By the early 14th century, a fraternity of bottle-makers existed in London. However, the popularity of leather used for drinking vessels seems to have been almost solely an English custom as evidenced by Haywood writing in 1635 "when the French-men first saw [black jacks and leather bottles at the Court], they reported at their returne into their Countrey, that the Englishmen used to drinke out of their Bootes." (Baker, p.15)
There are several examples of large leather jacks dating to the English Civil War, but documents show that by the end of the 16th century, the bottle-makers company had merged with the horners company and the popularity of leather drinking vessels had begun to decline due to competition of other kinds of vessels.
Drinking jugs of leather with an open top were known by the 14th century and likely earlier, but were usually called pots, jugs, cans, or stoups of leather. The term "black jack" was derived in the 16th century from the military jack or quilted coat of plates. This term was popularly used in the following centuries to describe a jug of this sort. Also popular in the 17th century was an over-sized version of this jug known as a bombard. Bombards were made as tall as 24".
The construction of a black jack is quite simple consisting of one body piece which wraps all the way around a form and joins itself to make a handle, and one bottom piece. Often a filler piece was added to further strengthen the handle and there is some evidence for a filler piece inserted in the bottom seam. All jacks prior to the 16th century are formed to be wider at the base than the top. Straight cylinder jacks were not made until the middle of the 17th century.
(ok, so I gave away the ones I made before taking a picture; here a a couple from the Museum of Leathercraft)
The black jack displayed here was stitched with waxed linen thread at 2.5 stitches to the inch (a common gauge for stitches in period) and lined with a pitch/beeswax mix for water-proofing.
The jack was stitched dry and then wet and placed over a lathe-turned wood form to shape. The shape of the form did not impress through as much as I would have liked. This might be solved by stitching the body, while wet, around the form.
References:
- Archer, Ian W., The History of the Haberdashers' Company, Phillimore & Co. Ltd., Chichester, 1991.
- Baker, Oliver, Black Jacks and Leather Bottells, Ed. J. Burrow & Co., Ltd., Cheltenham Spa, London, 1921, reprinted by the Honourable Cordwiners' Company, VA, 1990.
- Stapleton, Gregory, Pictures of a Medieval Bombard from the Royal Ontario Museum, http://www.medievallife.com/Pages/ROM_Bombard.htm
- Waterer, John W., Leather Craftmanship, Frederick A. Praeger, New York, 1968.
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