The Mackintosh or raincoat 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 many writers add a letter k.
Although the Mackintosh style of coat has become generic, a genuine Mackintosh
coat should be made from rubberised or rubber laminated material.
History It has been claimed that the fabric was
invented by the surgeon James Syme but then copied and patented by Charles
Macintosh; however this reference is jejune and cites no supporting evidence.
An exhaustive history of the invention of the mackintosh was published by
Schurer in 1952. The essence of Macintosh's process was the sandwiching
of an impermeable layer of a solution of rubber in naphtha between two layers of
fabric. Syme did not propose the sandwich idea. Merely to waterproof
garments with rubber was an old idea, and was practised in pre-Columbian times
by Aztecs, who impregnated fabric with latex. Later, French scientists made
balloons gas-tight by impregnating fabric with rubber dissolved in
turpentine; however, this solvent was not satisfactory for making wearing
apparel. In 1830 Macintosh's 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 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.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the company continued to make waterproof
clothing. In 1925 the company was taken over by Dunlop Rubber.
Revival In the mid 1990s the Mackintosh brand
owner, Traditional Weatherwear, was on the verge of closing its factory in
Cumbernauld near Glasgow. Around the turn of the 21st century, senior staff
members acquired the company and established 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. In December 2003 the company name was formally changed to
Mackintosh. In 2007 Mackintosh was bought by Tokyo
firm Yagi Tsusho. 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.
Bibliography The Macintosh - the Paternity of an
Invention by H. Schurer, Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 1951-53 Vol 28.
References 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
Mackintosh Rainwear – history. bouncing-balls.com – timeline of rubber
development.