Steve Siegel

Labor Day Sale!
18% Off orders $200 or more.

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Leather Book Binding Supplies - Bookbinding Leather | Expert Steve Siegel Leather uses high-quality bookbinding Leathers offering unique specially engineer leather supplies. Bring your collection to an expert today!

New Arrival! This Vegetable Tanned Book Binding leather comes in multiple colors and is ready to be delivered to you!

Order Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/capra-granulosa/

Capra Granulosa .65-.75 mm - Steve Siegel Produced from same raw stock as SHG. However, skins are shrunk in tanning to provide a natural grainy character which is very attractive. Grain is naturally obtained, no artificial graining techniques to hide grain defects such as plating, embossing, etc . Leather is drum dyed with a light cover coa...

Special Discounts happening now!
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Leather Book Binding Supplies - Bookbinding Leather | Expert Steve Siegel Leather uses high-quality bookbinding Leathers offering unique specially engineer leather supplies. Bring your collection to an expert today!

Smooth Historical Goat is 20% OFF until 7/25!
Shop Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/smooth-historical-goat/

Leather Book Binding Supplies - Bookbinding Leather | Expert Steve Siegel Leather uses high-quality bookbinding Leathers offering unique specially engineer leather supplies. Bring your collection to an expert today!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Read a Review:
I gave the Sulfur-Free Calf a trial run, and as promised, here is my review:

"I just bound a little 16mo as a trial of your Sulfur-Free Calf, and I was very happy with the way it performed. My principle leather of comparison is your marvelous Fair English Calf, and it equals it, or excels, in every metric.
It is an easy leather to manipulate, as far as calf goes. Of course it has more body than goat, but neither is it so stiff that turn-ins and the like are at all difficult.
It takes dye well, although the dye does come off the leather when it is later dampened a little bit more than with the Fair English. The undyed leather has a beautiful tan cast to it which is lovely in and of itself, though it does mean that using lighter colors of dyes, like yellows, will be affected somewhat. However, this natural color means that it is the ideal leather for traditional marbling techniques with copperas, such as treed calf or cat’s paw. This results in beautiful shades of brown, far superior to the blue-grays common with marbling on Fair English.
This leather pares fairly well, with none of the “crunchiness” that you often find in calf of lesser quality, and it did not take the edge off my paring knives as fast as calf usually does.
As far as tooling goes, this leather is a delight to work with. It blind-tools more deeply and darkly than the English calf, and it takes the gold (using traditional egg white glaire) very cleanly and easily. It takes a moderate polish with hot irons, though perhaps not quite as well as the English.
Adding to this the inherent archival properties, this is an all-around superior leather, one I look forward to using again.
I am including some pictures of my trial binding. 16mo (5.5”x3.5”) in red-dyed Sulfur-Free Calf, bound in a 18th Century style with a run-up spine. Both blind and gold (24K with egg white glaire) tooling are on the boards. The binding has been cosmetically aged."

Watch this video to see how this beautiful rebind turned out! We love to hear how our clients use our leather.

https://youtu.be/mtkh-6Ldc1M

REVIEW: AE Bibles – Custom Bible Rebind A closer look at my new custom rebind from AE Bibles. This Cambridge NLT Pitt Minion is better than ever with a Sokoto Goatskin cover and beautiful aesthetic...

Enjoy 10% OFF River Grain Goat!

Buy Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/river-grain-goat/

📷 Snap A Picture & SAVE 📷 Through Thursday, April 15th!

As the weather begins to cool and we greet the long-awaited Spring showers that bring May flowers, we have to ask...Where is YOUR leather?

Post a picture of someone you love with a piece of leather outside to our Facebook thread to receive a SPECIAL one-time coupon code to Save $25.00 off ANY order over $100!

When we mean someone you love we mean anyone with a central nervous system - you, your pet, your grandma, anybody! Have fun with it and we look forward to seeing what you come up with.

HURRY! Shop & save 15% off our black Nigerian skin Sokoto Morocco leather. This is among the most desirable and expensive goatskin available with a grain pattern suitable for the restoration of books and contemporary goods current and prior to the 19th century.

Try the leather that one customer reviewed as a loved favorite of good quality that they will continue purchasing. Shop now! Offer ends April 2nd *Enter LIZ at checkout to redeem!

https://siegelleather.com/product/sokoto-morocco-2/

Sokoto Morocco - Steve Siegel New Leather – Free Swatches This leather is produced from Nigerian skins, among the most desirable and expensive goat skins available world wide. They are not imitations of Nigerian skins. We have developed a new leather – Sokoto Morocco. The first production has been made. All 4 colors are on h...

