Glove Books in my library (not in alphabetical order) with a review:
'Love of a Glove' by C. Cody Collins was my first book with historic information about the glove. I owned this before all the others. Published in 1945 she too, references Beck and Hull and duplicates information in their books. She also mentions Redfern and Planche, two more notable Glove historians from 17th century. She elaborates on the construction of the glove and tools used. There are extensive chapters describing leather tanning and dying. The bibliography in the back of the book was helpful in finding more books on the topic. I confess, this book influenced the name I created and used for the glove class I taught over the years, and still use, 'Glove Affair; Making Gloves'
'Gloves: Their Annals and Associations' by William S. Beck. William Beck was a noted authority on the topic of gloves in the latter part of the 19th century. This book is a good source for the culture, symbolism and overall history of the glove. He is biased toward English glovers, though, so you won't find out much information on the French glovers.
'Ciba Review: Gloves' is a periodical from 1947. A good little 38 page booklet full of medieval glove information with a few more tidbits not found in other books.
'Gloves and the Glove Trade', by Eldred Ellis is much like Becks glove book. He covers the same info mentioned in previous book reviews. He does elaborate on the tanning and dying practices. Late period methods of cutting and handling are also reviewed. Ellis along with Beck and Hull are the notables for early glove information.
'The History of the Glove Trade', by William Hull focuses on the war of commerce between England and France in his book. There is interesting information that explains the impact to a populace on a single item. He too, also speaks of the customs, symbology and history of the glove, only he breaks it down differently than William Beck. Hull's footnotes are as informative as the body of information. Most of the history he writes about relating to commerce for Gloves, is in and around the 19th century, though.
'Gloves, Past and Present' is written by an American author, Willard Smith. I truly enjoyed reading this little book, though little, was packed with good information. Published in 1917, Willard references Beck and Hull in his context since they were authorities on the subject previous to this publication. The difference from the first two books I spoke of is this book has much information on the French contribution to the medieval and Elizabethan glove, especially the leather used. I found out much about Annanoy, Milleau and especially, Grenoble
‘Gloves' by Valerie Cummings was published in 1988, a year after I started researching period gloves. It was the first book to show color pictures of very late period gloves. Thus, the downside of this book. It covers the 17th century forward. There is nothing about early period gloves within. The info she does have fed my desire to find more info, which I did.
'Royal and Historic Gloves and Shoes' by W.B. Redfern is a 2003 reprint of his book from 1904. Inside he captures black and white pictures of Gloves from the 16th and 17th centuries. Each glove has a detailed written description and history. The cover, front and back, show a color version of a chosen few. The publisher, Lacis, did a good job of reprinting the information
'Hand in Glove' by Bill Severn was published in 1965. Most of the information on the history, symbolisms and customs of gloves is redundant, again, Beck, Hull, Ellis, noted authors previously mentioned were noted. What value I found in this book was his information of how Gloves got started in the colonies during the 16th and 17th centuries. He speaks of the history of Gloversville, NY. His book review on a glove trade magazine and bibliography were helpful in expanding my pool of information on gloves.
"Glovemaking in West Oxfordshire', by N.L. Leyland and J.E. Troughton. Museum publication #4. I bought this little pamphlet my second trip to England when researching the period glove. Written in 1974 It is focused strictly on the English city of West Oxfordshire and the glove industry that put them on the map. It's full of leather processing information. I enjoyed the section on how Gloves were constructed. Of course, Beck's book was referenced for the source material and is in the bibliography in the back of the book. It also has a good glossary of terms.
'Glove Making, The Art & The Craft', by Gwen Emlyn-Jones is my favorite 'how-to' book. Even though the techniques, patterns and gloves are all based upon modern processes for modern gloves, I like how she has organized her book. The first two chapters are a summary of information taken from the books of Beck, Hull and Ellis.
'How to Make Gloves' by Eunice Close was gifted to me by Mistress Morwenna Trevethan. This book was published in 1950 and is strictly a 'how-to' book. The techniques and processes are all about making modern gloves. They are very similar to the other two 'how to' books I have. If you don't know how to sew at all, these books would help you. I have developed my own processes and techniques over the years focused on how a period glove is constructed. I value all the books in my collection and am grateful to Mistress Morwenna for this little book
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'Hand in Hand' is written in Dutch, but it is a fantastic book. In the back they have a catalog of all the gloves, mittens and three fingered gloves found in archeological digs around Denmark.
'Hand in Hand' is written in Dutch, but it is a fantastic book. In the back they have a catalog of all the gloves, mittens and three fingered gloves found in archeological digs around Denmark.