Note: blog name change as I embrace 80 and french kiss it to the ground. I meant to do it when I turned 70 but I was damn busy then, mayor of a town, host in my wee inn, running a business consulting service and building an off the grid cabin.
"You're a baby," said a fellow tenant to me today in the laundry room as we introduced ourselves. She's 85. It was a luscious feeling if only for a second when my knees, back and wrist reminded me you are no baby, lady.
Anyway to draw your attention back to the title of today's entry.
I saw this word in a book I just finished and I knew what it was but here for your edification is the definition:
Ma·cas·sar
noun
- 1.a kind of oil formerly used, especially by men, to make one's hair shine and lie flat.
- 2.variant spelling of Makassar.
So male readers, if you're missing out on that desired shine, you know what to get.
So I thought of my mother and grandmother washing the antimacassars back in the day and hanging them on the line.
And I haven't heard that word in years, though it was used a lot as the antimacassars had to be washed, starched and ironed quite frequently.
You are puzzled.
Here's the definition:
an·ti·ma·cas·sar
noun
- a piece of cloth put over the back of a chair to protect it from grease and dirt or as an ornament.
But also note the grease and dirt belonged to men's heads, their easy chairs, the rarity of washing their hair. I often speculated as a youngster that their hair was glued to their heads by all that oil. You could use their heads as a mirror and see yourself when you looked down on it, as I did frequently, sitting on the arms of their armchairs, one of those kids that wanted to share the newspapers, books or crosswords.
But, I am really, really happy the antimacassar days are over. Along with those filthy hankies men used often in great trumpeting nose-blowings that women had to boil, blue and dry and then iron into perfect folds for Da Man.
The hidden and unacknowledged work of women.
Never ending.
How I wish that hankies were gone in this household. They are not. Quite. And I welcome the demise of antimacassars (thank you for explaining where the name came from too). And hair oil. You are so very right about the hidden and unacknowledged work. Such a lot of it. Still.
ReplyDeleteI trust you keep working on their permanent removal, EC. I would run screaming from the kitchen when mum boiled those horrific bastards. One (or two in colds and flu weather) for every day of the week. Standard seasonal and birthday gifts for Da Man in fancy boxes.
DeleteXO
WWW
I guess when the use of Brylcreem died off, so did the need for antimacassars. The are still widely used on long distance trains around the world. It's better than having to reupholster a whole seat because of headrest staining.
ReplyDeleteYes Andrew and used to be on planes also, I think they use disposables now. I always avoid laying my head on these filthy things. There must be some health law regarding their frequent changing. I'm thinking headlice, etc.
DeleteXO
WWW
I will be carrying a baggie full of lysol wipes. Don't put anything in the pocket. It may already have something in there. Bring a feather to tickle the bare foot hanging over your head rest from the guy behind you. Also, don't be shy: you're 80? Use it. These flight attendants will knock themselves out to look after you. Emma.
DeleteI was tongue in cheek Emma. But I have completely changed my mind about flying anywhere, so many have tumbled off recent flights with pneumonia or another bout of Covid. Antimacassers are the least of my worries.
DeleteXO
I knew the word but have also heard them called doilies. I wondered if they also were used because people then didn't get new furniture every Sears sales day? An upholstered chair like that in your pic would have lasted 50 years. At least. We used to use warm water with vinegar. Dampen and wring out the cloth and daube along the upholstery moistening but not soaking. Then take dry cloths and go over the upholstery again gently stroking against the grain to raise the cloth. I had to get rid of mother's sofa/couch/chesterfield, bought in 1930 from Eaton's catalogue, in 1998.
DeleteOur home had no doilies: I saw them only in some European homes. Emma
New furniture every year? Seems awfully wasteful to me.
DeleteWhen I started r eading about maccassars, I had a mental picture of the ANTImaccassar! I never knew the anti was a prefix, I just thought it was a strange word.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness we are all a little less chained to our washing machines or wash boards. Women are still judged on the state of their house, though!