Our Sulfur Free vegetable-tanned and sustainable leather are manufactured using a tanning and re-tanning process where mineral tannins and sulphited, sulphated or sulphonated components tannins are completely avoided. Shop now: https://siegelleather.com/product/sulfur-free-calf/

Newest samples of SF (Sulfur Free) Vegetable Calf in process. Pickle through. Tomorrow morning start tannage with pyrogallol tannin. This leather should be historically accurate for the chemistry of archival vegetable calf produced prior to 1800. We are the only company to make these tests and production.... sulfur-free vegetable-tanned calfskin. After production, we will conduct more tests against other leathers.

Our Roma Chagreen is remarked as having a superb grain and finish. It is currently available in a wide variety of colors and is a popular option for bookbinders. Shop now: https://siegelleather.com/product/roma-chagreen-vegetable-goat/

This Buffalo Grained Goat Leather comes in Black, British Tan, Forest Green, and Mocha allowing you the opportunity to branch out into a new leather while working within a wonderful color palette.

Try it now: https://siegelleather.com/product/buffalo-grained-goat/

Our Fair Natural Vegetable Tanned Goat is NOW back in stock. Our vegetable tanned goat offers a very soft and fine texture that takes water easily making it ideal for most projects.

Buy Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/fair-natural-goat/

Diving Into "Leather For Libraries"

This book is a wonderful addition to any bookbinders library. "Leather For Libraries" explains the history of sumach tanning in England, provides information on the degradation of the manufacture of leather, and dives into the history of the reform movement. E.W. Hulme writes of the causes of decay in bookbinding leathers. J.G. Parker provides characteristics and values of modern bookbinding leathers. A. Seymour-Jones shares the repairing and binding of books for public libraries and C. Davenport details the specification for the fittings of a small bindery.

Read more here:https://siegelleather.com//wp-content/uploads/2019/09/leather-for-libraries.pdf

We are always thrilled to see our leather in action! Steven Hales sent us his most recent project along with these notes:

"The sulfur-free calf worked out splendidly. It pared easily, exhibited a nice uniform texture, and took dye and gold tooling well. This will be my go-to calfskin in the future."

We would love to have your business as a first-time customer or even a returning patron. Try our Sulfur-Free Calf here: https://bit.ly/3p7cHti

We call this “Historical” because we use techniques in producing this leather that does not involve plating and/or grain manipulation to attain this smooth grain, which is almost calf-like. These production methods require flawless raw stock as virtually every grain flaw is exaggerated with our production techniques. NO OPAQUE FINISHES which hide defects. History has shown that mechanical plating or glazing damages the epidermis of the leather, shortening its lifetime. The grain of the SHG is not enhanced by plating or glazing. Skins are specially picked to be lightweight AND very square for excellent cutting. This goatskin is almost as smooth as calfskin and is very popular with bookbinders.

Buy Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/smooth-historical-goat/

As the only producer of Sulfur Free Vegetable Calf, we are testing other commercially available leathers that are advertised as vegetable-tanned. The leathers which we have tested to date, advertised as vegetable-tanned are not metal-free. One of the leathers, containing aluminum, decomposes quickly when subjected to hydrolysis. Please view our findings in greater detail in our last email. We are told that our vegetable calf is superior to any bookbinding calf, but what do you expect?

Want to try it out?
Of course, free large leather cuttings are available on request. We do EXPECT to get any reaction after testing. Please write to either Mr. Steven Siegel ([email protected]) and/or Eric R. Themmen ([email protected]).

Have You Heard About Our Buffalo Grain Goat? Our Buffalo Grain Goat leather is similar to our previous River Grain Goat but features a beautiful Buffalo Print. Skins are available in the following colors: Black, British Tan, Forest Green, & Mocha. We advise using this leather for similar finding projects than you would with our River Grain Goat.

