on calico and …. cholera?
I’ve been sifting through early nineteenth-century English newspapers to learn more about the kinds of fabrics available to quilters in this era. One of my search terms was “calico,” a fabric first imported from India and later produced - and printed - in England, and particular in Lancashire.
Calico production in England led to new careers, and that of calico printer, in particular. At first, this was done by hand, with calico printers designing patterns, then carving them into wooden (and later copperplate) blocks, and then printing them onto fabric. But the emergence of copperplate cylinders soon made the job of handprinting redundant and so perhaps it’s not surprising that many of the entries for calico were bankruptcies:
1832 J. Collier, Manchester, calico printer
1834 H. Barnes, Tottingham, Leworend, Lancashire, calico printer
1834 T. Duckworth, Manchester, calico printer
1836 Sampson Lloyd, Manchester, calico printer
1836 Samuel Hodson & John Wardley, Birkacre, Chorley and Manchester, calico printers
1837 C. Palfreyman, Manchester, calico printer
A litany of shuttered businesses, year after year after year.
Textiles: a pair of large presses for block printing calico. Engraving by J. Carter after T. Allom, 1834. Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What I wasn’t expected to find was this story, printed in the Western Times, on 14 September 1833:
NEW REMEDY FOR THE CHOLERA – At the Old Bailey Sessions, James Watson, aged 20, was indicted for stealing 24 yards of calico, the property of John Middleton & co. The prisoner was engaged by the prosecutors as a porter, and on the night of the 23rd of July, as he was about to leave the warehouse, a remarkable appearance of obesity in his person attracted the attention of a fellow-servant named Jones. Jones charged the prisoner with having something concealed under his garment. This the prisoner denied, but on being searched, the calico was found wrapped round his loins. The prisoner in his defence, said he had a sudden attack of cholera, and knowing the virtues of calico when brought into close contact with the person, he had wrapped the calico round him as the best specific at hand. He had two witnesses to prove this. Mr. Bodkin, who was for the prisoner, was about to examine them when – The Recorder said that such a defence could not be seriously entertained. – Mr. Bodkin – Oh! I don’t know that. Those attacks come on very suddenly. – The Recorder – Not attacks from calico (laughter). Two witnesses were then examined, who deposed to the prisoner being ill in bed on the previous Sunday. The jury found the prisoner guilty, but recommended him to mercy on account of previous good character.
I'm not sure what strikes me the most: the audacious defence, or the sudden and "remarkable appearance of obesity," or the 24 yards "wrapped round the loins."
The first cholera epidemic in the UK was in 1832, and spread rapidly, particularly among the poor. According to the UK National Archives, "measures included the wearing of flannel cloth 'girdles,'" and perhaps that's what Watson was referencing here. It's possible that fear of cholera may have occasioned James Watson's actions. It's also equally possible that he just wanted to steal fabric.
At any rate, this wasn't a story I expected to find when I went searching for calico. And now you know, too.
Remedies for Cholera, 1832. Wellcome Images. CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
blog post cover image: “Washing clothing infected with cholera,:” from Thomas Shapter, The History of Cholera in Exeter, 1832. 1849. Wellcome Images. CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
