Polymeric materials may be applied to the surface of leather, as so-called finishes, to improve the appearance and performance characteristics of the substrate. The polymers used may be natural or synthetic in origin and are applied as solutions in organic solvents or as waterbased emulsions. The latter systems are usually formed from acrylic polymers and are produced as spherical particles, dispersed in an aqueous phase, by the technique of emulsion polymerisation. Transmission electron microscopy has been used extensively to study the fine structure of leather and to characterize emulsions commonly used in leather finishing. However, with the exception of a single micrograph shown by Kanagy, studies of combined leather-polymer systems have not been carried out using this technique. This article indicates a method of preparing leather-polymer systems for study in the electron microscope, giving information on the forces of interaction operative between the species present.