A leather glove is a fitted covering for the hand with a separate sheath for each finger and the thumb. This covering is composed of the tanned hide of an animal (with the hair removed), though it is not uncommon in recent years for the leather to be synthetic.

Common uses

A common use for leather gloves is sporting events. In baseball, a baseball glove is an oversized leather glove with a web used for fielding the ball. Leather gloves also factor into playing handball. Cyclists also use leather gloves. Leather gloves are also used frequently by football players so that they can more easily grip the ball.

Leather gloves also provide protection from occupational hazards. For example, beekeepers use leather gloves to avoid being stung by bees. Construction workers might also use leather gloves for added grip and for protecting their hands.

Some people also have a fetish revolving around leather gloves.

In history

Leather gloves have also been noted throughout history. The 1592 "Ditchley" portrait of Queen Elizabeth I features her holding leather gloves in her left hand. In the Victorian era, some women would wear undersized leather gloves in an effort to shrink the size of their hands, as small hands were considered a sign of beauty.Fact: date=January 2008 A gauntlet, which could be a glove made out of leather or some kind of metal armor, was a strategic part of a soldier's defense throughout the Middle Ages, but the advent of firearms phased hand-to-hand fighting out of most military engagements. As a result, the need for gauntlets also disappeared. As far back as the Old Testament book of Leviticus, the Jews were instructed to show their leather gloves to priests if it appeared the mildew was growing on them, and if so, the gloves would be considered unclean.Fact: date=January 2008

More recently in history, Tommie Smith and John Carlos held up their leather glove-clad fists at the awards ceremony of the 1968 Summer Olympics. Their actions were intended to symbolize Black Power, but they were banned from the Olympics for life as a result of the incident. Yet another of the more infamous episodes involving a leather glove came during the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder case in which Simpson demonstrated that the glove purportedly used in the alleged murder was too small to fit his hand.Fact: date=January 2008

In popular culture and fiction

A popular depiction of a leather glove in fiction is the use of such a glove by Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars movies. He wears the glove to cover his robotic hand and to hint at the transformation of Anakin into the evil villain Darth Vader.

In the tv show Bonanza, Joe Cartwright famously wore black leather gloves.

Another example of leather gloves in fiction is in the Hitman video games. Agent 47, the main character, is an assassin who typically wears a suit, tie, and prominently-displayed black leather gloves.