Men’s leather gloves in the 18th century

The Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (1765) has a section on 18th century gloves and how they were made:

Fig. 1. Trank (main piece) of a man’s glove. A the index finger, B the middle finger, C the ring finger, E F G the back slits; H the hole for the thumb; I the outer side (the back) of the hand; K the inner side (the palm) of the hand.

Fig. 2. The thumb. A the top; B the side near the opening.

Fig. 3. The piece cut out for the thumb hole.

Fig 4. The lining pieces of the upper part (the cuff) of the glove. A. The top piece; B. The bottom piece.

Fig. 5, 6, & 7. The fourchettes.

8, 9, & 10. The quirks.

11. Simple glove, finished.

12. English-style turned-up glove. A, the turned-up cuff.

13. Embroidered glove, finished. A the embroidered turned-up cuff; B the embroidered thumb hole.

Fig. 18. Trank of a falconer’s glove. A the index finger, B the middle finger, C the ring finger, E F G the back slits; H the hole for the thumb; I the outer side (the back) of the hand; K the inner side (the palm) of the hand.

19. The thumb. A the top; B the side near the opening.

20, 21, & 22. The fourchettes.

23, 24, & 25. The quirks.

26 & 27. The linings of the upper part and the lower part.

28. The falconer’s glove, finished.

Of the Glover.

Perspectives on the glove-makers’ trade from The London Tradesman (1747) and The Parent’s and Guardian’s Directory (1761).

18th century men’s leather gloves

London Museum 55.87/1

National Trust 1366743, a cream leather glove stitched with blue, and gauntlet edged with blue silk ribbon, c. 1700

V&A T.123&A-1969, white over-wrist-length kid gloves with a plain rounded cuff, made in England c. 1730-1760

A pair of suede gloves that belonged to William IV as a child

Worshipful Company of Glovers of London 23432 + A, “a pair of men’s rust brown (faded, originally a deep orange red) suede leather gloves, flesh side out, circa 1780-1800, embroidered with white silk pointing and leaf sprigs on the back of the hand, and three embroidery stitched points ending in double arrowheads”

Met 1990.236a, b, white leather riding gloves, Britain, c. 1785-1794

18th century portraits & illustrations of men wearing gloves

An unknown boy, c. 1700-1729

Richard Acland, c. 1700-1729

Reverend Thomas Strickland by Alexis-Simon Belle, c. 1703-1710

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford by Paul Carl Leygebe, 1711

Portrait of an unknown man by Alexis-Simon Belle, c. 1712

Henry Portman Seymour by Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1714

Sir Abraham Elton by Johan Van Diest, c. 1720

Sir Thomas Saunders Sebright, or possibly Mr Crawley by William Aikman, c. 1720

A member of the Howell or Lightfoot family, c. 1720-1750

The Reverend William Lucy by Jonathan Richardson the elder, 1721-1723

Sir Robert Throckmorton by Nicolas Largillière, 1728-1729

Sir William Harbord by William Aikman, 1729

William II Blathwayt, c. 1720-1729

A young gentleman riding a schooled horse by John Vanderbank, 1728-1729

Henry Kelsall by William Aikman, 1729

Sir John Cope by William Aikman, 1729-1732

Lewis Burwell, c. 1730-1750

Clemens August as a falconer by P. Horemans, c. 1732

Portrait of the artist, 1733 or after

Mann Page II by Charles Bridges, c. 1735-1744

Illustration from the Rudiments of Genteel Behavoir, 1737

Sir James Dashwood by Enoch Seeman the Younger, 1737

George Wenzeslaud von Knobelsdorff by Antoine Pesne, 1737

A sportsman holding a gun with a dog by his side

Gentleman with a cannon by Arthur Devis, 1741

Sir Edward Hales, Baronet, of Hales Place, Hackington, Kent by Philippe Mercier, 1744

Pamela leaves Mr B’s house in Bedfordshire by Joseph Highmore, c. 1744

Leak Okeover, Rev. John Allen and Captain Chester at Okeover Hall, Staffordshire by Arthur Devis, 1745-1747

Learning about the Hounds by Thomas Butler of Pall Mall, c. 1750

Prince Augustus William of Prussia, c. 1750

Henry Vansittart, Governor of Bengal, c. 1750-1760

Thrower Buckle by Charles Catton the elder, 1750-1798

An unknown sportsman by Edward Haytley, 1752

John Campbell, Lord Glenorchy, 3rd Earl Breadalbane

Severn Eyre by Benjamin West, c. 1755-1759

The Artist and his brother Charles, after woodcock-shooting, with their father Thomas Mortimer by John Hamilton Mortimer, early 1760s

Thomas Charles Bigge by Anton van Maron, 1765

William Weddell by Pompeo Batoni, 1765-1766

William Fitzhugh by John Hesselius, c. 1765-1771

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1767

William, Sixth Baron Craven by Francis Cotes, 1768

George Washington by Charles Willson Peale, 1772

Israel Putnam Eſqr, 1775

Heinrich XIII, Graf Reuss by Anton Graff, 1775

The Doctor’s Pill by John Collet

Sir Brooke Boothby by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1780

William Grant by Gilbert Stuart, 1782

The Hon.ble John Byron Vice Admiral and Commander in Chief of his Majesties Naval Forces in North America, 1780s

Cabinet des Modes ou les Modes Nouvelles, 1 Juillet 1786, pl. I

The Marquis de Lafayette by Louis Léopold Boilly, 1788

John Hungerford Penruddocke by Thomas Beach, c. 1787-1806

Robert Ferguson of Raith and Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald Ferguson (The Archers) by Henry Rayburn, 1789-1790

Sir William Heathcote, the Reverend William Heathcote, and Major Vincent Hawkins Gilbert, out hunting by Daniel Gardner, 1790

Henry Angelo by Mather Brown, c. 1790

King William IV as the Duke of Clarence by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1790-1795

The new man after God’s own heart, 1791

Portrait of a man in a grey suit by the Chevalier de Montviol, 1791

Richard Brinsley Sheridan by Joshua Reynolds

The Deserter Pardoned by George Morland, 1792

Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh by Sir Thomas Lawrence, c. 1793-1794

Pierre Sériziat by Jacques Louis David, 1795

George Leopold de Gogul by Anton Graff, 1796

Hawking: The Falconer. Mr. Sam’l. Northcote of Plymouth, 1797

Louis-Henry-Joseph de Bourbon, ninth and last prince of Condé by Henri-Pierre Danloux, 1797

Young man in a landscape (probably Auguste Labadye) by Charles Toussaint Labadye, 1797

Skating lovers, 1800

A Prince of the Old School, 1800

Captain Townshend, 1800

Le Suprême Bon Ton No. 9 c. 1802