07/10/2026
A keyring with almost 250 years of history.
This personalised keyring made was for Natalie by our our lovely customer, Dr. Tim Rogers has been crafted from deer skin leather salvaged from the wreck of Die Frau Metta Catharina von Flensburg โ one of the most extraordinary pieces of historic leather to have survived.
Built in 1782, the Danish brigantine was sailing from St Petersburg to Genoa in December 1786, carrying h**p and a remarkable cargo of Russian leather when she was caught in a severe storm. While sheltering in Plymouth Sound, she dragged her anchors and sank.
Almost 200 years later, the wreck was discovered by divers in 1973. Remarkably, rolls of leather were recovered from the seabed, where they had been protected beneath layers of mud. The inner hides were found in extraordinary condition.
Look closely at the leather and you can still see the distinctive cross-hatched marks left by the wooden rollers used during its original preparation โ a signature characteristic of historic Russian leather.
And then there's the smell. Even after almost two centuries beneath the sea, the leather retains the incredibly distinctive, smoky, earthy aroma associated with the birch-bark oil used in its traditional tanning and dressing. The birch material was heated to produce the oil, giving this extraordinary leather its unmistakable fragrance and helping make it exceptionally resistant to water and insects.
From an 18th-century shipwreck to a personalised keyring for Natalie. Also making good use of our gold lamb nappa and brown watersnake.
A little piece of maritime and leather-making history, given a new life ๐ค
Historic source: leatherconservation.org
