Horween 1940s Calfskin: The Story of Timber Tanned Calf

Horween's 1940s calfskin is one of the rarest leathers still in circulation. It is a fully vegetable tanned calf that Horween Leather Company of Chicago sold as Timber Tanned Calf, made from a family formula that has since been lost. What survives is a small stack of skins that sat at the tannery for more than 75 years. No more will ever be made. This post brings together everything I've been able to learn about it: where it came from, why it can't be made again, how it looks and feels, how it ages, and what to expect from a wallet made from it.

Horween 1940s Calfskin at a Glance

• Tannery: Horween Leather Company, Chicago, Illinois (founded 1905)
• Original name: Timber Tanned Calf. Horween's 1949 sales literature also called it Timber Tanned "Woodland" leather.
• Era: first tanned around 1940. A production tag that survived with the stock is dated November 1949.
• Tannage: full vegetable (tree bark) tannage, made as a traditional dress calf
• Formula: developed by Ralph Horween of the founding family. It was never recorded in a form that survived, and Horween has not been able to reproduce it.
• Original colors: natural (blonde), an orange "sunburst," black, and a later burgundy. Only the natural remains.
• Grain: very tight, flat and fine, with natural fat wrinkles in some skins
• Weight and feel: thin, light and dry in the hand, with far less oil than modern Horween leathers
• Availability: finite. Once the last skins are used, it's gone for good.

A Short History of Horween Leather Company

Isadore Horween founded the company in Chicago in 1905, and in 1920 it moved to its current home on North Elston Avenue, along the Chicago River. The Horween family still runs it today. Chicago once had dozens of tanneries; Horween is the last one standing. The tannery is best known for Chromexcel, shell cordovan, and the leather used for NFL footballs, which it has supplied since 1941. In the 1940s Horween also made dress calfskins, and one of them was Timber Tanned Calf.

Where Horween 1940s Calfskin Came From

According to Nick Horween, speaking on the Full Grain Podcast with Phil Kalas of Ashland Leather, the tannage was developed by Ralph Horween, the brother of Nick's great-grandfather. Ralph was a capable leather maker who came in and out of the family business over the years. However it happened, his process wasn't kept. Even the old marketing never named which tree barks went into the tannage, so the tannery has no recipe to work back from.

The leather that survives exists almost by accident. These skins were pulled from regular production at the time because they didn't meet the standard for shipping, usually because of wrinkles or other cosmetic marks. Instead of being sold, they were set aside and stored at the tannery. One bundle still carries its original yellow production tag, dated November 1949, and Horween also kept a stack of the original sales pamphlets, wrapped in brown wax paper. By today's standards, Nick describes these old "rejects" as some of the nicest calfskin you could hope to find.

The Timber Tanned name may have outlived the 1940s run. One leather goods maker has released Horween calfskin it dates to about 1960, sold under an "It's Timber Tanned" mark through a New York distributor. Horween also holds a trademark on the name TIMBER-TANNED for leather.

What Horween Said About Timber Tanned Leather in 1949

Horween's own 1949 literature for its Timber Tanned "Woodland" leather, pictured in a 2024 Heddels feature, made several specific claims for the tannage:

• a grain that was smooth, strong and flat
• a soft, mellow feel that was still full-bodied
• stability: the leather was said not to expand or contract with changes in temperature and humidity
• breathability that let perspiration evaporate
• special fat liquors and dyes that helped shed water in ordinary wet weather

Those were claims for brand-new leather in 1949. They tell you what Horween was aiming for with the tannage, not how leather that is now more than 75 years old will perform.

Why Horween Can't Make It Again

Horween has tried more than once. As Nick has explained, the problem goes well beyond a missing recipe:

• The raw material is gone. The calfskins of the 1940s were smaller, thinner and cleaner. The calves processed today are generally older and larger, so their skins have more wrinkles and a coarser grain. Skins like these aren't available from the tannery's normal sources.
• The ingredients have changed. Tree bark extracts that once came as resins now often come as powders, and suppliers change how they make things over time. Small differences across every ingredient add up quickly.
• A lab test can't recover a process. Analyzing a scrap would list some of what is in the leather, but not the steps, timing, equipment, hand work, or even the Chicago water that went into it.
• Close isn't the same. A trial run on a chrome base came out nice, but it wasn't the same leather, and chrome tanned calf doesn't age the way a vegetable tanned calf does.

