Methuen Silmarillion - Blue Leather or Leatherette?

I don't have a definitive answer, but I do have a copy - and I can tell you that it's real leather, all right. A bookdealer I showed it to told me it's what's called 'publisher's leather'. I have a copy of 'Wuthering Heights' in the same material. It's soft, and quite thin (it smells lovely, too).

My copy is a little worn at the head of the spine revealing what looks like the weave of the cloth underneath. If this is leather backed onto cloth then it is incredibly thin. To me it looks like a plastic film backed onto cloth.

I'm no expert though, so would certainly bow to a more expert opinion.

Although I can't be absolutely certain, I believe the material to be genuine leather, mainly from the way it creases at the folds - at least on my and Christina's copy. Artificial leather creases more like cloth or heavy paper. Of course you can't tell from the 'grain', which was probably embossed on a smooth leather after it had been through a splitting machine to make it thin - and yes, this is very thin, nothing like best quality.

I've seen the term 'publisher's leather' once or twice, but can't find it in any of my glossaries of binding terms. The technical term here is probably 'skiver', i.e. thin split leather. 'Publisher's leather' is analogous to 'publisher's cloth', i.e. to indicate the material in which the book was issued by the publisher.

Wayne

I will bow to your greater knowledge!

As Deagol's site now states "bound in dark blue leather" (http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=62110), I think we have a definitive answer, thanks all for your contributions

Only 500 copies, eh? Cool! *did I mention that mine has a bookplate signed by Christopher?

I was very jealous of your signed copy when I saw it this year (it felt like leather to me)

Apologies for this near ten-year thread bump, but here goes...

Been thinking about this recently. It was asked is the Methuen Silmarillion real leather? Neil had stated his doubts because in his copy he could see what he thought was a cloth weave exposed underneath. And Wayne & others have stated it is leather. If both are correct is it not most likely that this is "bonded" leather?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonded_leather

Bonded leather is made by shredding leather scraps and leather fiber, then mixing it with bonding materials. The mixture is next extruded onto a cloth or paper backing, and the surface is usually embossed with a leather-like texture or grain.

It fits this description very well & explains the belief that there is leather content while explaining what Neil can see in his copy. In either case it's the cheapest of the cheap. No debate there I don't think.
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This is also a call-out to all those with SD copies of The Silmarillion and The Hobbit from 1982 and 1987 respectively. It's my belief (having examined S; I don't have the 1987 H) that while these are definitely leather (not bonded) they are definitely embossed. I was cleaning some turn of the century (1900's) red morocco bindings I have and the difference in finishing is very clear. The marvellous leather pattern on the 1982 S is definitely not a natural grain pattern; the follicles are clearly visible but the pattern on top I don't think is genuine. Having shown my damaged 1982 S a few years ago to a bookbinder he was also not convinced the leather was of great quality either.

Looking back at other older threads I also remember someone saying they bought a 1982 S and the leather was marked ("mottled" I think they may have said) with darker sections across the surface. I think aesthetically to book collectors this isn't visually appealing but it should be what genuine leather actually looks like. It's the natural patina of the leather, not dirt or marks. I also have multiple images of the 1982 S and while it's not always easy to see in photographs you can occasionally catch those darker red patches. These marks are easiest to see on the boards so are not related to light damage.

Anyway, just a few observations. I know not many on here are experts on leather bookbindings, but any observations would be interesting...