Tanners transformed animal skins or hides into leather. The tanner stood between hunters and butchers (the suppliers of skins) and leatherworkers (who made commercial products from the tanned hides. While few early Albany people would have considered tanning to be their primary occupation, many butchers and leather workers had some first-hand experience with the operation. Tanners were an important part of early Albany's Production Economy!

The tanning process required a supply of skins, a supply of tannin, a tanning pit (preferably near a supply of running water), a location away from densely inhabited areas, on-call labor to scrape and flush the skins, and patience as many months might pass before yielding an acceptable leather product. Many steps were employed to turn skins into leather - although the number and order seem to be variable.

Leather-related trades probably were the most prevailent production activity in early Albany. Leather workers often worked their own tanning pits. By the early 1700s, tanning pits were located along Foxes Creek to take advantage of the stream's runing water. By the early nineteenth century, more elaborate tanneries were located on the southside of the city.

Leatherworkers often owned or operated tanning pits to help ensure a supply of hides. As early as 1681, shoemaker Cornelis Van Schelluyne also owned a tannery outside Albany's north gate.

This page will evolve a more early Albany specific discussion of the tanning process and its practicioners!