These are reindeer rawhides from Sweden. The medium size are approximately 9 to 11 square feet. The Swedish hides tend to be a milky creamy color. The Finnish ones are more transparent and blotchy.
We deal with a tannery in Sweden that has spent the last 80 years perfecting the making of reindeer leather and rawhide. The hides we get are some of the best we have seen anywhere in the world. They are about as perfect as is possible. You will not find large holes or significant imperfections. The reindeer were raised for food and were not killed just for their hides.
This rawhide is very high quality and is ideal for use in making drums, especially Lapp shaman drums. Reindeer rawhide is very thin compared with elk rawhide and thinner than white tail deer rawhide as well. It is similar in thickness to goat rawhide. The thickness is approximately 1/16” with little variation across the skin.
The smaller skins have very few bug bites. As the animals age, there are more problems with bug bites marring the skin.
Rawhide is also referred to as parchment or vellum. This material would serve well for covering books given how thin it is.
Reindeer are not an endangered species. The reindeer are raised by the Lapp in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Russia. The hides we get are a by-product of the food industry. The animal was not killed just for its hide. Not subject to CITES.
A USFWS export permit is required for export out of the USA.