In 2024, Nick estimated that only around 50 of these skins remained at the tannery, and that what was left was best suited to small goods like wallets.

How 1940s Calfskin Looks and Feels

The natural color is a light caramel or honey tan with a hint of orange. It sits close to natural vegetable tanned leather, but with more depth, the kind that comes from decades of rest. The grain is extremely fine and flat, and when the leather is flexed the break is as tight as calfskin gets.

Some skins carry fat wrinkles across the neck and shoulder. Cut carefully, those wrinkles can be mirrored across the backbone, much like a book-matched guitar top, and they're part of what makes each piece one of a kind.

In the hand it is thin, light and noticeably dry compared with oil-rich modern Horween leathers like Chromexcel. It has the crisp character of an old dress calf, not the soft, waxy pull-up of a modern work leather.

How Horween 1940s Calfskin Ages

Like other vegetable tanned leathers, 1940s calfskin darkens with light, handling and time. Horween has described one of its own 1949 calfskin pieces aging to a rich mahogany. Expect the natural color to deepen gradually toward a warm brown, with the grain staying tight and the surface picking up a soft sheen where it's handled most.

What to Expect From a 1940s Calfskin Wallet

• Every piece is unique. Wrinkles, color variation and small natural marks are part of this leather, not defects.
• It's old leather. After decades in storage, some areas of these skins are delicate, and a piece may show light surface cracking.
• It suits small goods. The skins are small and irregular, so card holders and bifolds are the best use of what's left.
• Use it, with a little care. It isn't as tough as a modern oil-tanned leather. Treat it like the antique it is and it will keep developing character.

Caring for 1940s Calfskin

• Keep it dry. Wipe off water promptly and let it dry naturally, away from heaters and direct sun.
• Condition sparingly. A very light coat of a quality leather conditioner once or twice a year is plenty. Test on an inside edge first, since conditioner darkens vegetable tanned leather.
• Don't overstuff it. Stretching old, dry leather is the quickest way to stress it.
• Most small scuffs soften with a fingertip and a little time.

Horween 1940s Calfskin at Guarded Goods

I've been fortunate to get some of this leather, and I'm using it for a limited run of wallets, including my Warden and Stronghold designs, some paired with shell cordovan or American alligator. Once these are gone, they won't be back.

• Warden: Green American Alligator and Horween 1940s Calfskin
• Stronghold: Color 4 Shell Cordovan and Horween 1940s Calfskin
• See every Horween 1940s calfskin piece in the shop

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Horween 1940s calfskin?

It's a fully vegetable tanned calfskin that Horween Leather Company made in Chicago in the 1940s and sold as Timber Tanned Calf. The formula was lost, so the only leather left is old stock that has been stored at the tannery since that era.

Is it the same as Horween Timber Chromexcel?

No. Timber is a current color of Chromexcel, Horween's chrome and vegetable combination tanned leather. Timber Tanned Calf was a fully vegetable tanned calfskin from the 1940s. They share a word, not a tannage.

Why is it called Timber Tanned?

Vegetable tanning uses tannins from tree bark, and the name points to that bark tannage. Horween's 1949 literature also called it "Woodland" leather.

Will Horween ever make it again?

Not as it was. The formula is lost, and calfskins like these aren't available anymore. Horween has made trial runs over the years, but none reproduced the original.

How much 1940s calfskin is left?

Very little. In 2024, Nick Horween estimated that about 50 skins remained at the tannery, most of them suited only to small goods.

Is 1940s calfskin fragile?

It's thinner and drier than modern Horween leathers, and some areas are delicate after decades in storage. Made into a well-built wallet and treated with reasonable care, it holds up to everyday use and keeps aging beautifully.

Sources and Further Reading

• Full Grain Podcast, Episode 43: "1940s Timber Tanned Calf Leather," with Nick Horween and Phil Kalas
• Horween Leather Company
• Heddels, September 23, 2024, on Horween's 1949 Timber Tanned "Woodland" literature

More leather stories: Metta Catharina Russian Reindeer Leather: The 1786 Shipwreck Leather. More on Horween leather: All About Horween Leather: Shell Cordovan, Chromexcel, Dublin and More and All About Horween Workshoe Butt.