Making a trip to the National Archives in the UK

[thrawnformbi]

Hello gents - I've spent the past month or so looking through the available records relating to British leatherworking during both World Wars. I'm a full time leatherworker myself that has trained in France and England and over the years I have developed a deep appreciation for the build quality and design approach of European leatherworking from the early 1900's to the late 50's. There's nothing quite like looking over an R.F.A. marked three draw telescope from 1917 and seeing stitch quality on the leather wrap that rivals the highest end luxury goods available on todays market. The few examples I own actually surpass anything I've seen produced in the high end luxury bag industry that I've worked in for the past decade.

In all honesty, there are very few leatherworkers around today that would be capable of producing work equal to the level of quality found in the majority of British-made wartime goods. Think optical and instrument cases, round tube construction with end caps, etc. Three dimensional case making is a dying art and there are only a dozen or so craftsman in Europe that are doing it well and about half that over here in the states. There are plenty of leatherworkers around that can make gorgeous hand stitched leather goods - but ask them to produce a No. 32 scope cap, and all of a sudden the perfectly slanted saddle stitch becomes an inconsistent line of wobbly linen. The 45 degree angle in which the awl needs to pierce through the end cap and into the side panel is a skillset that requires years of rote muscle memory and most leatherworkers find no need to devote time to such a construction techniques. The moneys in wallets and belts - not backgammon cups.

Apologies if this has been a bit inside baseball and I promise I'm getting to the point.

I'll be in London in the next few weeks to meet with tanneries in Devon and I figured I'd take a detour to the National Archives in Richmond to see if there's any documents relating to war time leatherworking. I'm primarily looking for technical drawings and patterns of the No. 32 scope cap and other case and strap styles delivered to Optical Stores. While meeting with my tannery reps, I'll also be doing some research to see who was providing the hides for these MOD contracts in order to replicate my reproductions as accurately as possible. I know that a majority of British tanners used lend-lease provided American steer hide in their pits but I'm unsure of the specifics beyond that.

If anyone has any scans of documents relating to any of the above I'd be grateful. Also, if anyone has any experience dealing with the National Archives themselves I'd appreciate any tips for while I'm there.

Lastly, if anyone has documents for their own research that they'd like me to pull and photograph while I'm there I'd be more than happy to help in any way.

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