Bulldog Ottoman by Dimitri Omersa for Liberty’s of London England Circa 1960

A wonderfully expressive vintage bulldog ottoman by Dimitri Omersa for Liberty’s of London Distributed by Abercrombie & Fitch, English, mid 1960s.

height: 18 in. (46 cm)
width: 27 in. (69 cm)
depth: 10 in. (25 cm)

The first leather pig was created on a whim when ‘Old Bill’, who made hand luggage for Liberty’s of London, used leftover leather to create a stuffed leather pig footstool.
Dimitri Omersa (1927-1985), a Yugoslav by birth, had been a naval officer and a political prisoner having been imprisoned by Tito for 10 years after the second world war. Dimitri and his wife Inge came to England in 1955 settling at Lavender Croft, a sanctuary for refugees in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

Dimitri Omersa found work in the leather trade representing a small leather company in Hitchin. It is there where he met ‘Old Bill’ at Liberty’s. ‘Old Bill’ was preparing to retire and agreed to have Dimitri Omersa to take over the business and continue the supply of pigs to Liberty’s. The business was re-located to Hitchin in 1958. Omersa had ideas for other animals in leather including the elephant, donkey and the leather rhinoceros.

Omersa began marketing the animals in North America. In 1963, he won a gold medal at the Californian State Fair for the leather Donkey. The “stuffed” animals caught the eye of Abercrombie & Fitch––the purveyor of fantasies to the rich and famous. A&F sold the animals from the mid 1960’s into the late 1980’s.