|
The history of the raincoat |
The literatureof the earlier twentieth century is a rich source, not to be neglected. Just a few brief notes to stimulate research. [-->] |
A number of people have written about the discovery of latex and how its potential was exploited in a huge variety of ways, with a paragraph here and there given over to its use for proofing fabric, and some of that given over to rainwear. The Story of Rubber is one example [which we are turning into an e-text - ed].
There are also various memoires and notes about rainwear over the last fifty or so years, especially the forties and fifties of last century - many on this site. Lorraine tells me that there is also a history of the riding mac in preparation - wonderful, Godspeed!
But that leaves an awful lot about the history of rainwear that is unsung - unrecorded, underdocumented but not at all uninteresting. For one thing, the rubber-proofed coat was invented at a very dramatic time. Alongside the lighthouse and the train, the patenting of "macintosh" (a new way of rubber-proofing cloth) in 1823 reflected a new era of human travel - travel across continents and seas, travel to building projects, travel to the workplace - linked with a new phase of the industrial revolution in Europe. Actually
I think it would be really worthwhile to work on the history of rainwear, throughout the nineteenth century in particular, but coming into the early part of the twentieth century as well. What I propose is that we start by gathering materials.
Many of these Directories are on-line here. Leicester University has been putting them up. The site is slow (use to be much slower- thanks!) but the stuff is there! |
The ones I know about are the "Directories" listing businesses in different towns which were published from time to time in the period and which are usualy available, some of them, in public libraries. We need to trawl through these and make a note of every mention of rainwear! We could be on the look out for other types of record as we go. (Eg Periodical magazines such as Strand.)
Lorraine has agreed to assemble our findings on the site. When we have something substantial to go on we can think how to take a next step...
To make it worthwhile we need to be absolutely careful in the notes that we take, and in referencing them.
If anyone has any spare time, do consider calling in at the Library, or browsing on-line, and seeing what you can find ....
H (Hazel)
