Tanbark

Workers peeling hemlock bark for the tannery in Prattsville, New York, United States

Tanbark is the bark of certain species of trees, traditionally used for tanning hides into leather.[1]

The words "tannin", "tanning", "tan," and "tawny" are derived from the Medieval Latin tannare, "to convert into leather."

Bark mills are horse- or oxen-driven or water-powered edge mills[2] and were used in earlier times to shred the tanbark to derive tannins for the leather industry. A "barker" was a person who stripped bark from trees to supply bark mills.

  1. ^ Pizzi, Antonio (2008), "Tannins: Major Sources, Properties and Applications", Monomers, Polymers and Composites from Renewable Resources, Elsevier, pp. 179–199, doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-045316-3.00008-9, ISBN 9780080453163
  2. ^ "CONTENTdm". cslib.cdmhost.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2018-07-09.