Calico Printers Research Articles

A TEXTILE WEB

The 1830s has been singled out as the decade in which the Swedish consumer market really started to expand. In the same period, cotton textile production expanded in the Gothenburg area. A small group of immigrant Jewish families played an important role in this development. The impact of Jewish merchants on the growth of the consumer goods market is consistent with international research. Their entrepreneurial activities and renewal of textile production and trade have been emphasized. This has, however, not been paid much attention to in the Swedish research. This article discusses what impact the Jewish immigrants had on the increase of the textile market in Gothenburg and its surroundings. Through a couple of case studies and examples, we want to elucidate the significance of Jewish textile production and trade: Jewish calico printers started up mass production of fashionable fabrics in the 1820s. Furthermore, Jewish merchants spread their goods to customers in the countryside in cooperation with Swedish pedlars. The authors also discuss different reasons why the Jews played such a significant role during this particular period: The role of the legislation, the Jewish textile tradition, access to capital, networks, effective distribution, a growing consumer demand, and the geographical context.

Calico Printers' Association swatchbook archive

Calico Printers' Association swatchbook archive

The British Industrial Revolution: An Economic Perspective ed. by Joel Mokyr

180 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE The British Industrial Revolution: An Economic Perspective. Edited by Joel Mokyr. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1993. Pp. xi + 362; tables, notes, bibliography. $55.00 (cloth); $18.95 (paper). In a sense this is an oddly balanced book. It is remarkable to find a work of some 300 pages with an editor’s introduction that takes up 131 of them. However, the introduction is really a short book in itself, a survey of the state of debate about the British Industrial Revolution, with its focus on the impact of the “new” economic history—that is, the highly quantitative, theoretical, econometric treatment that has dominated writing for about two decades. This is very well done, there is an enormous amount of reading behind it, and it is an ex­ tremely thorough and well-balanced account. Reassuringly, Joel Mokyr starts by deciding that, whatever the limi­ tations which have to be attached to the term, the Industrial Revolu­ tion was a real phenomenon, an entity that calls for continued study in its own right. There are, however, in his discussion of technology and resources, instances where Mokyr perpetuates views I consider mistaken. How the whole range of British technological development in the 18th century can be surveyed and the conclusion arrived at that the British had no superiority in macro-inventions is quite baf­ fling. Why historians keep dragging up the ridiculous 1766 statement by a solitary Swiss calico printer that for “a thing to be perfect it had to be invented in France and worked out in England” is incomprehen­ sible. Of course some important French inventions came to England, like cast-plate glass, chlorine bleaching (if originating in Swedish sci­ ence), and Leblanc soda (p. 33). Somehow large-scale sulfuric acid production, an invention on which the future heavy chemical indus­ try was enormously dependent, rarely seems to be put in the balance on the British side. The new economic historians never seem to ask why the French were continually investigating British industry by both legitimate means and espionage, while it is hard to find evidence of British investigations. Even the most fleeting perusals of the mas­ sive French archives of the 18th century will show that contemporary Frenchmen had no doubts whatever. On resources, there is the usual playing down of the importance of the coal endowment and the fanci­ ful idea that Britain could have imported coal if necessary. Where from, one may ask, in the classic Industrial Revolution period? How­ ever, these criticisms do not apply in general; for instance, Mokyr’s discussion of the relation between science and technology in the In­ dustrial Revolution is excellent. The other contributions are dominated by David Landes’s “The Fable of the Dead Horse: Or, the Industrial Revolution Revisited.” The phrase “dead horse” derives from the work of Eric Jones, who recently contrasted the older view of the Industrial Revolution as in some sense revolutionary with the new economic historians’ view that there was slow growth, no discontinuity, and no startling intervention TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 181 of new technology, and that any attempt to revive the older view was “a dead horse that is not altogether willing to lie down.” Full justice to Landes’s stylish and combative piece cannot be done here. But he points out that most of the worthwhile older approaches stressed the long period of preparation and development before more rapid technological change occurred from the mid-18th century, so that new economic historians are often erecting skittles only to bowl them down again. He emphasizes that, whatever the recent attempts to take a flat iron to the Industrial Revolution, there had been decisive change and that was in technology; he rejects Jones’s strange state­ ment that “the nexus between technology and economic growth is not particularly strong,” as he does C. Knick Harley’s that “Britain probably also benefited from a lucky draw in the random process of invention.” Landes criticizes the self-congratulatory rectitude of the new economic historians in eight telling points (pp. 167—69), the first being: “This is one more example of the kind of cynical revisionism that characterizes all the social...

