A LITTLE-KNOWN TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1923, Page 14

A LITTLE-KNOWN TRADE

THE SHIPPING TICKET

PRINTER,

A trade peculiar to Manchester and of great importance in the shipping world is that of the Trade-mark or "Shipping Ticket" printer, states a correspondent of the "Daily' Mail." In the. days when our trade with the East began to develdp it was found necessary to mark the cotton goods in some manner which would be at once intelligible to the illiterate native. The plan of appealing to that love of pictures which is common to all humanity proved to be a happy one, and now, where we in England would look for a price ticket, the Chinese, and Hindus look for the "mark." The bulk of the cotton goods exported from Lancashire is consigned to Eastern merchants, the' Indian and Chinese markets being a source of revenue which the shipper fully appreciates. Each piece of cloth exported to these markets bears one or more "marks" in the form of gummed ..tickets, varying in. size, .from ■ about 3 by 2 inchee to as much as 10 by 8 inches. •;••■, ■' The tickets are wonders of lithographic art, and depict scenes of Chinese or Indian life, according to the market for which they are intended. The Indian ticket, with somewhat gaudy representation of rajahs, tigerß, and elephants, is a highly varnishea ticket, the cost of which is worth taking, into account when quoting for shipments. The Chinese ticket—or 'chop," as it is. known— though- rather |pss expensive, appeals more to Western artistic taste It is rarely, if «ver, varnished, and, with its delicately- tinted mandarins, pagodas and Chinese mythological subjects, presents a very attractive picture. ' Although: there are certain tickets .which are "common to all markets," and may be,: obtained by any shipper from the ticket -.printers, there are many thou-sands-of..'"private marks,' 1 which are secrets-carefully ,kept between the printer and his customer who owns them In addition 'thY Indian and Chinese ticket buyers, there-are the East Indies and bouth American markets, the latter buying a "head and shoulders" picture, such as one sees On-cigar or handkerchief boxes. But these markets are of lesser important* to the ticket printer 'ovoii ,ta tho liclwt* themselves are le«s cuwQus to the casual observer. • ■