Object number
51/154
Collection
Description
A donkey is a vice with serrated jaws used in glove making to hold the edges of the leather together when sewing. The jaws are opened and closed by means of a foot petal, and the serrations act as a guide for the needle to ensure regular spacing. This donkey has brass jaws on a turned beech stand. Gloving used to be a thriving village industry carried out by women in their cottages. The material was often sent out from firms in the town and the finished product was returned to them.
Physical description
1 donkey frame: wood (beech); metal (iron, brass)
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘Gloving was, in the past, a thriving village industry, carried out by the women in their cottages. The material was often sent out from firms in the town and the finished product was returned to them. The gloving donkey was used as a vice to hold the material and the glover followed the indentations along the top of the clamp as she stitched the seams. // This specimen was given to Mr. Massingham by Mrs. Haines of Alderton (Worcs.) [Gloucestershire] who was 80 years old then (about 1938). It was old when it came into her possession as a young woman. The stand is made of beech and is beautifully turned. A large metal vice is fastened to the top of the shaft by a large bolt and nut. The jaws are made of brass, toothed to hold the material, and are riveted to the vice. These jaws are opened by a wooden treadle at the base of the shaft, which is connected to the head of the vice by a slender iron rod. The rod hooks on to a lever that forces the jaws apart. The donkey measures 33.25 inches in height, and the brass jaws are 3.5 inches wide. The letters G.W.40 are inscribed on the side of the vice.’, MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/154 // NAME: GLOVE DONKEY // NEG NO.: 35/226 // STORAGE: ', MERL ‘Conservation Record’ – ‘Name: Glove donkey // Date: 3.10.53 // part/whole: repair: Peddle repaired’, MERL miscellaneous note – page 216 of R.A. Salaman's Dictionary of Leather Working Tools
Production date
1800-01-01 - 1824-12-31
Production period
Early-nineteenth century
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_226.tif - High resolution image