Labour Relations at Manufactures in the Eighteenth Century: The Calico Printers in Europe

Many studies on proto-industrialization have followed Franklin Mendels' work, and virtually all concern cottage industries in rural areas. Occasionally, authors are also interested in urban proto-industries, which are correctly considered home industries here. This production method (aside from traditional manual labour) has certainly been decisive, both in supplying expanding markets during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and in raising capital for commercial production of goods. Cottage industries were the prevailing form of industry at the start of the Industrial Revolution (and during the preceding periods) and were consequently a direct prerequisite for it.

Taking risks and containing competition: diversification and oligopoly in the fire insurance markets of the north of England during the early nineteenth century

In the spring of i824 a wealthy, influential group of Manchester cotton merchants, manufacturers, and calico printers, representatives of the town's business oligarchy, established the Manchester Fire and Life Assurance Company (hereafter M.F.L.A.C.). Within two years this became the third largest provincial fire office in the kingdom, and the specialist insurer in the most dynamic, competitive, and volatile sector of British industry. Its presence could not be ignored by the large, established London fire offices during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. It has been suggested that when a firm enters a new market dominated by a few large producers and with high entry barriers, the move may trigger a cycle of increased competition. This is often typified by hostile pricecutting, a shake-out of small or inefficient producers through bankruptcy or acquisition, and the establishment of a new equilibrium, characterized in some markets by oligopolistic cooperation in the form of, for instance, tariff 2 agreements. Such a cycle appears to have occurred in the insurance industry during the two decades following the diversification of M.F.L.A.C.'s cotton merchants into fire insurance. This paper first examines the impact of this diversification on the market for industrial fire insurance.3 Secondly, it reassesses the history of the extensive cooperation between London and provincial insurers which emerged from the fierce competition of the i820s and i83os. The underlying issues addressed concern the structure of the fire insurance market, and whether this market presents an example of oligopolistic behaviour in this period. This in turn raises wider questions about the significance of oligopoly in the British economy during the early nineteenth century, questions which can only be briefly referred to in the concluding section.

The Identification of Polyester Fibers in Forensic Science

Abstract A polyester fiber is by definition one composed of linear macromolecules comprising at least 85% (by mass) of the chain of an ester of a diol and terephthalic acid [1]. In 1941 it was discovered in the laboratories of the Calico Printers Association in Lancashire, England that fibers could be spun from polyethlene terephthalate (PET). I.C.I. Ltd. began production in 1948 under the name “Terylene,” and production was expanded to a large scale in 1955. DuPont began to produce a polyester known as Fiber V in the U.S.A. in 1950. This fiber subsequently became known as Dacron® and was produced in quantity from 1953 onwards [2].

Dyes and Dyeing 1775–1860

The history of the dyestuffs industry during the period 1775–1860 is interesting for three reasons. In the first place it was in connection with the manufacture of synthetic dyestuffs, begun in 1856, that the industrial research laboratory and the organization scientist first unmistakably appeared in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Secondly, there are the enigmas of W. H. Perkin, the man who discovered and manufactured the first coal-tar colours, but who retired somewhat abruptly from the industry in 1874: just after the synthesis of alizarine. Thirdly, the dyestuffs industry was in intimate association with the textile industries which had for a long time been subject to frequent radical scientific and technological innovation. Among the most important of these we may mention John Smeaton's classic paper of 1759 on the maximum work obtainable from a given fall of water: a problem important not only for the abstract science of mechanics, but also for the design of waterwheels—the main source of power for the early textile mills. (The waterwheel was not, during the eighteenth century, the epitome of the quaint and picturesque: it was in the van of scientific and technical progress.) Again, the textile industries were quick to employ the Watt rotative engine; previously a two cylinder Newcomen engine had been tried out. Bleaching powders, based on Scheele's discovery of chlorine and its properties, were rapidly adopted: in this context one cannot help contrasting the indifference of medical science to Davy's early suggestion of using nitrous oxide as an anaesthetic; or Faraday's comment in 1818 on the anaesthetic power of sulphuric ether. The textile industries saw, over this period, a rapid succession of new machines, the pace of invention being so hot that in 1832 Charles Babbage reported that machines became obsolete long before they wore out. A Salford cotton mill was the first industrial establishment to use gas lighting: James Thomson, calico printer, introduced gas lighting to the town of Clitheroe when he installed it in his works. And there were many other important technical and scientific innovations. It was to supply these industries, so well accustomed to change, that the synthetic coal-tar dyestuffs were introduced from 1856 onwards. It is interesting that, so far as we can see, the appearance of these synthetic dyestuffs was the last in the series of major innovations in the textiles and related industries: at least until recent times.

