388 



THE INDIA RUBBER V/ORLD 



[Septemher I, 1902 



THE ENGLISH MACINTOSH. 



THE macintosh without the k is an English invention 

 pure and simple, and has not only had a marvelous 

 growth in Great Britian, but that country is headquarters of 

 the world for that trade as far as output goes. This is not 

 altogether due to the prejudice of the Briton in favor of this 

 garment, but is in part accounted for by a climate which, more 

 than any other, demands such wearing apparel. It is interest- 

 ing to know that the first patent lor waterproofing on wearing 

 apparel was granted to an Englishman, John Jasper Wolfen, as 

 far back as 1627. The patent specification in part reads as fol- 

 lows: 



" To vse or excise, practize or putt in vse," " a newe invencon 

 for the making and pparing of ctaine stuflf to hould out wett 

 and rayne;" and to "make, frame, sett vpp, or vse all such 

 'engynes, instrumentes, and deuises" as the patentee shall 

 have found out or discovered, " to pposes aforesaide," on 

 payment of the " yerely rente of five poundes of lawfull 

 money of Englande." 



The inventor did not contemplate the use of India-rubber as 

 far as we know, but among the "engynes," "instrumentes," 

 and "deuises" who can say that there may not have been 

 spreaders, doubling machines, and even heaters } We do 

 know, however, that in 1791 Samuel Peal was granted a patent 

 for the use of India-rubber dissolved in spirits of turpentine for 

 waterproofing purposes, and in 1823 Charles Macintosh made 

 a further advance in proofing fabrics with India-rubber dis- 

 solved in coal oil. He also patented a doubling machine at 

 that time, and erected a dry heater, perhaps the first that was 

 used in the rubber business. Later, when Thomas Hancock 

 discovered that sulphur added to rubber and subjected to heat 

 brought about a " change," the i^acintosh garment really had 

 its birth. The early product was very unsightly and heavy, due 



partly to the machinery 

 •*'^ used, to the fabrics em- 



ployed, and to the extremely heavy coatings of rubber, but 

 when the " English spreader "was perfected, proofing for the 

 trade became general, and tailormade garments were produced, 

 very handsome effects were reached. In connection with the 

 macintosh it is interesting to know that the " electric finished " 

 gossamer had its birth in England, and a great variety of de- 

 signs in farina printed upon rubber were the result. The gos- 

 samer, to be sure, did not have the run in Great Britain that it 

 did in the United States, the printed designs as a rule appear- 

 ing on the linings of single textures. 



Another specialty of English parentage was the vapor cure 

 for double texture which was, for some reason, due either to the 

 skill of the manufacturers or to their climate, very successful 

 in England, but in the United States a general failure, resulting 

 in loss to many large houses. So disastrous was it, indeed, that 

 almost every manufacturer in the States discontinued the pro- 

 cess and took pains to advertise that their goods were all steam 

 cured. It would hardly be giving a fair look at the British 

 waterproofing trade if one did not call attention to the rain- 

 proof goods known as Cravenette, that had their birthplace in 

 Bradford, England, and from there have gone out all over the 

 world. They have not taken the place of the macintosh, but 

 have created a place of their own, and without doubt have 

 come to stay. The illustrations accompanying this article 

 show typical styles of English garments of the present day. 

 They are, of course, only four out of many types of products of 

 several large houses. 



In what is known as the " scientific war on mosquitoes " the 

 use of rubber goods has proved itself a necessity. For exam- 

 ple, the department of public health of the borough of Queens, 

 Long Island, after condemning some 2000 small ponds, were 

 obliged to equip their men with rubber hip boots and lengths 

 of rubber hose before they could cover the water with a film of 

 crude oil, which kills the larva; of the mosquito. 



The production of rubber [says the New Y oxk Journal of 

 Commerce], is scattered over so wide an area that its control 

 would be much more difficult than that of petroleum or an- 

 thracite ; it would more nearly resemble the control of refined 

 sugar production. Here only partial success has attended the 

 efforts to put the production under a single control. 



ALEXANDRA" COAT. 

 [Ferguson, Shiers & Co., Manchester.] 



MOTOR COAT. 

 [Abbott, Anderson .V Abbott. London.] 



OFFICERS' REGULATION COAT. 



[Leyland and Birmineham Rubber 



Co., Limited,] 



MABEL" COAT. 

 [P. Frankenstein .S: Sons, 

 Mancliesler.] 



NEW STYLES IN ENGLISH MACINTOSHES. 



