Editing Mackintosh

{{Short description|Waterproof raincoat}}
{{About|the waterproof coat|the confectioner|Mackintosh's|other uses|McIntosh (disambiguation){{!}}McIntosh}}
{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]], a line of personal computers created by [[Apple Inc.|Apple]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox company
  |name           = Mackintosh
  |type           = [[Subsidiary]]
  |foundation     = [[Glasgow]], 1846s
  |location_city  = [[Cumbernauld]], Scotland
  |key_people     = [[Charles Macintosh]], Founder
  |owner          = Yagi Tsusho<ref name="scotsman">{{cite news|title=The rebirth of the Mackintosh fashion label|work=The Scotsman |date=8 February 2011}}</ref>
  |industry       = [[Textile industry]]
  |products       = Rubberised coats and accessories
  |homepage       = {{URL|http://mackintosh.com}}
}}
The '''Mackintosh raincoat''' (abbreviated as '''mac''') is a form of waterproof [[raincoat]], first sold in 1824, made of [[rubber]]ised [[textile|fabric]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=1097652002|title=Mrs Mac is back|work=The Scotsman|date=3 October 2002|access-date=6 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030230723/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=1097652002|archive-date=30 October 2007}}</ref> 

The Mackintosh is named after its [[Scotland|Scottish]] inventor [[Charles Macintosh]], although many writers added a letter ''k''. The variant spelling of "Mackintosh" is now standard.<ref>''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', 6th ed. (2008)p. 1668</ref>

Although the Mackintosh coat style has become generic, a genuine{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} Mackintosh coat is made from rubberised or rubber laminated material.

== History ==
[[File:Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. Macintosh, 1893.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A gentleman's Macintosh, from an 1893 catalogue]]

It has been claimed that the material was invented by the surgeon [[James Syme]], but then copied and patented by [[Charles Macintosh]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/2088.html|title=Whonamedit – James Syme|publisher=Whonamedit|access-date=23 August 2013}}</ref> Syme's method of creating the solvent from coal tar was published in Thomson's ''Annals of Philosophy'' in 1818;<ref>{{cite journal|last=Syme|first=J.|title=Article V. On a Substance from Coal Tar|year=1818|journal=Annals of Philosophy|volume=XII|issue=July to December|pages=112–3|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435051156909&view=1up&seq=140&skin=2021|access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> this paper also describes the dissolution of [[natural rubber]] in naphtha.

However, a detailed history of the invention of the Mackintosh was published by Schurer.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Macintosh: The Paternity of an Invention|journal=Transactions of the Newcomen Society|volume=28|issue=1|pages=77–87|doi=10.1179/tns.1951.005|first=H|last=Schurer |date=1951 }}</ref> 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. The naphtha was [[Distillation|distilled]] from coal tar, with the [[Bonnington Chemical Works]] being a major supplier.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|date=2019|title=Bonnington Chemical Works (1822-1878): Pioneer Coal Tar Company|journal=International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology|volume=89|issue=1–2|pages=73–91|doi=10.1080/17581206.2020.1787807|s2cid=221115202}}</ref> Syme did not propose the sandwich idea, and his paper did not mention waterproofing. Waterproofing garments with rubber was an old idea and was practised in pre-Columbian times by the Aztecs, who impregnated fabric with [[Natural rubber#Prehistoric uses|latex]]. Later French scientists made balloons gas-tight (and incidentally, impermeable) by impregnating fabric with rubber dissolved in turpentine, but this solvent was not satisfactory for making apparel.

In 1830 Macintosh's company merged with the clothing company of [[Thomas Hancock (inventor)|Thomas Hancock]] in [[Manchester]]. Hancock had also been experimenting with rubber coated fabrics since 1819. Production of rubberised coats soon spread across the UK. All kinds of coats were produced with rubberized material, including [[riding coat]]s and coats supplied to the British Army, British railways, and UK police forces.

Early coats had problems with poor smell, stiffness, and a tendency to melt in hot weather. Hancock improved his waterproof fabrics, patenting a method for [[sulfur vulcanisation|vulcanising]] rubber in 1843, solving many of the problems.<ref name="bt">{{cite news|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/return-of-the-mac-28065280.html|title=Return of the Mac|date=4 July 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Mackintosh-store.jpg|thumb|upright|Mackintosh Store, 104 Mount St, [[Mayfair]], London.]]
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the company continued to make waterproof clothing. In 1925 the company was taken over by [[Dunlop Rubber]].<ref>[http://www.competition/commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1950_1959/fulltext/012c18.pdf] {{dead link|fix-attempted=yes|date=September 2020}}</ref>

== Revival ==
In the mid-1990s the Mackintosh brand owner, Traditional Weatherwear, was on the verge of closing its factory in [[Blairlinn]], [[Cumbernauld]] near Glasgow.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/return-of-the-mac-the-reinvention-of-mackintosh-744339.html |title=Return of the Mac: The reinvention of Mackintosh|newspaper=The Independent |date=8 October 2007 |access-date=6 November 2013}}</ref> 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 design|fashion]] houses such as [[Gucci]], [[Hermès]], [[Louis Vuitton]], and [[Liberty (department store)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.queensawards.org.uk/business/Winners/2000.html |title=The Queen's Awards for Enterprise|publisher=Queensawards.org.uk |date=30 September 2013 |access-date=6 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512132540/http://www.queensawards.org.uk/business/Winners/2000.html |archive-date=12 May 2008 }}</ref> In December 2003 the company name was formally changed to Mackintosh.

In 2007, Mackintosh was bought by Tokyo firm Yagi Tsusho.<ref name="scotsman" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12250424 |title=Mackintosh opens first fashion store in London |work=BBC News |date=21 January 2011 |access-date=6 November 2013}}</ref><ref>Caroline Copley (19 January 2011),[https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-mackintosh-idUKTRE70I3RB20110119 Raincoat-chic: Mackintosh joins London fashion scene] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref>
In Japan the brand is distributed by [[Sanyo Shokai]].

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Hancock |author-link=Thomas Hancock (inventor) |title=Personal Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Caoutchouc or India-Rubber Manufacture in England |year=1857 |location=London |publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans & Roberts |url=https://archive.org/details/personalnarrativ57hanc/page/n8/mode/2up }}

== External links ==
{{commonscat}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091215015110/http://www.newcomen.com/excerpts/macintosh/index.htm Excerpts from "The Macintosh: the Paternity of an Invention"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513191821/http://www.lakelandelements.com/rainwearhistory/macintoshfactory.htm The Macintosh Factory in Manchester – Outline history]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060624204207/http://www.mackintoshrainwear.com/History.htm Mackintosh Rainwear]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071030182223/http://www.bouncing-balls.com/timeline/timeline3.htm  Timeline of rubber development]

{{Dunlop Holdings}}
{{Clothing}}

[[Category:Coats (clothing)]]
[[Category:Clothing companies of Scotland]]
[[Category:Scottish clothing]]
[[Category:Scottish inventions]]
[[Category:Scottish brands]]
[[Category:Clothing brands of the United Kingdom]]