Coriaceous (pronounced kawr-ee-ey-shuhs, kohr-ee-ey-shuhs or kor-ee-ey-shuhs)
(1) Of or resembling leather.
(2) In botany, a surface (usually a leaf) distinguished having
the visual characteristics of leather.
1665-1675: from Late Latin coriāceus (resembling leather in texture, toughness etc), the
construct being corium (skin, hide, leather (and also used casually to refer to
belts, whips and other leather items, and upper layers (ie analogous with a
skin or hide) in general such as crusts, coatings, peels or shells)), from the Proto-Italic
korjom, from the primitive Indo-European
sker & ker- + -aceous. The
suffix –aceous was from the New Latin, from the Classical Latin -aceus (of a certain kind) and related
to the Latin adjectival suffixes –ac &
-ax.
It was used (1) to create words meaning “of, relating to, resembling or
containing the thing suffixed” and (2) in scientific classification, to indicate
membership of a taxonomic family or other group. The comparative is more
coriaceous and the superlative most coriaceous.
Coriaceous & subcoriaceous are adjectives and coriaceousness is a
noun.
Botanists classify coriaceous leaves by degree. The common greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia) (left) is listed as subcoriaceous (ie somewhat or almost coriaceous) while the Shining Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida) is distinguished by glossy coriaceous leaves with a prominent vein along margins (right).
In late 1967, as a prelude to the next year’s
introduction of the XJ6, Jaguar rationalized its saloon car line-up, pruning the
long-running Mark II range from three to two, dropping the 3.8 litre model and re-designating
the smaller-engined pair (the 2.4 becoming the 240, the 3.4 the 340), thus
bringing the nomenclature into line with the recently released 420. The standardization exercise extended to the
big Mark X which became the 420G but curiously the S-Type’s name wasn’t changed
and it became the only Jaguar in which the 3.8 litre engine remained available
as a regular production option, the E-Type (XKE) having earlier adopted the
4.2. So the 240, 340, S-Type (3.4 &
3.8) and 420 (all based on the 1959 Mark 2 (itself a update of the 1955 2.4)) all
remained in production, along with the Daimler 250 (the re-named 2.5 fitted
with Daimler’s 2.5 litre V8) and to add a further quirk, a dozen 340s were
built to special order with the 3.8 liter engine. Production of all ceased in 1968 with the
coming of the XJ6 except the big 420G (which lasted until 1970 although sales
had for some time slowed to a trickle), the 240 (available until 1969 because
Jaguar wasn’t until then able to offer the 2.8 liter option in the XJ6) and the
Daimler 250 (which also ran until 1969 until the Daimler Sovereign (an XJ6 with
a Daimler badge) entered the showrooms).
1967 Jaguar Mark 2 3.8 with leather trim (left) and a "de-contented" 1968 Jaguar 240 with the "slimline" bumpers, Ambla trim and optional rimbellishers (right).
Given the new revised naming convention wasn’t carried over the XJ6 (rendering the 420G an alpha-numeric orphan for the last year of its existence), there’s since been speculation about whether the Jaguar management had a change of mind about how the XJ6 was to be labeled or the changes were just an attempt to stimulate interest in the rather dated Mark 2 and its derivatives. That certainly worked though perhaps not quite as Jaguar intended because Mark 2 sales spiked in 1968 and the oldest models (240 & 340) handsomely outsold both the newer 420 and the by then moribund S-Type. Probably the change in name had little to do with this and more significant was the price cutting which made the 240 & 340 suddenly seem like bargains, the 240 especially. Dated they might have looked in the year the NSU Ro80 debuted, but they still had their charm and the new price drew in buyers whereas the 420 suffered because it was known the XJ6 would soon be available and expectations were high.
