Buying Madras

Over the 18th and 19th centuries, South Indian checked cottons were traded internationally. Merchants from all over the world travelled to the Southeast Indian 'Coromandel Coast’ in search of the most popular varieties, including chellos, gingham, guinees, and fashionable checked handkerchiefs.

To capitalise on this trade European 'East India' trading companies battled for control of the region's most lucrative products and resources. Competition was fierce, and companies often commissioned copies of each other’s most fashionable merchandise to undercut the other's profits. The first Madras handkerchiefs may have been commissioned as imitations of Pulicat handkerchiefs, a variety of South Indian checked cotton handkerchief which was already popular worldwide.