I have no time for those who visit me and look at my surroundings and never at me. As if they have to file a report on my housekeeping later. The ones who never comment on the art on the walls which I welcome. As it's mine. Too busy checking the table and floor for dust.
DeleteXO
WWW
I knew about the oil and antimacassars, my dad used brylcream on his hair and my stepdad favoured Califonian Poppy oil, but I remember my dad washed his hair every day when he bathed and later when we had a shower installed. antimacassars and doilies are not quite the same, with the antimacassar being of more sturdy cloth and lace edged, while a doily was almost always just lace and circular or oval in shape. My mum had plenty of them, to put under things like vases or other ornaments that might otherwise scratch the polished finish of furniture pieces.
ReplyDeleteYes, they were quite different River, the antimacassars were a pile of work to clean, to get all that oil out, I think it involved soaking if I'm not mistaken. The oil was quite pungent too and migled quite attractively (I thought as a child) with the tobacco.
DeleteDoilies were all over the tables and side bits.
XO
WWW
Ours got boiled in soapy water in the copper for a couple of hours with several hot rinses before being hung in direct sunlight for drying, before being heavily starched and ironed. The starch helped the fabric to not soak up so much oil.
DeleteI forgot about that starching helping with the oil. Maybe the oil slid off the macassar and down the chair? I'm laughing imagining that!
DeleteXO
WWW
Also hankies, I have lots of them, always a couple in handbags or jacket pockets, so handy for wiping sweaty faces or for dampening to wipe a scraped knee or sticky fingers should one indulge in ice cream or doughnuts, although never used for sneezes, that's what tissues are for.
ReplyDeleteAll my old hankies are lost in the mist of time past. Some were quite lovely, embroidered, often used as desperation napkins like you said.
DeleteXO
WWW
This is one thing I love about blogging, the things you learn, strange, irrelevant, interesting, and so much more. My 19-year old great-niece just came back from traveling in Europe. I think she liked Ireland the best, she sent lots of photos of Irish Pubs and commented on the frequent use of "wee."
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to love Ireland Inger, land of leprechauns, saints and scholars but for those of us brought up there it can be a very hurtful place. Yes, the pub life is mighty, I sang in many of them in my time.
DeleteXO
WWW
We had doilies for years as I recall, my grandmother loved to make them in all sizes for use under vases, heads, most anything. And you mention bluing, always for anything white. They still sell the very same brand that she used way back then. And you ARE a baby--I turned 90 two weeks ago!
ReplyDelete90 Marge!!! Well done you, though as I know we have very little to do with reaching the milestone, sheer luck, who knows. Gosh there are those who still "blue"? Do you remember dying? Giving a coat or a dress a new look?
DeleteXO
WWW
Not sure this will appear in the correct location, but anyway-- yes I remember dying the occasional clothing item and not knowing if the color would be what you'd hoped for. And such a mess to clean up afterwards! No thanks--not anymore, but it worked then (most of the time).
DeleteAll this talk of laundry reminds me - with a smile - that my mother, even as a widow in her mid 90s with an automatic washing machine, would never have dreamt of using it on any other day than Monday!
ReplyDeleteMy mother was religious about the Mondays too. And in damp old Ireland Tuesday had the clothes taken in from the line and hung everywhere in the house to dry off so she could iron everything on Wednesday.
DeleteI hate people talking about the good ol' days. A huge fallacy for women particularly.
XO
WWW
Doilies like other needle arts were acceptable examples of women's art. The designs were intricate and breathtaking: how did they do that? Of course they made their own patterns. Norwegian Hardanger was a real brain workout. I can remember my mother doing it. To relax. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardanger_embroidery
ReplyDeleteEmma
Fascinating Emma. My mother was an embroider too, some gorgeous work. I have one of her tablecloths.
DeleteXO
WWW