Buy Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/buffalo-grained-goat/

Wrote an article over a year ago on What is Genuine Morocco. Thought you may find it interesting. It is published here:
https://files.constantcontact.com/9c277d5f001/ec879f47-4feb-4dfa-a68f-ad0d8c78d92a.pdf

Update on Sulfur Free Vegetable Calf Project as of 12 January 2021
(a privately funded project for non-commercial purposes)

Information concerning the R&D outline on the SF Calf project and production started since 1 year in Italy. The original idea for this project came from Mr. Steven Siegel (www.siegelleather.com), 3rd generation of a proud leather merchant family active since 1917, in USA.
A framework was created how to create such leather and with which specifications and characteristics. Literature study followed and definitions were reestablished.
The whole story is based on a simple observation. (Book) leathers from BEFORE 1830 more or less, do have a much longer life span than leather produced after 1830. Now it is also the case that around 1830 – 1850 new kinds leather making and chemicals and modern (fast) techniques were introduced. So, the idea is that these rapid (new) systems do have a negative influence on the longevity of (book) binding leathers.
Goal:
To produce a leather that meets the Archival criteria in terms of appearance, physical and chemical properties.
- Be sulfur free (SF), using a beamhouse system based on hair removal and not destruction
- 100% vegetable (preferable pyrogallic tannins) tanned without usage of any mineral and synthetic tanning agents and no sulphited or sulphated or sulfonated oils
- Meet the organo leptic characteristics including gold lettering with albumen
- Pass the ageing-, and various physical tests
- (Be Archival)
- Be as sustainable as possible

Archival, or a better term, long term durable, defines materials intended for restoration of cultural heritage in public and private archives, libraries and museums. This requires that materials used for restoration should be as close as possible to the original material so that the restoration does not interfere with the physical and visual expression of the original object. In addition, the restoration material should have as long a life as possible and should not accelerate the degradation of the original object.
Publications from renowned people like Betty Haines; Roy Thomson and Dr. René Larsen in relation with the STEP, CRAFT and ENVIRONMENT projects were consulted to check if an unanimous testing regime and goal was agreed up on. Unfortunately no clear agreement or standardization can be found. This indicates it had to be created.
From the literature one can understand that something important happened in leather making between 1830 – 1850 which resulted in a dramatic reduction in the life span of binding leathers. Introduction of modern tanning methods and Na2S and sulfuric acid and the atmospheric conditions (SO2) degenerated leathers at an alarming speed. This in contrast of very much older leathers which still today exist and are not deteriorated (too much).



What has been done so far?
After developing the SF Calf a testing regime was set up and 4 other leathers were collected on purpose since they represent the benchmark in the binding community.
- Quantitative analysis for Organic Sulfur (after solvent extraction on dried leather, sample was concentrated to dryness and then recovered precipitate was oxidized. The result, expressed as sulfur, is obtained by ion chromatography analysis of total sulfates
- (Heavy) Metal analysis – ISO 17072-2:2019 and UNI EN 15987
- Qualitative FT-IR analysis of fatty substance –UNI EN ISO 4048:2008 + "Internal method GC-MS"
- Measurement of tensile strength and percentage elongation - IUP6
- Measurement of tear load – IUP8
- Measurement of distension and strength of grain by the ball burst test – IUP9
- Determination of flex resistance - IUP20
- Tropical test (internal) at 50°C and 90% RH for 20 days. No light source and no gasses (NO2 and SO2)
- Oxidation test at 120°C in a furnace – sample taking after 24; 48 and 96 hrs to determine oxidation T

What has been achieved as results so far? (some tests still continuing)
- Quantitative analysis for Organic Sulfur: Done on SF Calf and 4 other supposedly full veg. tanned leathers promoted as Archival and suitable for restoration and binding.
Sample:
1 0 ppm SF Calf fresh. Calf skin of about 13 – 15 sqrft
2 78.1 ppm Sumac retanned cow calf crust. Size of about 20 sqrft – full hide
3 108.1 ppm Cow side crust. Size of about 20 sqrft
4 < 50 ppm bench mark full veg calf of about 10 sqrft
5 60.0 ppm Baby Calf (Small). Size about 5-6 square feet

We also tested on the presence of (heavy) metals in the leather samples 1 (ours) and 3 (indicated as full veg. tanned calf leather, but made on cow or bull sides) and 4 (indicated as the benchmark full veg. tanned calf leather).
- Sample 1 is officially indicated as being Metal Free under UNI EN 15987 as sum of tanned metals is less or equal to 0.1% (metal mass/total dry weight of leather)
-Sample 3 contains 2,580 ppm Cr which is not a contamination. So, it is not considered Metal Free as the sum of tanned metals is higher or equal to 0.1% (metal mass/total dry weight of leather)
- Sample 4 contains 9,390 ppm Al which is not a contamination. So, it is not considered Metal Free as the sum of tanned metals is higher or equal to 0.1% (metal mass/total dry weight of leather).
These results are somewhat worrying because indicated leathers (3 and 4) are considered – and marketed as such – being THE benchmark products to go for. The information that the leathers are fully vegetable tanned is incorrect.
The physical tests are available in an Exel spreadsheet on request. Ps. Note that tests were made on 1 piece of leather only.

