Mackintoshes

Mackintoshes are waterproof coats made from rubberized fabric. The name derives from Charles Macintosh, a Scottish chemist who in 1823 patented a method for bonding a layer of natural rubber to cloth to repel water. Coats produced using this technique—often called Mackintosh coats or Mackintosh cloth—spread rapidly in Britain during the 19th century and became a recognizable form of outerwear.

Manufacture and material: The traditional Mackintosh fabric was made by sandwiching layers of textile with a layer of rubber, typically using natural rubber dissolved in solvents. The result was a flexible, waterproof layer attached to the cloth. Early versions could become stiff in cold weather and sticky in heat; later improvements enhanced durability and comfort, and some variants used different rubber formulations.

Legacy: The term Mackintosh has entered general usage in British English as a generic term for a raincoat, though it remains tied to the original device and its manufacturers. In contemporary fashion, raincoats often use synthetic waterproof membranes rather than the original rubberized fabric.