The renewed interest in the 240 was at least partly
because Jaguar had finally devoted some attention to the breathing of its
smallest engine, straight-port heads and revised SU carburetors increasing the
power to the point where a genuine 100 mph (160 km/h) could be attained, something
not possible since the lighter 2.4 (retrospectively known as the Mark 1) ended
production in 1959. The 100 mph thing
was something the factory was quite sensitive about because in the 1950s (when
it was still quite an achievement) it had been a selling point and for most of
the Mark 2’s life, Jaguar were reluctant to make 2.4s available for testing. The 240’s new performance solved that problem
and it was the biggest seller of the revised range (4446 240s vs 2800 340s)
although those who read the small print might have been disappointed to note
the fuel consumption; both models weighed about the same but the small engine
had to work much harder, the 340 barely more thirsty.
1962 Jaguar Mark 2 3.8 with leather trim (left) and 1968 Jaguar 240 with Ambla trim. It was only when the optional leather trim was specified that the fold-down "picnic tables" were fitted in the front seat-backs.
Still, with the 240 selling in 1968 for only £20 more
than the what a 2.4 had cost in 1955, it was soon tagged “the best Jaguar bargain of all time” but that had been achieved
with some cost-cutting, some of the trademark interior wood trim deleted, the fog
and spot lamps replaced by a pair of chromed grilles, the hubcap design
simplified and “slimline” bumpers fitted in place of the substantial units in
place since 1959, this not only saving weight but a remarkable amount of the
cost of production. The revised cars
were not as generously equipped as before (although some of the “de-contenting”
had been introduced late in Mark 2 production) but a long option list remained
and on it were some items once fitted as standard, the list including a choice
of five radio installations with or without rear parcel shelf-mounted speaker,
a laminated windscreen, chromium-plated wheel rimbellishers for steel wheels,
Ace Turbo wheel trims for steel wheels, a tow bar, a locking petrol filler
cap, front seat belts, the choice of radial, town and country, or whitewall
tyres, automatic transmission, overdrive (for the manual transmission), wire
wheels, fast ratio steering box, a fire extinguisher, Powr-Lok differential, rear
window demister, heavy-duty anti-roll bar, close-ratio gearbox, tinted glass, a
driver’s wing mirror, childproof rear door locks, an integrated ignition & starter
switch (steering column), reclining front seats, power-assisted steering &
leather upholstery.
It was the moving of the leather trim to the option list
which is said to have made the greatest contribution to the price cuts. The replacement fabric was Ambla, one of a
class of coriaceous materials which have come variously to be referred to as faux
leather, pleather, vegan leather, Naugahyde, synthetic leather, artificial
leather, fake leather & ersatz leather.
First manufactured in the US, most production now is done in China as well
as upholstery, the fabric is use for just about anything which has ever been
made in leather including clothing, footwear, gloves, hats, belts, watch bands,
cases, handbags, sports items, firearm holsters, luggage and a myriad besides. It does appear that as early as the fifteenth
century, the Chinese were experimenting with ways synthetic leather could be manufactured
but it doesn’t appear anything was ever produced at scale and it was only when petroleum-based
plastics became available in the US in the late nineteenth century that it became
viable to mass produce a viable alternative to leather. Historically, most of the products were petroleum-based
but vegetable-based alternatives are now attracting much interest as attention has
focused on the environmental impact of the traditional petro-chemical based
approach.
1967 Mercedes-Benz 250 SE with MB-Tex trim (left) and 1971 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 with leather trim.
One of the best known coriaceous materials in the 1960s and 1970s was MB-Tex, a vinyl used by Mercedes-Benz which by far was the synthetic which most closely resembled genuine leather. That was something made easier by the Germans using a process which resulted in slightly thicker tanned hide than those from Italy, Spain or England and this meant that replicating the appearance was more easily attained. What most distinguished MB-Tex however was the durability and longevity. Unlike leather which demanded some care and attention to avoid wear and cracking, it wasn’t uncommon for 20 or 30 year old MB-Tex to look essentially as it did when new and many who sat in them for years may have assumed it really was leather. It certainly took an expert eye to tell the difference although in a showroom, moving from one to another, although the visual perception might be much the same, the olfactory senses would quickly know which was which because nothing compares with the fragrance of a leather-trimmed interior. For some, that seduction was enough to persuade although those who understood the attraction of the close to indestructible MB-Tex, there were aerosol cans of “leather smell”, each application said to last several weeks.
For the incomparable aroma of leather.
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