Drinking vessel made of treated and stitched leather, in common use in England from the Middle Ages until the 18th century. Surviving examples, which date mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, are sometimes mounted and, more rarely, lined with silver or pewter. They were made in various sizes and were usually bottle- or cylinder-shaped with a characteristic bulge around the centre of the body and stamped decoration. In 1635 it was reported that after the French first saw blackjacks in use, they returned home claiming that the English drank from their boots.
See the Abbreviations for further details.
