYOR-B53DF6

Though it may be impossible to determine the specific use of these stamps, the form of
WAW-A96655, SWYOR-B518A3, SWYOR-B53DF6 (long shafted and tanged for mounting to a
wooden handle) all closely match the form of modern brass blind stamping book binder stamps.
While these are indeed intended for use on leather, the technique of blind stamping (firmly
pressing heated stamps into the surface of the leather) differs from traditional hammered wet
stamping. For the most part, blind stamping is confined to decorating book covers and possibly
other very high value leather items and will be disregarded for the purposes of this project.
BH-1C77E4, and SUSS-01D624, are dated later in the post-medieval period and are significantly
more detailed in their design. The PAS suggests that these may have been used for stamping
other materials (cloth, paper, or wax) instead of, or in addition to, leather. In contrast to the
previous stamps, LIN-6C7948 differs in form in that its design is carved into the face of the stamp
and is of a much simpler design.

BH-1C77E4, 2011 SUSS-01D624

The shaft if the stamp appears not to be intended to be mounted in a handle. This form is
easily achievable without the trouble and expense of casting. A final copper alloy stamp listed in
the PAS, NMS-369EB4, can be viewed as an exception and is classified as a potters stamp.
Although it has a tang for mounting to a handle, the PAS quite rightly notes that the depth of its
design and the bluntness of the relief make it unsuitable for use on leather. In addition, its design is
commonly found on 5th to 6th Century Anglo-Saxon pottery.

NMS-369EB4 (2011)

To the knowledge of the author, no leather stamps of wood or bone have been found. This
is likely due to the difficulty in finding intact organic materials from the period. Some antler
Anglo-Saxon pottery stamps have been found (LEIC-B7B493 (2004), NMS-369EB4, and others)
but, again, these are not suitable for use on leather and are excluded from this work. Despite the
lack of wood or bone leather stamp finds, the existence of bone and antler pottery stamps
suggests that bone, antler (and possibly wood) are plausible, readily available alternatives to
metal.

LEIC-B7B493 (2004)
 Using Knives and Scabbards (???) as a style guide, the author has created a number of
stamps in an effort to explore the practical aspects of stamp creation and use.

Cowgill, J., Museum of London, de Neergaard, M., and Griffiths, N. (2008), pg 44

Construction

Hard maple wood and prepared buffalo bone stamps were carved using a set of micro
chisels, a pin vice with micro drill bits, and files or various sizes. Both materials proved easy to
carve. The wood was more difficult to achieve fine detail due to the wood grain and tearout issues
(especially at smaller scales), whereas the bones consistent texture allowed for more more tightly
packed detail. Two wood stamps and many bone stamps were produced and tested. The wood
and bone stamps were easy and a pleasure to make, and took about 15 minutes each.

The two metal stamps were created using files, a pin vice with micro drill bits, and a small
tool-steel chisel. In general the metal stamps were much more difficult to make. The linework on
the brass stamp was made by dragging, and lightly hammering the chisel into the face of the
stamp. At this scale it was difficult to control the position and depth of the lines, which resulted in a
messy and shallow design. The second brass stamp, was easier due to the much simpler all-pip
stamp design. Simple lines, pips and shapes can be sawn, drilled or filed into the stamp face.
Implementation

While all of the stamps produced clear impressions at first, repeated strikes proved too
much for the wood stamp. After as few as 15 to 20 strikes, the wood stamps edges began to round
and the impressions began to lose definition. This may be due in part to absorption of moisture
from the wet leather and could be lessened by treating the wood with an oil or wax finish. In
addition, the period wood of choice for hardness and impact resistance was boxwood and was not
readily available to the author. These options were not pursued further because of the resounding
success of the bone stamps.
The bone stamps continue to produce clear impressions after as many as 50 to 200 strikes.
One of the bone stamps catastrophically failed when one corner sheared off during a strike. This
was likely due to the way the first few bone stamps were cut. Initially the stamps were cut back
perpendicular to the stamp face, thus, reducing the mass of structural support behind the stamp
face. After this incident, the stamps were cut back at an angle away from the face, thus, improving
support.
The metal stamps continue to produce clear impressions after as many as 50 to 100
strikes.

Conclusion

Based on the success of the wood and bone stamps it seems reasonable to conclude that
moderately detailed period stamps could well have been made from these materials, while the
difficulty in carving metal stamps suggests that they would have been limited to very simple
geometric designs. Due to the limited ability for wood and bone to hold very fine details, highly
intricate stamps may have been only available through the use of cast metal stamps. The great
amount of time, talent and resources required to produce cast stamps suggest that the vast
majority consumer level leather work would have been produced with wood or bone stamps.
For this author, the bone stamps were the easiest and most reliable of the options tested. In
the future, the author will test the practicality of using boxwood as a stamp material and compare
the results to the bone and hard maple tests.

References

Cowgill, J., Museum of London, de Neergaard, M., and Griffiths, N. (2008). Knives and Scabbards
Volume 1 of Medieval Finds From Excavations in London, Museum of London. Boydell & Brewer.

BH-1C77E4, (2011). STAMP, Portable Antiquities Scheme, retrieved on 22 November, 2016 from
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/253940

LEIC-B7B493, (2004). Potters STAMP, Portable Antiquities Scheme, retrieved on 22 November,

2016 from https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/80847

NMS-369EB4, (2011). Potters STAMP, Portable Antiquities Scheme, retrieved on 22 November,

2016 from https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/282335

SUSS-01D624, (2011). STAMP, Portable Antiquities Scheme, retrieved on 22 November, 2016

from https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/236731
SWYOR-B518A3, (2011). LEATHER STAMP, Portable Antiquities Scheme, retrieved on 22
November, 2016 from https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/435313

SWYOR-B53DF6, (2011). LEATHER STAMP, Portable Antiquities Scheme, retrieved on 22

November, 2016 from https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/435314

WAW-A96655, (2011). TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT, Portable Antiquities Scheme, retrieved on 22

November, 2016 from https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/257438
Appendix A - Images of Extant Stamps

BH-1C77E4 (2011)

LEIC-B7B493 (2013)

NMS-369EB4 (2011)
SUSS-01D624, (2011)

SWYOR-B518A3 (2011)
SWYOR-B53DF6 (2011)

WAW-A96655 (2011)
 Appendix B - Reproduction Stamps

Ermine Spot (bone) Ermine Spot (brass) Ermine Spot (hard maple)

Fleur (bone) Leaf (bone) 5-pip Seeder (bone)

Heraldic Trillium (bone) Quatrefoil (brass) 1-pip Seeder (bone)