ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the methodologies and historical findings arising from the commonest of material forms in the Atlantic world: textiles and clothing. From the early modern to the dawn of modern times, textiles for home or personal apparel represented the most important investments for the majority of the population. These goods were also imbued with complex economic and cultural meanings. The bed curtain exemplifies the dynamic trade in cottons. The Dutch and English East India Companies encouraged a trade in everyday domestic textiles for plebeian buyers, with cheaper varieties for less affluent. Laurel Ulrich reminds that, 'The history of textiles is fundamentally a story about international commerce in goods and ideas'. Mary White's quilt was part of this process of profound material change that linked Indian manufacturers with European consumers. Specialist 'petticoat warehouses' sprang up in London in last quarter of century and began competing on the price, quality and variety of their products in the pages of daily newspapers.
