Origins Calico originated in
Calicut, from which the name of the textile came, in
India, now
Kerala, during the 11th century, It was mentioned in Indian literature by the 12th century when the
polymath and writer
Hemachandra described calico fabric prints with a
lotus design. Calico was woven using Gujarati cotton from
Surat for both the
warp and weft. By the 15th century, calico from
Gujarat made its appearance in Cairo, then capital of the
Egypt Eyalet under the Ottoman Empire. Cheap
calico prints, imported by the
East India Company from
Hindustān (India), had become popular. In 1700 the first of the
Calico Acts was passed to prevent the import of dyed or printed calicoes from India, China or Persia. This caused demand to switch to imported
grey cloth instead — calico that had not been finished-dyed or printed. These were printed with popular patterns in southern England. Also,
Lancashire businessmen produced grey cloth with linen warp and cotton weft, known as
fustian, which they sent to London for finishing. The
Woollen, etc., Manufactures Act 1720 was passed, enacting fines against anyone caught wearing printed or stained calico muslins, but neckcloths and fustians were exempted. The Lancashire manufacturers exploited this exemption; coloured cotton
weft with
linen warp were specifically permitted by the
1736 Manchester Act. In 1764, of cottonwool was imported. In North America, the
Sons of Liberty disguised themselves in calico as
Indians during the
Boston Tea Party. Participants in the
Anti-Rent War of the early nineteenth century used this disguise to associate land monopoly in the
Hudson Valley with the trade monopoly of the
East India Company.
Calico printing ,
Dyeing and Calico Printing (1878) Early Indian
chintz, that is, glazed calico with a large floral pattern, was primarily produced using painting techniques. Later, the hues were applied by wooden blocks, and the cloth manufacturers in Britain printed calico using
wooden block printing. Calico printers at work are depicted in one of the
stained glass windows made by
Stephen Adam for the
Maryhill Burgh Halls,
Glasgow. Confusingly, linen and silk printed this way were known as
linen calicoes and
silk calicoes. Early European calicoes (1680) were cheap
plain weave white cotton fabric, or cream or unbleached cotton, with a design block-printed using a single
alizarin dye fixed with two mordants, giving a red and black pattern. Polychromatic prints were possible, using two sets of blocks and an additional blue dye. The Indian taste was for dark printed backgrounds, while the European market preferred a pattern on a cream base. As the century progressed the European preference moved from the large chintz patterns to smaller, tighter patterns. After 1888, block printing was only used for short-run specialized jobs. After 1880, profits from printing fell due to
overcapacity and the firms started to form
combines. In the first, three Scottish firms formed the United Turkey Red Co. Ltd in 1897, and the second, in 1899, was the much larger
Calico Printers' Association 46 printing concerns and 13 merchants combined, representing 85% of the British printing capacity. Some of this capacity was removed and in 1901 Calico had 48% of the printing trade. In 1916, they and the other printers formed and joined a trade association, which then set minimum prices for each 'price section' of the industry. The trade association remained in operation until 1954, when the arrangement was challenged by the government
Monopolies Commission. Over the intervening period much trade had been lost overseas. ==Terminology==