Do you remember going to your Gran’s for tea? Did she have a favourite armchair with a cloth or lace headrest? That small piece of cloth on the back of a chair is called an antimacassar.
Sometimes you’d also see a cloth placed across the back or cushions of a sofa too. Perhaps she also had cloth arm covers for her sofa and armchairs. If you’re of a certain age, this might be a familiar memory of time spent in your elderly relatives’ homes.
The cloth was there to protect the fabric underneath from any soiling. Interestingly, an antimacassar is also the name given to the cloth collar of a sailor’s uniform and it was used to keep macassar oil off the sailor’s shirt or top.
Why was it called an Antimacassar?
Macassar oil was popularly used by men in the Victorian and Edwardian eras as a hair grooming product. The liberal use of this hair product enabled men to create the typical slicked-back look of the times. Macassar oil was said to be invented by Mr Alexander Rowland of Hatton Garden, in London. Although he stated that the sweet oils used for the hair treatment were imported from Macassar, it was more likely that they came from Nepal and India. His ‘unguent for the hair’ was sold to the public in embossed square glass bottles and was promoted with wonderfully over-the-top advertising:
“The Proprietors of the Macassar Oil can proudly appeal to an enlightened and judicious Public for the unrivalled efficacy of this Oil. They wish not to deceive or delude by rhetorical declamations or bombast language — they solicit only the test of experience, and with confidence they can affirm, that the more it is known in a higher degree of estimation will it be held. The utility is evinced by preserving the hair from falling off or changing colour, and its elegance by producing the most smooth and beautiful gloss ever known. Thus to the fairest and most amiable part of the creation it must prove an invaluable advantage, its virtues being so great an auxiliary to heighten their charms. To expatiate more on the subject would be superfluous; suffice it to say, that the Macassar Oil is perfectly innocuous; and it will retain its virtues in any climate; therefore, it is earnestly recommended to Ladies or Gentlemen going abroad.”
Whilst the hair oil was incredibly popular with men, housewives and domestic staff were less keen on it. It frequently left marks when a gentleman rested his head against the high back of an armchair. To counter this rather messy fashion, a variety of different styles of cloth covers were produced and used in homes up and down the country. They were known as antimacassars – a remedy to the notorious oily residue!
Antimacassars proved incredibly popular because they were so easy to clean, and replace regularly, therefore protecting fabric upholstery.
Originally, antimacassars were made of stiff white crochet work but towards the end of the 19th century, they became softer. As with anything that becomes popular, the simple cloth covering was quickly adapted to more intricate forms of lace, crochet or tatting. Combinations of cotton cloths with embroidery patterns in wool or silk were also popular.
Whilst antimacassars became associated with the Victorian period, they remained popular for considerably longer. Although the fashion for Macassar oil eventually subsided, today you can still see antimacassars used on the headrests of seats on trains, buses and aircraft.
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