View source for Calico

{{short description|Type of textile}}
{{for|the breed of cat|Calico cat}}
{{others}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
[[File:Calico Sample.JPG|thumb|The weave of calico sample from a [[shopping bag]] shown against a [[centimetre]] scale]]
'''Calico''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|æ|l|ɪ|k|oʊ}}; in British usage since 1505)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuQyRKaoJmUC&q=calico+calicut |title=Lynda Mugglestone "The Oxford History of English" |date= 27 July 2006|isbn=9780191623172 |access-date=2014-01-16|last1=Mugglestone |first1=Lynda |publisher=OUP Oxford }}</ref> is a heavy<ref>''Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English'' ISBN 019 431 5339, 2000, page 166</ref> [[plain weave|plain-woven]] [[textile]] made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, [[cotton]]. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is coarser than [[muslin]], but less coarse and thick than [[canvas]] or [[denim]]. It is still very cheap owing to its unfinished and undyed appearance.

The fabric was originally from the city of [[Kozhikode|Calicut]] in southwestern [[India]]. It was made by the traditional weavers called [[Saliya|cāliyans]]. The raw fabric was dyed and printed in bright hues, and [[Chintz|calico prints]] became popular in [[Europe]].

==History==
===Origins===
Calico originated in [[Kozhikode|Calicut]], from which the name of the textile came, in [[South India]], now [[Kerala]], during the 11th century,<ref name=eb-calico/> where the cloth was known as "chaliyan".<ref>{{cite book |first=Jill |last=Condra |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through World History: 1801 to the Present |year=2008 |volume= 3 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780313336652 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6FI2czFz6MC&q=calico+calicut}}</ref> It was mentioned in Indian literature by the 12th century when the [[polymath]] and writer [[Hemachandra]] described calico fabric prints with a [[sacred lotus in religious art|lotus design]].<ref name=eb-calico>''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2008). [https://www.britannica.com/topic/calico-textile "calico"].</ref> 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.<ref name=eb-calico/> Trade with Europe followed from the 17th century onwards.<ref name=eb-calico/>

===Politics of cotton in the British Empire===
In the 18th century, England was famous for its [[woollen]] and [[worsted|worsted cloth]]. That industry, centered in the east and south in towns such as [[Norwich]], jealously protected their product. Cotton processing was tiny: in 1701, only {{convert|1,985,868|lb|kg|order=flip}} of cottonwool was imported into England, and by 1730 this had fallen to {{convert|1,545,472|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}. This was due to commercial legislation to protect the woollen industry.<ref name=E296>{{Harvnb|Espinasse|1874|p=296}}</ref> Cheap [[Chintz|calico prints]], imported by the [[East India Company]] from [[Hindustan|Hindustān (India)]], had become popular. In 1700 the first of the [[Calico Acts]]<!--Act 11 William III--> was passed to prevent the import of dyed or printed calicoes from India, China or Persia. This caused demand to switch to imported [[Greige goods|grey cloth]] instead — calico that had not been finished-dyed or printed. These were printed with popular patterns in southern England.{{who|date=June 2016}} Also, [[Lancashire]] businessmen produced grey cloth with linen warp and cotton weft, known as [[fustian]], which they sent to London for finishing.<ref name=E296/> Cottonwool imports recovered though, and by 1720 were almost back to their 1701 levels. [[Coventry]] woollen manufacturers claimed that the imports were taking jobs away from their workers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Espinasse|1874|p=298}}</ref> 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 [[Manchester Act 1736|1736 Manchester Act]].

In 1764, {{convert|3,870,392|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}} of cottonwool was imported.<ref>{{Harvnb|Espinasse|1874|p=299}}</ref>

In North America, the [[Sons of Liberty]] disguised themselves in calico as [[Native_Americans_in_the_United_States|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]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Christman |first1=Henry M. |year=1945 |pages=73, 74 |title=Tin Horns and Calico |isbn=3-1775-112829-9}}</ref>

===Calico printing===
[[File:Calico sample Crum & Co..jpg|thumb|left|Sample of calico printed with a six-colour machine by Walter Crum & Co., from [[Frederick Crace Calvert]], ''Dyeing and Calico Printing'' (1878)]]

Early Indian [[chintz]], that is, glazed calico with a large floral pattern, was primarily produced using painting techniques.<ref name=Turnbull>Turnbull, ''A History of Calico Printing in Great Britain'', 1951.</ref> Later, the hues were applied by wooden blocks, and the cloth manufacturers in Britain printed calico using [[Woodblock printing|wooden block printing]]. Calico printers at work are depicted in one of the [[stained glass]] windows made by [[Stephen Adam (stained glass designer)|Stephen Adam]] for the [[Maryhill Burgh Halls]], [[Glasgow]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maryhill Burgh Halls: Historic Stained Glass |url=https://www.maryhillburghhalls.org.uk/panels |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=Maryhill Burgh Halls |date=18 March 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref> 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 [[Rose madder|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.<ref name=dreamstress/>

