Whittawers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Craftsmen who dress animal hides into white leather by tawing them with alum and salt
2. People whose trade is preparing skins into pale, soft leather using alum rather than tannin
3. Tradespeople who process hides into white leather, a craft once common in old English towns

Etymology: "Whittawers" is the plural of "whittawer," a term for a craftsman who dressed hides into white leather, using alum and salt rather than the tannins that made brown leather. The word belongs to the same family as "whittaw," the older name for that tawed, pale leather itself, and "whittawer" is simply the person who worked it. Its history lies in the trades that once supplied gloves, purses, and fine fittings, where the pale finish was the mark of a particular kind of hide-working.