A
romanticist since childhood,
I devoured every historical novel
about seafaring that I could
find. Having always read in tales
about the "sailors drinking from
their leather jacks," in 1983
I started researching and experimenting
with them.
As
a result, since then we have
been selling our mugs around
the country as Ye
Dragon and Unicorn,
in renaissance faires, colonial
festivals and catalogues.
Our
leather mugs are indeed an authentic
bit of history. From Neolithic
Britain to the American Industrial
Revolution of the 1840's, leather
cups were the "Tupperware" of
the age. In archaic English,
'jacked' meant boiled, and leather
jacks were leather cups boiled
in pitch. British sailors were
known as Jolly Tars or Jack Tars.
Their cups, on shipboard and
in public houses, were these
tarred leather cups. They were
practical, for leather was constantly
available in those days before
refrigeration and plastics, and
tar was used for everything from
the roof to oakum to the cow
to medicines. Such mugs were
durable, cheap to manufacture
and too light to be fatal in
brawls (an important consideration).
Presumably, one grew accustomed
to the tarry taste, and no one
lived long enough to die from
any cancer associated with the
tar.
We
make our modern reproductions
from safe vegetable tanned leather,
softwoods, and pure canning paraffin,
such as Grandmother used when
preserving jams and jellies.
Intended for wine and ale, they
work well for all cold drinks.
Impervious to alcohol , mild
acids, and soap, they are not,
however, suited for hot coffee
and tea, microwaves or dishwashers!
Due
to age and attrition, we are
the last full-time muggers in
the country.
Bill
and Sandy (his long suffering
wife) Cantieri
