Glove: The long working life of leather gloves
What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive? A glove has spaces for them, and leather gloves are among the forms that have covered human hands for thousands of years. Their work has ranged from improving a grip and shielding skin to displaying rank, fashion, and the skill of the people who made them.
Gloves appear in an ancient Egyptian tomb from the fifth dynasty. Ancient written traditions also connect them with protection and work, though translations differ about whether Laertes in Homer's Odyssey wore gloves or pulled his sleeves over his hands against garden brambles. Pliny the Younger described his uncle's shorthand writer wearing gloves in winter so cold would not interrupt the elder Pliny's work. Military use took a harder form in the gauntlet, made from leather or metal armor. It formed an important part of a medieval soldier's defense, before firearms reduced the role of hand-to-hand combat and the need for such protection.
Craft organization grew alongside the garment's uses. Paris had a guild of glovers from the thirteenth century, making coverings from skin or fur. English glovers belonged to the Dubbers or Bookbinders Guild by 1440, later forming their own guild during Elizabeth I's reign. Their company was incorporated in 1613. Knitted-glove makers belonged to a separate trade from the makers of scented leather gloves. Knitting could involve silk as well as wool and required a five-year apprenticeship. Defective work could be confiscated and burned.
Fashion gave gloves a conspicuous place in public life. From the thirteenth century, women wore linen or silk examples as ornaments, sometimes reaching the elbow. Bologna restricted samite gloves in 1294, and Rome acted against perfumed gloves in 1560. Elizabeth I favored richly embroidered and jeweled designs, putting them on and taking them off during audiences to draw attention to her hands. Her Ditchley portrait of 1592 shows her holding leather gloves. In Paris, glovers also became perfumers, scenting their products with oils, musk, ambergris, and civet. That trade, associated with Catherine de Medici's court, received specific royal recognition in 1656.
Gloves also accompanied ceremonial power and burial. Matthew of Paris described Henry II of England being buried in 1189 with gloves on his hands, along with coronation robes and a golden crown. Gloves were found on King John's hands when his tomb was opened in 1797 and on Edward I's when his was opened in 1774. Religious use developed its own forms. Pontifical gloves became liturgical ornaments for popes, cardinals, and bishops during mass. Their liturgical use reaches back to the beginning of the tenth century. The custom spread from the Frankish kingdom to Rome, where it appears during the earlier half of the eleventh century.
For everyday work, leather gloves combine a comfortable fit with friction from the material's grain and pores. That surface helps the wearer grip an object. Beekeepers use them against stings, while construction workers use them for grip and hand protection. Welders need protection against electrical shocks, extreme heat, and ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Other glove materials meet different needs: wool, cloth, rubber, latex, neoprene, silk, and metal mail all have roles. Health care workers commonly wear disposable latex, nitrile rubber, or vinyl gloves for hygiene and contamination protection. The garment can guard the wearer's hands or protect something that bare hands ought not touch.
Sport and driving have produced specialized leather gloves and other hand coverings. Baseball fielders use an oversized leather glove with webbing to catch the ball and protect their hands. Cricket batters wear heavy padding across the backs of their gloves against ball strikes, while wicketkeepers use large webbed designs. Early Formula One cars had wooden steering wheels taken from road cars, making driving gloves necessary. Driving designs emphasize feel and grip, often using soft leather, external seams, and no lining. Racing drivers also use long cuffs intended to protect against heat and flame. Scuba divers have different needs again, with dry gloves using rubber and a latex wrist seal.
Fingerless designs leave fingertips free for sensation, gripping, or delicate movements. Cyclists and motorcyclists use them for handlebar grip, and some anglers use them to handle tackle in cooler weather. Convertible mittens combine open-ended finger sheaths with a compartment that folds over the fingers for coverage, then folds back for access. Touchscreen designs take another approach: conductive yarn or patches on fingertips allow contact with capacitive screens, while some gloves use conductive material across the whole hand. These forms retain hand coverage while allowing fingers to manipulate controls, lines, and digital devices.