Ancient Glove Etiquette

This was advertising, among other items, Dents leather gloves as Christmas gifts in 1913 – According to RoyalWarrant.org, Dents in Worcestershire “has manufactured fine leather gloves for over 240 years. The company was established in Worcester in 1777. Today the company continues to practice the traditional glove making skills, to create its fine gloves.” Dents holds a Royal Warrant as “Manufacturers of Gloves By Appointment to: HRH The Former Prince of Wales”

And according to Visit Woodstock.uk.com, Woodstock was a noted centre for the manufacture of sheep and deer hide gloves. These used to be sewn by women working at home, but from the late 19th century, small factories developed in backyards. At one time there were up to ten factories in the town. This one was named after master Edmund Webley and was an active glove factory until it closed in the 1950s.

Woodstock and Worcester leather gloves are of ancient celebrity. In the Middle Ages the giving of a glove was a ceremony of investiture in bestowing lands and dignities. 

In England, in the reign of Edward II, the deprivation of gloves was a ceremony of degradation. The importation of foreign gloves into England was not permitted until 1825. – From Chicago Herald, September 1892

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