What is the metaphorical meaning of this phrase "cold-mutton-commercial type", that we can relate to English tea planters?
The railway carriage was full of tea-planters (including one or two wives and sisters), and there were a few at the hotel. It was curious to see some English faces of the cold-mutton-commercial type, and in quite orthodox English attire, in this out-of-the-way region.
Adam's Peak to Elephanta (1892)