Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maroquin, Turkey, or German Saffian from Safi, a Moroccan town famous for leather) is a vegetable-tanned leather known for its softness, pliability, and ability to take color. It has been widely used in the manufacture of gloves and the uppers of ladies' shoes and men's low cut shoes, but is commonly associated with wallets, linings for fine luggage, and bookbindings.
Despite its name, Morocco was typically not the original source of the leather. Some of the highest quality Morocco leather, usually goat skin, used in book binding was sourced from Northern Nigeria (particularly from the Hausa city-states of Kano, Katsina, and Zazzau) and Anatolia (modern day Turkey). First known production of morocco leather is attributed to pre-11th century Moors, in which alum tanned morocco leather was stained pink.
