At Oliphan we only use real leather on all our photo books covers. Like any leather goods, if taken good care will last for a long time. We recommend keeping your leather cover book in a box for long term storage and only wipe with a damp cloth if dirty.
When you just received your book, there maybe a slight odour of adhesive. The adhesive is what we use to bind the leather onto the cover. The odour will dissipate in no time. This odour may be misunderstood as a inferior or fake leather but rest assured, it is not. We are happy to send you a sample swatch without the adhesive backing to convince you that we are only using the best.
Commonly other companies will not mention this as they commonly use PU leather - also known as vegan leather, or polyurethane leather, which is an artificial leather made of thermoplastic polymer. One of the main disadvantages of PU leather is that it easily wears over time and can crack, which means it doesn’t last as long as real leather and hence cheaper.