The 18th-century French leather industry was a strategically important manufacturing sector, one vital to both civilian and military life. This study examines the production of leather in the Bordeaux trades during the 18th and 19th centuries, illuminating the realities of a craft economy and its relation to the wider French political economy.

The 18th-century French leather industry was a strategically important manufacturing sector, one vital to both civilian and military life. This study examines the production of leather in the Bordeaux trades during the 18th and 19th centuries, illuminating the realities of a craft economy and its relation to the wider French political economy.