John White wrote:
See page 327 of   Montgomery Ward's Abridged facsimile Catalog No. 57
published by Dover Publications.in 1969.  You will not what looks like a
stack of lock washers.  Though of hardened leather, they were cut to the
desired length and functioned precisely as their iron counterparts.



You can still buy these.  They are leather strips, formed into a tight
coil.  I packed the hubs on many a carriage where they serve more as a seal
for grease than as a washer.  They could be cut to fit any size axle.

Dan W.