The organization and output of the ‘controlled English leather economy’, 1711–1830

Abstract

This article examines, in detail, the organization and regulation of the English leather economy during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, looking at the total output as outlined in the excise records pertaining to the three key leather outputs: leathers tanned, tawed and dressed in oil. This research aims to identify and review what this article terms the ‘controlled leather economy’, a period defined by extensive government control and restrictions, and one in which growth and technological developments were greatly inhibited.