A forgotten court case

The internet can be really useful, especially when trying to find the origins of textiles.

A friend-of-the-blog sent a link in to a story on MuseumCrush.org. The tale centres on some samples of 19th Century cottons, purchased by the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in 1999. Jan Shearsmith, archivist, shared the pieces on the museum's blog and social media and people got in touch. One of the stories that came to light was about the distinctly shady practices that traders in textiles got up to; practices which led to a court case! You can read all about it here. I wonder what stories our collection could tell?

Thank you for the link, Mr H.