Robert Newman tankard

Leather tankard, known as a black jack, decorated with floral stamps on the body and a silver mount on the rim. There is an inscription on the silver mount: 'Robert Newman at ye Cock in Bow Lane', which shows this tankard was used at the Cock tavern on Bow Lane, off Cheapside in the City of London. Thousands of leather vessels were made in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries but they rarely survive. Leather was an ideal material to make drinking and serving vessels as it was light, strong, waterproof, and wouldn't shatter when dropped. Leather vessels were made by boiling the leather in water and then pressing it around a mould to create the desired shape. Once dry, the leather would keep its new shape. The vessel was then stitched together with thread (sometimes the thread was soaked in wax or animal fat to make it waterproof). The inside of the vessel was often further waterproofed with a layer of pitch, though if the vessel was made well enough the leather would have been waterproof on its own.