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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Courtaulds
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Textile firm which developed from a small Essex mill for spinning silk inherited by Samuel Courtauld (1793–1881), descendant of a Huguenot family which had arrived in the late 17C. Its rapid growth under his management resulted from the Victorian preoccupation with death, for Courtaulds became the leading manufacturer of black silk crape, an essential part of every lady's wardrobe in periods of mourning. When this fashion passed, the company pioneered man-made textiles in the early 20C – in particular the artifical silk known as rayon.
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