[[Thomas Bell (printer)|Thomas Bell]] patented a printing technique in 1783 that used copper rollers. In 1785, [[Livesey, Hargreaves and Company]] put the first machine that used this technique into operation in [[Walton-le-Dale]], [[Lancashire]]. The production volume for printed cloth in Lancashire in 1750 was estimated at 50,000 pieces of {{convert|30|yd|m|order=flip|abbr=off|0}}; in 1850, it was 20,000,000 pieces.<ref name=Turnbull/> The commercial method of calico printing using engraved rollers was invented in 1821 in [[New Mills]], [[Derbyshire]], in the [[United Kingdom]]. [[John Potts (engraver)|John Potts]] of Potts, Oliver and Potts used a copper-engraved master to produce rollers to transfer the inks.<ref name="Glover216">{{cite book |last=Glover |first=Stephen |title=The history and gazetteer of the county of Derby |year=1831 |page=216|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BsoHAAAAQAAJ |access-date=26 November 2009}}</ref> 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 [[Business group|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.<ref name=gg>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Calico_Printers_Association|title=Calico Printers Association - Graces Guide|website=www.gracesguide.co.uk}}</ref> Some of this capacity was removed{{how|date=June 2016}} 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.{{cn|date=August 2017}}

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.<ref name="M&M">{{cite book
|last=Hughes
|first=William
|title=Report on the Process of Calico Printing
|url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/ulcc-bin/htsearch/Default.aspx?config=COMPCOM2&sort=score&matchesperpage=20&restrict=&words=Calico+printing
|access-date=2010-12-08
|date=1954-04-13
|publisher=Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission
|location=House of Commons, London
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121052518/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/ulcc-bin/htsearch/Default.aspx?config=COMPCOM2&sort=score&matchesperpage=20&restrict=&words=Calico+printing
|archive-date=21 January 2012
|url-status=usurped
}}</ref>

==Terminology==
[[File:Calico printing Wellcome L0011294.jpg|thumb|Calico printing (1835)]]

Printed calico was imported into the United States from Lancashire in the 1780s, and led to a linguistic separation: while Europe maintained the word calico for the {{Em|fabric}}, in the US it was used to refer to the {{Em|printed design}},<ref name=dreamstress>{{cite web |title=Calico, muslin, gauze – a history of fabric terminology – Part 2|first=Leimomi|last=Oakes|publisher=The Dreamstress|date=10 June 2010|url=http://thedreamstress.com/2010/06/calico-muslin-gauze-a-history-of-fabric-terminology-part-2/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514103846/http://thedreamstress.com/2010/06/calico-muslin-gauze-a-history-of-fabric-terminology-part-2/ |archive-date=14 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> where these colourful, small-patterned printed fabrics also gave rise to the use of the word calico to describe a cat coat colour: [[calico cat]]. The patterned fabric also gave its name to common names for two North American crab species, ''[[Ovalipes ocellatus]]'' and ''[[Hepatus epheliticus]]''.

In the UK, Australia and New Zealand:
*Calico – simple, cheap equal weft and warp plain weave fabric in white, cream or unbleached cotton<ref name=oed>{{Cite OED|calico}} See 2.b. and 2.c.</ref>
*Calico bag - a bag made of calico used by banks and other financial institutions
*[[Muslin]] – a very fine, light plain weave cotton fabric
*Muslin gauze – US: muslin – simple, cheap equal weft and warp plain weave fabric in white, cream or unbleached cotton and/or a very fine, light plain weave cotton fabric
*Gauze – extremely soft and fine cotton fabric with a very open plain weave
*Cheesecloth – US: gauze – any very light fabric, generally with a plain weave
*Tote bag - sometimes made of calico

In the US:
*Calico – cotton fabric with a small, all-over floral print<ref>Kadolph, Sara J., ed. (2007) ''Textiles'', 10th ed., p. 463, Pearson/Prentice-Hall {{ISBN|0-13-118769-4}}</ref><ref name=oed/>
*Muslin – UK: muslin gauze – simple, cheap equal weft and warp plain weave fabric in white, cream or unbleached cotton and/or a very fine, light plain weave cotton fabric
*Muslin gauze – the very lightest, most open weave of muslin
*[[Gauze]] – UK: cheesecloth – any very light fabric, generally with a plain weave
*[[Cheesecloth]] – extremely soft and fine cotton fabric with a very open plain weave

==See also==
*[[Bafta cloth]]
*[[Calico Acts]]
*[[Calico cat]]
*[[Calico (goldfish)]]
*[[Piece goods]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{commons category|Calico}}
*{{cite book|last=Espinasse|first=Francis|author-link=Francis Espinasse|title=Lancashire Worthies|url=https://archive.org/stream/lancashireworthi00espi#page/322/mode/2up|access-date=2010-12-01|year=1874|publisher=Simpkin, Marshall, & Co.|location= London}}
*{{Cite NSRW|wstitle=Calico}}
* Charles O'Neill (1869) [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/color/id/24565 ''A dictionary of dyeing and calico printing''] – digital facsimile from the [[Linda Hall Library]]
* William Crookes (1874) [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/color/id/13351 ''A practical handbook of dyeing and calico-printing''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729055002/http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/color/id/13351 |date=29 July 2017 }}. Illustrated with period fabric swatches. – digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library
* Baba Gee Calico Printing [https://babageecalicoprinting.com/ ''A calico Printing store''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916214621/https://babageecalicoprinting.com/ |date=16 September 2021 }}. where design fabric with calico technique.
* Deazley, R. (2008) 'Commentary on the Calico Printers' Act 1787', in Primary Sources on Copyright (1450–1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer,[https://www.copyrighthistory.org/cam/commentary/uk_1787/uk_1787_com_1072007131417.html Copyright History 1787 Calico Printers' Act] 
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[[Category:11th-century inventions]]
[[Category:History of Kerala]]
[[Category:Woven fabrics]]
[[Category:Indian inventions]]
[[Category:History of Kozhikode]]
[[Category:Economy of Kozhikode]]
[[Category:Cotton industry in India]]