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This article examines the early development of printed and manufactured cottonkangatextiles, worn popularly throughout East Africa by women as wrappers. Using archival, pictorial and object collections, I suggest that the decade from 1876 to 1886 was crucial for design. The bold colour and graphics of East African women’s cloth printing, Indonesian batik motifs, European-printed handkerchief-style borders and the inclusion of text combined by 1886 to form the now standard composition ofkangacloth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]