The Old Leather Man

"While this book offers up his life and times in the most complete manner as possible, the mystery of the Leather Man remains in tact."—Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam

"[A] gem of local history built around one of the oddest characters ever to hike Connecticut and nearby New York."—Greenwich Times

"Deluca's book is the definitive account of his life—a collection of newspaper clippings and a few surviving images, painstakingly wrung from microfilm in dusty corners of libraries all across the tri-state area And the truth, as Deluca is proud to tell you, is that no one knows who the Leatherman was, least of all DeLuca. The process of piecing together the man's life is what he really loves."—Jon Campbell, The Village Voice

"While this book offers up his life and times in the most complete manner as possible, the mystery of the Leather Man remains in tact."—Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam

"In The Old Leather Man, Dan Deluca, an independent historian, recalls the wanderings of a strange, tragic figure through hundreds of contemporary newspaper accounts. His account is a compelling recreation of a curious chapter in regional history."—Boston Sunday Globe

"The Old Leather Man was an enigma in the later 1800s and remains so today. Dan Deluca has compiled his decades of research into a most comprehensive account, with photographs and maps of this mysterious, punctual, and unique character's travels through New York and Connecticut."—Nicholas Bellantoni, Connecticut State Archaeologist

"Through the words of the reporters, we gain insight into the Old Leather Man, and also into a 19th century view of a world now lost. We may never know who the Leather Man really was, but the world loves a good mystery, and this book delves into a tantalizing one.""—Gerald Sawyer, professor of anthropology, Central Connecticut State University

"The Old Leather Man was an enigma in the later 1800s and remains so today. Dan Deluca has compiled his decades of research into a most comprehensive account, with photographs and maps of this mysterious, punctual, and unique character's travels through New York and Connecticut."—Nicholas Bellantoni, Connecticut State Archaeologist