Effects of Mergers: Six Studies.

I The Cement Industry:P. Lesley Cook 1. Introduction 2. The Period Before 1900, and the Formation of the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd. 3. The Immediate Effects of the Formation of the APCM, 1900-7 4. Price Agreements, 1900-10 5. The Second Combine, 1911 6. 1918-29 7. 1929-34 8. Price Stability, 1934-9 9. 1939-55 10. Conclusions Appendix II The Calico Printing Industry:P. Lesley Cook 1. Introduction 2. Before the Merger, 1850-1900 3. The Formation of the Calico Printers' Association Ltd 4. The Early Years of the Association, 1900-2 5. 1902-14 6. The Declining Industry, 1918-39 7. 1945-54 8. The Role of the Combine (a) 1919-54 (b) Conclusions Appendix: Fixed and Variable Costs III The Soap Industry: Ruth Cohen 1. Introduction 2. Expansive Without Acquisitions, 1885-1906 3. The Abortive Combine, 1906 4. The Period of Acquisitions, 1906-21 5. The Period of Consolation and Rationalization 1921 Onwards 6. Conclusions Appendix: Number of Soap Producers in Great Britain at Selected Dates IV The Flat-Glass Industry:P. Lesley Cook 1. Introduction 2. The Establishment of the Modern Industry 3. 1910-14 4. The Industry Since 1918 a. Major Technical Developments in Sheet Glass b. Major Developments in Plate Glass c. Cost Structure and Market Structure and their Relationship with Price and Output Policy d. Commercial History of the Sheet Glass Trade e. Commercial History of the Plate Glass Trade f. Rolled, Wired, Figured and Cathedral Glass 5. The Subsidiary Activities of Pilkington Brothers 6. Conclusions V The Motor Industry:George Maxcy 1. Introduction 2. The Early Experimental Years, 1896-1901 3. The Period of Small-scale Competition, 1902-22 4. The Beginning of Mass Production, 1923-9 5. Price and Model Competition, 1930-9 6. Post-War Expansion, 1945-55 7. A Comparison with the USA 8. Conclusions VI The Brewing Industry:John Vaizey 1. Introduction 2. The First Period of Mergers, 1886-1901 3. Mergers in a Depressed Period, 1900-14 4. Continuous Concentration 5. Conclusions General Conclusions Index

Polyethylene Terephthalate and its early development

AbstractAn account is given of an investigation carried out at the Chemical Research Laboratory, Teddington, on the fibre‐forming polyester, polyethylene terephthalate which was recently announced by the calico Printers' Association and Imperial chemical Industries under the registered name of “Terylene.” The major part of the investigation was carried out under extra‐mural contract with the Ministry of supply, and in collaboration with the Calico Printers' Association, but the latter part was carried out independently. the polyester is obtained from ethylene glycol and methyl terephthalate by ester interchange, and its preparation is covered by B.P. 578079 (Whinfield and Dickson).To prepare the necessary large of terephthalic acid, p‐cymene was oxidized with nitric acid and the product further oxidized with potassium permanganate to terephthalic acid. This was esterified, and purified by vacuum distilation and subsequent crystallization. The condensation of glycol and methyl terephthalate was carried out both in glass and in metal apparatus: the form of apparatus employed and the conditions of preparation are fully described . Attempts to produce satisfactory filaments by extruding the melt under a high pressure of nitrogen were unsuccesful, partly because the solid polyester suffers degradation when melted and so yields week filaments, and partly because the filaments contain bubbles due to liberation of dissolved nitrogen. Filaments were prepared by extruding the polyester from a glass apparatus immediately after preparation. The filament was cold‐drawn into fibre by passage through two pairs of mechanically driven rolls geared in the ratio of 1:4. The maximum strength of the fibre was 5 g. per denier, and the extension at break was about 12%. The water‐absorption of the fibre was very low, but the dielectric properties were not outstanding. Photomicrographs of filaments and fibres illustrate certain faults which were encountered, and attention is drawn to the fact that although the filament is transparent the fibre is subtantially opaque. The cause of this opacity is discussed.It is concluded that the maximum strength of polyethylene terephthalate fibre was not reacdhed. The observed properties of the fibre and the fact that it can be produced in metal apparatus suggested that industrial development was desirable. This development was undertaken by Imperial Chemical Industries.

