In the 19th century, rules of etiquette called for men and women to wear gloves in public. Gloves were most often made of kid leather, because of its strength and flexibility. Glove stretchers were used to restore the fingers of kid gloves after washing, which made them wrinkled and stiff. The pointed end of the stretcher was placed into the finger of a glove and the handle compressed so that the two ends splayed out, stretching the leather.
