mackintosh

The Mackintosh or Macintosh (abbreviated as mac or mack) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made out of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, though a letter k is added by many writers (this variant spelling "Mackintosh" is now standard).

Although the Mackintosh style of coat has become generic, a genuine Mackintosh coat should be made from rubberised or rubber laminated material.

History

Mackintosh shop, Burlington Arcade, London.

Charles Macintosh patented his invention for waterproof cloth in 1823 and the first Mackintosh coats were made in the family's textile factory, Charles Macintosh and Co. of Glasgow. But in 1830 the company merged with the clothing company of Thomas Hancock in Manchester. Hancock had also been experimenting with rubber coated fabrics since 1819. Production of rubberised coats soon spread all over the UK. Every kind of coat was produced with rubberized material including riding coats and coats were also supplied to the British Army, British Railways and UK police forces.

Early coats had problems with smell, stiffness, and a tendency to melt in hot weather, but Hancock further improved their waterproof fabrics, patenting a method for vulcanising rubber in 1843, which solved many of the problems.^[2]

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the company continued to make waterproof clothing. In 1925 the company was taken over by Dunlop Rubber.^[3]

Revival

In the mid 1990s the company which then owned the Mackintosh brand, Traditional Weatherwear, was on the verge of closing its factory in Cumbernauld near Glasgow.^[4] Around the turn of the 21st century, senior staff members acquired the company and made progress to establish the traditional rubberised Mackintosh coat as an upmarket brand in its own right. The company collaborated with leading fashion houses such as Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Liberty. The coats became particularly popular with Japanese women, and the company won a Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2000 for its success in international trade.^[5] In December 2003 the company name was formally changed to Mackintosh.

In 2007 Mackintosh was bought by Tokyo firm Yagi Tsusho.^[1] With the backing of its parent company Mackintosh has continued to expand its reputation and marketing operations. In January 2011 the company opened its first fashion store in London.^[6]

References

• Mackintosh Rainwear – history.
• bouncing-balls.com – timeline of rubber development.
• The Macintosh - the Paternity of an Invention by H. Schurer, Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 1951-53 Vol 28.
• The Scotsman, Oct 4, 2002 [2]

External links

• Thomas Hancock: Personal Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Caoutchouc or India-Rubber Manufacture in England, 1st Published 1857, London, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmanns & Roberts. Complete e-text scanned and edited by L.Element.– autobiography of the leading UK pioneer of rubber and rubber-proofing technology.
• Excerpts from "The Macintosh: the Paternity of an Invention" – history of the invention of latex waterproofing
• The Macintosh Factory in Manchester - Outline history at lakelandelements.com