page_title: Antimacassar
hierarchical_section_title: Antimacassar
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: dictionaryofnee01caul (find matches) Title: The dictionary of needlework&#160;: an encyclopaedia of artistic, plain, and fancy needlework dealing fully with the details of all the stitches employed, the method of working, the materials used, the meaning of technical terms, and, where necessary, tracing the origin and history of the various works described Year: 1882 (1880s) Authors: Caulfeild, S. F. A. (Sophia Frances Anne), 1824-1911 Saward, Blanche C Subjects: Needlework Publisher: London&#160;: A.W. Cowan Contributing Library: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library Digitizing Sponsor: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: No. 76. Detail of Oblong Antimacassar (No. 77). Text Appearing After Image: No. 77. Oblong Antimacassar. Foundation of grey Toile Colbert. Dragon border worked in Cross Stitch, in black and redI purse silk. Drawn Workis used for centre of Antimacassar, and as a bordering. Grey thread lace is sewn on as an edging. Pattern show inworking size in No. 76. Boxes, (9RUNKS, Baths,©ravelling dresses, Y)ATS, Bonnets,Dress (EKterials, Games, Books,Dressing (s&gt;ases, I^late, Suits, F^OUSE lilNEN,&amp;c, &amp;c, \ To say that the Editor is up to everything. . . . would convey a feeble and wholly inade-quate notion of his talents and accomplishments.—Saturday Review. AY be PROCURED or DISPOSED1V1 of with trie utmost Ease, Cer-tainty, and Dispatch, either lorMONEY or by EXCHANGE, throughThe Bazaar, Exchange and Mart,which can be had of all News-agents, price 2d. i Like all grand conceptions, the process isremarkable for its simplicity.—The Globe. OFFICE: 170, STRAND, LONDON. u Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: An antimacassar is a small cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs, or the head or cushions of a sofa, to prevent soiling of the permanent fabric underneath. The name also refers to the cloth flap 'collar' on a sailor's shirt or top, used to keep macassar oil off the uniform.
  Macassar oil was an unguent for the hair commonly used by men in the early 19th century. The poet Byron called it "thine incomparable oil, Macassar". The fashion for oiled hair became so widespread in the Victorian and the Edwardian period that housewives began to cover the arms and backs of their chairs with washable cloths to prevent the fabric coverings from being soiled. Around 1850, these started to be known as antimacassars. They were also installed in theatres, from 1865.
  They came to have elaborate patterns, often in matching sets for the various items of parlour furniture; they were either made at home using a variety of techniques such as crochet or tatting, or purchased. The original antimacassars were usually made of stiff white crochet-work, but in the third quarter of the 19th century they became simpler and softer, usually fabric embroidered with a simple pattern in wool or silk.
context_section_description: An antimacassar /ˌæntɪməˈkæsər/ is a small cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs, or the head or cushions of a sofa, to prevent soiling of the permanent fabric underneath. The name also refers to the cloth flap 'collar' on a sailor's shirt or top, used to keep macassar oil off the uniform.
  Macassar oil was an unguent for the hair commonly used by men in the early 19th century. The poet Byron called it "thine incomparable oil, Macassar". The fashion for oiled hair became so widespread in the Victorian and the Edwardian period that housewives began to cover the arms and backs of their chairs with washable cloths to prevent the fabric coverings from being soiled. Around 1850, these started to be known as antimacassars. They were also installed in theatres, from 1865.
  They came to have elaborate patterns, often in matching sets for the various items of parlour furniture; they were either made at home using a variety of techniques such as crochet or tatting, or purchased. The original antimacassars were usually made of stiff white crochet-work, but in the third quarter of the 19th century they became simpler and softer, usually fabric embroidered with a simple pattern in wool or silk.
  By the beginning of the 20th century, antimacassars had become so associated in people's minds with the Victorian period that the word briefly became a figurative term for it. For example, antimacassars are suggestive of old-fashioned, Victorian-era women in Rebecca West's novel The Return of the Soldier.
  Antimacassars are also used on the seat headrests of commercial passenger transport vehicles, such as trains, buses and, especially, aircraft to extend the life of fabrics.
caption: Design of a cloth antimacassar
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