Market Research

THE importance to the manufacturer of acquiring accurate knowledge of his market is now becoming generally recognized. Should there have been any residual doubts, they were rapidly dispelled at the conference on market research conducted by the Manchester Joint Research Council on October 22, when the following papers were presented: “The Technique and Applications of Market Research”, by Mr. O. W. Roskill (senior partner, O. W. Roskill, Industrial Consultants), “The Investigation of Trends of Consumer Tastes”, by Mr. L. R. England (chief research officer, “Mass Observation”), and “Market Research and the Seller”, by Mr. D. S. F. Vernon (Calico Printers' Association, Ltd.).

Structure of Terylene

THE recent joint announcement by the Calico Printers' Association and Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., of the discovery of a new fibre-forming polymer permits the publication of the following short account of an X-ray investigation carried out on this material in the summer of 1944. The fibres, now known to be terylene, were prepared by Dr. D. V. N. Hardy at the Chemical Research Laboratory, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Teddington, and they had been submitted for other examination.

Chemistry of ‘Terylene’

A RECENT announcement by the Calico Printers' Association, Ltd., and Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., relates to a new fibre-forming polymer derived from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, to which the name ‘Terylene’ has been provisionally assigned.

(1) The Dyeing of Textile Fibres (2) The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics (3) Textile Colour Mixing: a Manual intended for the Use of Dyers, Calico Printers and Colour Chemists

(1) MR. R. S. HORSFALL and Mr. L. G. Lawrie, who are members of the staff of the British Dyestuffs Corporation, Ltd., the former being head of the dyehouse department of that firm, are peculiarly well-fitted for the compilation of a book dealing with the dyeing of textile fibres in general. The outlook of the average dyer must be limited largely to the activities within his own dyehouse, so that the types of dyeing upon which he is engaged and in which he is expert eventually become in his eyes the most important. As a result, although fitted to produce a specialised monograph dealing with the sections of the trade upon which he is engaged, lie wou[d be liable to produce an unevenly balanced general book on dyeing. On the other hand, nowhere can such a varied experience of dyeing be gained as in the dyehouse section of a works where colouring matters are manufactured. It is here that colour- ing matters are submitted to the most rigorous examination in order to discover their good qualities or defects, and to elaborate the most suitable methods of application in the case of products of commercial value. Further, the success of a colour works depends to a great extent upon close touch being maintained between the expert staff of its dyehouse section and all types of the colour consuming industries, Consequently, a most varied and evenly balanced experience of dyeing is gained, as is apparent in the book under review. (1) TIre Dyeing of Textile Fibres. By R. S. Horsfall L. G. Lawrie. Pp. x + 415. (London: Ernest Benn, Ltd., 1927.) 28s. net. (2) The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics. By Franklin Beech. Third edition, revised and enlarged by A. J. Hall. Pp. xii + 296. (London: Ernest Benn, Ltd., 1927.) 18s. net. (3) Textile Colour Mixing: a Manual intended for the Use of Dyers, Calico Printers and Colour Chemists. By David Paterson. Third revised edition. Pp. xiv + 130 + 7 plates. (London: Ernest Benn, Ltd., 1927.) 12s. 6d. net.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PERIOSTEUM AND THE ENDOSTEUM IN THE REPAIR OF TRANSPLANTED BONE

Almost two hundred years have elapsed since the beginning of the debate over the importance of the periosteum in bone growth, regeneration and repair; and in spite of the vast amount of experimental and clinical evidence submitted by the adherents of the two views, namely, the one that the periosteum is an osteogenic membrane, and the other that it is merely an inert limiting membrane, there exists today the same two factions, as in the early part of the eighteenth century. In a most interesting review of this subject, Keith 1 presents many important facts connected with the early study of bone growth. He shows how Belchier, 2 in 1736, after investigating the chance observation of a calico printer who had found that the bones of his madderfed pigs were stained red, discovered that only new bone took the red stain. Duhamel, 3 in 1739, utilizing the important discovery of

Dyestuffs and the Textile Industry

NOTHING could be more convincing of the neglect of this country to provide the means whereby the applications of scientific discovery should be made available in the conduct of important industries than the speech of Mr. Lennox B. Lee on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Calico Printers' Association, of which he is chairman, on September 18; It appears that the association is by far the largest user of colour in this country. Before the advent of the war the 2000 colours it then used were to the extent of 70 per cent. produced solely in Germany, and of the remainder only 7 per cent. were of British origin. At the present time out of the restricted list of 230 essential base colours only 25 per cent. are produced by British makers, one-third of these being substitutes, and only used because better colours cannot be obtained, whilst the cost is not less than from 200 to 1000 per cent. above prewar prices. Moreover, of the 230 colours above-named, only the commoner colours, including also one or two of the better kind, are obtained from British firms. The association is, in fact, dependent upon the Swiss colour manufacturers for the finer ranges and specialities, while quite half the colours of the said list cannot be obtained at all, amongst them some of the most valuable.

