Macintosh had the early waterproof garments made in a Manchester factory but they were not comfortable to wear. The rubber cement was affected by the natural oils in woollen cloth causing it to crumble in cold weather, and when seaming, tailors punctured the fabric allowing rain to penetrate. The first waterproof cloth was patented in 1823, but was not without problems. One sheet was placed over a piece of woollen cloth which was then bonded onto another, forming a rubber sandwich. The coal-tar naptha dissolved india rubber which Macintosh used to form thin sheets of rubber. On his father’s death, Charles Macintosh inherited the cudbear factory and began experiments with coal-tar naptha, a by-product of distilling tar. In 1786 he opened his own chemical works – making sal ammoniac and Prussian blue dye – and the first Scottish alum works in 1797. His father owned a Glasgow factory producing cudbear, a purple dye obtained from various lichens capable of colouring wool and silk.Īfter studying at local schools, Charles attended the chemical lectures of Joseph Black at Glasgow University. It was the forebear of the now more familiar plastic mac. Waterproof material was invented by Charles Macintosh after conducting experiments with the waste products of Glasgow’s new gas works, opened in 1818. Death, dying and disappearing in the 1980’sĬharles Macintosh was born in Glasgow on December 29, 1766.
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