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The history of the Mackintosh so far...
In 1823, Charles Mackintosh of Scotland obtained the
rights to patent a process used in making a waterproof
fabric comprising two layers of cloth glued together
with a solution of rubber. Initially, he confined himself
to producing the waterproof cloth, but tailors rushed
to make coats from this new fabric. This was despite
Macintosh's warning, that if they sewed the material
the needle holes would let in water. The original coats
duly leaked, and in an effort to resolve the situation
tailors made coats with double stitched seams, the inevitable
result was that the coats let in twice as much water!
In order to rectify the situation, in 1830 Mackintosh
and a partner began to make up the garments themselves
with properly proofed seams and thus was born the coat
that bears his name. Although the name 'Mackintosh'
remains the same after more than a century and a half,
it is now often affectionately shortened to 'Mac' in
honour of its Scottish originator.
Since those early days, manufacturers of the cloth
have greatly improved its qualities. There is now more
choice available in both the weight and the colour,
although the many skills used over generations in making
up the garment have not changed.
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