Improvements In Appliances for Scraping and Cleaning Proof Covered Bowls, Fabrics, and the like used in the Process of Printing Textile Fabrics.

Journal of the Society of Dyers and ColouristsVolume 29, Issue 11 p. 322-322 Improvements In Appliances for Scraping and Cleaning Proof Covered Bowls, Fabrics, and the like used in the Process of Printing Textile Fabrics. C. Roberts, C. Roberts The Calico Printers‘ Association, Ltd..Search for more papers by this author C. Roberts, C. Roberts The Calico Printers‘ Association, Ltd..Search for more papers by this author First published: November 1913 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-4408.1913.tb00691.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume29, Issue11November 1913Pages 322-322 RelatedInformation

The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow

NOT many scientific societies of the kingdom can boast of having existed for a hundred years, but the Royal Society of Edinburgh a few years ago celebrated its centenary, and last week what is now known as the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow was engaged in celebrating the attainment of its hundredth year, for it came into being on November 9,1802, with sixty-two of the most prominent men in the city as members, many of whom have since acquired prosperity and reputation. There was Dr. William Meikleham, the professor of astronomy and natural philosophy in the University, and who was Lord Kelvin's predecessor in the natural philosophy chair, so that those two men practically covered the century between them. There was also Dr. George Birkbeck, subsequently a professor in the “Andersonian,” and the founder (in London) of mechanics' institutions. Patrick Cumin, another foundation member, was the professor of Oriental languages. A particularly notable man in the membership was David Mushet, the discoverer of the famous black band ironstone which did so much to make Scotland the leading element in the creation of the iron industry. Among other original members were Charles Macintosh, who originated the “macintosh” as an article of clothing for wet weather; Mr. John Roberton, a famous iron-founder, who read many papers in subsequent years; and Mr. William Dunn, of Duntocher, a well-known machine-maker. Mr. James Boaz was an ac-c ountant; he took a warm interest in the Society, and became secretary in the year 1804, remaining in that office to the great credit of the Society for twenty-six years. Sundry other original members might be named and descanted upon, men from the very highest ranks, and who collectively made Glasgow or contributed very materially towards it, but we must refrain from doing so. Worthy John Geddes, of Verreville, glass manufacturer and potter, was an early member, and he was the second president. The Society did not publish any Proceedings or Transactions until the year 1844, after Dr. Thomas Thomson, F.R.S., had become president. That gentleman was the famous professor of chemistry in the University, and his knowledge was frequently called forth during the eighteen years that he held the office of president. Mr. Walter Crum, F.R.S., famous as a scientific calico printer, succeeded I)t. Thomson in the chair, and then there was a somewhat continuous run of University presidents, such as Dr. Allen Thomson, F.R.S., Prof. Wm. Thomson, F.R.S. (now Lord Kelvin), Prof. Thomas Anderson (distinguished as a chemist), Prof. W. J. Macquorn Rankine, C.E., F.R.S., and Prof. Henry D. Rogers (American geologist). After he had been knighted, the professor of natural philosophy was again made president for the years 1874-75-76-77. The Society was always in a position to command the services of able and learned men to take the presidential chair, and business men have always been in abundance to fill the executive offices and to discharge the duties pertaining to them for periods extending from six years (in the case of Prof. McKendrick as secretary) to upwards of thirty years, as in the case of Mr, John Mann, the present treasurer.

Dyeing and Calico Printing, including an Account of the Most Recent Improvements in the Manufacture and Use of Aniline Colours

THE subjects treated of in the volume now before us possess a twofold interest—first as involving questions of pure science in the domain of organic chemistry; and secondly, as being of immense industrial importance to the country. It does not enter into our province to notice the work in its industrial aspect, but we have no hesitation in stating that author and editors have performed their task in a highly creditable manner. From every point of view the work will be found useful, and we can recommend it to the scientific chemist as well as to dyers and calico printers. Dyeing and Calico Printing, including an Account of the Most Recent Improvements in the Manufacture and Use of Aniline Colours. By the late Dr. F. Crace-Calvert Edited by John Stenhouse, LL.D., F.R.S., &c., and Charles Edward Groves, F.C.S. (Manchester: Palmer and Howe; London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1876)

Analysis of a new alloy for the plates for calico printers

Analysis of a new alloy for the plates for calico printers