[Ads-l] barathea (cloth), antedating OED 1862 9origin unknown

[Stephen Goranson]

Wikipedia may be mistaken on the 1840s origin of barathea. The Times
[London] Friday, August 9, 1793, page 4, column 4, bottom announces a
bankruptcy sale of stock from a “Mercer and Button Seller” listing many
kinds of cloth including “Baratheas.”

The Observer [London] May 20, 1838 1/5 “….received from his Agent in
Paris…Baratheas….”

British Newspaper Archive–messy non-subscription preview only–Nov. 6, 1752
[?], Caledonian Mercury [Midlothian, Scotland] “…Cloths…Baratheas…”

Gale [more reliable than the above preview], Caledonian Mercury [Edinburgh,
Scotland], June 27, 1808, “…Barathea…Silk…”

OED “Of unknown origin."

"A cloth of a fine texture composed of a silk warp and woollen weft, also
of cotton and wool and entirely of wool."

Any subscriber care to check British Newspaper Archive?

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org