Textile Labels

The MAP collection features over 7,000 textile labels, which were generally pasted on mill produced cloth. These labels adopted various vernacular names like tikka, chaap, or more commonly shipper’s ticket. They typically displayed the merchant’s name — either in English or in regional languages depending on the trade location. Additionally, they provided information about the city, country of trade, and the country of manufacture. A significant number of labels were printed in Manchester, England and Glasgow, Scotland.

A particularly engaging aspect of these labels is their imagery, which functioned as both a trademark and a marketing tool. Created using the chromolithograph printing method, they exhibit multiple vibrant layers and intricate details. The images were tailored to the target audience of the country where the cloth was sold. Many Indian labels, for instance, depicted themes such as kings, elephants, queens, historical monuments, temples, mythological figures, and freedom fighters which were typical in the British imagination of India. Some labels also serve as a striking reminder of the colonial era, featuring the British royalty and military officials in their decorated uniforms.

The collection features textile labels from early cotton trading companies such as Finlay Muir & Co., Graham, Binny Mills, and Greaves Cotton & Co. Over time, these labels expanded to include other clothing-related goods like soles, belts, yarn, and chemical dyes, which were traded alongside fabric. Trading cities in India like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Kanpur and Jaipur and abroad such as Karachi (Pakistan), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Yangon (Myanmar) and Surabaya (Indonesia) are featured as part of the larger Asian trading market.

The sheer volume of textile labels produced offers insight into the thriving cotton trade. As each label needed to be a unique trademark, the demand for distinctive images surged, leading to the creation of inventive and sometimes eccentric designs.

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