levant
In general, a descriptive term applied to a
leather having a characteristic drawn-grain
pattern, originally produced by an astringent
tannage, but now produced by hand or machine BOARDING (1) of
vegetable or semichrome tanned goatskins and
sheepskins, or vegetable tanned sealskin. The
traditional "levant" used in bookbinding is a
vegetable tanned goatskin. When the pattern is
produced by embossing, as it frequently is, it is
called "levant grain." The original levant, which
during the past one hundred years or so was
considered to be the finest of the morocco family,
was always goatskin obtained from the Near East.
In recent years, however, the best levant has been
tanned in the northern and northwestern areas of
Africa and usually finished in France. Today the
great bulk of genuine "levant" goatskin comes from
South Africa and is called "cape levant. See also:
GOATSKIN ;MOROCCO . (61 , 69 )
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