Of course, free large leather cuttings are available on request. . We do hope to get any reaction after testing. Pls. write to either Mr. Steven Siegel ([email protected])and/or Eric R. Themmen ([email protected]).

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Steven Siegel
Owner
Steven Siegel Leather
Winston Salem NC
(336) 293-7624
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In celebration of Steve's birthday today, we ran a special in our email newsletter and have received an AMAZING amount of orders! We are so appreciative of you and your business! Please bear with us while we work to process orders and prepare them for shipping.

Our Sulfur-Free Calf leather can be best described by this review...

"We have had the pleasure of testing a sample skin of Seigel’s new Archival Calf and it was great! It is always a struggle to find a piece of calfskin that is smooth, consistent, thin, and archival. It takes over-dyeing well and tools and thins very nicely. It is a wonderful skin for bookbinding and we look forward to a consistent and steady supply source for this leather."

Buy Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/sulfur-free-calf/

Our Native Tanned Native Dyed (NTNDTM) in traditional Red is only produced in Sokoto Nigeria, using a centuries-old formula.

We have affidavits as evidence from reputable institutions in Sokoto, Nigeria that verified this leather as Native Tanned Natural and to most likely be the same formula that was used over 200 years ago.

Buy Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/ntnd-traditional-red/

Whether you're looking for high-quality leather for a client or a personal project, we are here to share great leathers at an affordable price. Our Burgundy Vegetable Goat Panels are pre-cut at 11 x 17" each and are available for $45/3 pieces at a thickness of 0.6 mm.

Customer Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Thank you guys so much for the quality materials and the fast and friendly service! This was my first Bible rebind with hubs and your quality goatskin was a joy to work with!" - Tony, Siegel Leather Customer

Buy Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/burgundy-goat-panels-11-x-17/

We love to see the beautiful projects created with Siegel Leather!

These came to us from Cody H. at Crossroads Leather Co.

Ready to make your next great project? Shop our site today: https://siegelleather.com/

This leather is produced from Nigerian skins, among the most desirable and expensive goat skins available worldwide. They are not imitations of Nigerian skins. We have developed a new leather – Sokoto Morocco. The first production has been made. All 4 colors are on hand for immediate delivery: Red, Blue, Green, Black .The crust is archival Sokoto Natural, uncolored. (We call this archival based on archaeological and literature evidence) Except for our NTNTD, the crust (as tanned leather) is shipped to the EU for processing and coloring. No pigments are use in finishing. The lab samples were very well received. One evaluator, said that this was the nicest leather that had been available for 18 years. This leather is made on Nigerian Skins which have a grain pattern suitable for restoration of books prior to the 19th century.Our three products, produced by our partnership, Chemist LLC, Sokoto Morocco, Sokoto Traditional and NTND are all produced in cooperatives in Sokoto, Nigeria. From every production which we make, we set aside funds to be donated to local charities. Production of this leather also ensures humanistic and encironmental sustainabliity, which is very RARE in the production of leather. All of these leathers use natural biologicals in their production to the crust. These are genuine Sokoto skins. There is a confusion in the industry with skins produced from Indian goats, where the grain has been "manipulated" (embossed) to produce an imitation. If you are looking for an imitation of Nigerain skins you will have to purchase elsewhere.

The leather was introduced at the SOB show in Bath, UK. A skin put up for auction to benefit the SOB, sold at the highest price for all auctioned leathers according to my source.
Steven Siegel
[email protected] couple of initial evaluations from established bookbinders follow:
"It absorbs water immediately. ... it is very moldable when covering ..looks like it will blind tool with some enthusiasm"
"Well suited for 'both' bindings taking blind and gold tooling crisply..took moisture evenly...thanks for all you do!"

Now introducing our new Medical Leather!

In the mid-1960’s we developed this leather to emulate human skin for testing biomedical devices and is currently being used across the globe by publicly-traded medical corporations. This is the first time that we are offering this leather to the general public.

Shop Now: https://siegelleather.com/product/medical-leather/