Victorian/Needlework terms?

Macassar is oil for hair, to slick it back. Antimacassars are the clothes that go on the backs of chairs and couches to keep the oil from staining the fabric. Judy

Yes & No. The ones I've seen, you wipe the pen on the non-embroidered heavy "lining" fabric, which can be replaced when it's dirty.

Jeanine ,,,,, You brought some memories back ..... from my first school years

Yes a pen wiper was a felt or chamois cloths , to wipe off the ink. Mine were cut into small `parts` that were bound together like a little booklet !!! the embroidey was on a the little cover that held the `pages` together. I got mine from my first teacher , who taught me to read and write [Dutch]. mirjam

"Ditto" usually means "the same as". I would guess the "ditto" means that the thread is to be scarlet of the same type of thread as the one listed right above it. As in "one skein black embroidery floss" followed by "one scarlet ditto (embroidery floss)

One dictionary lists "musnud" as "a seat with a cushion that is used as a throne by Indian princes". Your guess is as good as mine!

Pat > A friend lent me her latest book find which is called "Treasures in

An antimacassaar is a "doily" that goes on the arms and the back of an upholstered chair or sofa. I am sure you have seen old movies where these are displayed. My Granny (MSRIP) had several sets: crocheted sets in ecru, white, pale blue and one in some sort of pinkish color and also several several sets made of cotton and linen that had all been embroidered by her. One of the first things I made as a little girl was a set of embroidered antimacassars that I gave my Mom for Mother's Day. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

It's an embroidered cover for a heavy cloth, used to wipe pens. Realise that they were using fountain pens and liquid ink. Very common gift from youngsters to older folks.

dunno about that one.

Covers for the top of sofas and chairs. Macassar oil was a popular male hairdressing, and it tended to come off on everything (and then the oil would attract the omnipresent dust). So ladies put antimacassars on their sofas and chairs.

One skein of black thread, two skeins of scarlet ditto.

hth jenn

-- Jenn Ridley : snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net WIP: FrankenFauna, Morning Glory, NoshiRibbons, Emperor's Coat II Most recently Finished: Water Lilies, Be Mine, Honey I Shrunk the Heart Stitching log:

Antimacassars were to protect the chairs from the Macassar oil used by gentlemen to dress their hair in those days.

When I was at school we used to make pen-wipers out of several "pages" of material (preferably felt) about three inches long by two inches wide, but they usually had a decorative outer cover, particularly if made as a gift. Good Heavens, I even remember being "Ink Monitor", and had to fill up each little white pottery inkwell which was set into each desk - that was when we used "Dip Pens". No - NOT Quills!

I don`t recall a Musnud, though!

Pat P

I'm sure the word was used around the time of Queen Victoria's coronation, surprized you don't remeber it.

The word musnud is from India and is the pillow that is used by a prince as a throne. The word is also used to descibe the elaborate rug and cushions that would be used by the female head of a household. There would be an elaborate rug embroidered in rich materials, and placed on the rug would be the appropriate cushions for her to recline on. There would be pillows for her arms to rest on, and it is where she would receive guests. Usually it would be placed in the center of the great hall of her mansion. Her attendants would be aound her. If she was receiving a guest that she wished to honour, she might give up her position on the musnud to the guest.

The British used the word to mean a seat of honour.

George

And I inherited four absolutely beautiful ones, total size 15" x 22", with a very heavy guipure lace on one end of each. Rather than hide them away in a drawer, as they have been for two generations, ("too good to use")I decided to work on the principle of "adaptive re-use" and use them as placemats.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

i can see i'm going to have to make one of these.

KCat the Fountain Pen Nut

For Pen Talk, Images, Trading and Reviews: The Fountain Pen Network

Cheers a bunch, Geirge! ;-P

Pat P

Pen wipers: Used to wipe excess ink from pens. :-) How I miss my fountain pen!! They are soooo very expensive these days, and hard to get a fine pointed one.

Back in the days of pen wipes, pens were often dipped into ink wells. :-)

Antimacassars: Arm covers and back covers for chairs and sofas. The arm covers helped against excessive wear, and the back cushion covers guarded against oily hair residue.

Ditto is a new word for me. I have several books from the period and not heard this phrase.

Dianne

Jean> A friend lent me her latest book find which is called "Treasures in

Dianne Lewandowski wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

Fountain Pen Hospital has Waterman Phileas fountain pens with a fine nib for $38.00 plus shipping, they come with a converter for use with an ink bottle. I use one for everyday work.

Sorry, Dianne, but Antimacassars were only the chair backs, not arm covers. (To protect from the Macassar Oil)

Surely ditto was only used in the normal way in this context. Not as a make of thread, surely. As in "one skein of blue Anchor, and one skein of green ditto". A more usual way of writing ditto in those days, as opposed to the " we use now as a shortcut (it was written as " -do- " in my younger days! We`ve just got lazier!)

I stand dutifully corrected. Dianne

If it makes you feel better, I wasn't sure. However I DO remember making some crewel ( Jacobean type of design) for my parents. I also did a firescreen, and since I was 24 when I came to the USA, I must have been late teens, early twenties!

Gillian

Here's another definition that says they were covers for both the arms and the back. Now everyone must sigh deeply and decide which definition they want to be the correct one.

Antimacassar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. An antimacassar is a small cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs to protect them from macassar oil worn in Edwardian and Victorian gentlemans hair.

The fashion for oiled hair became so widespread that housewives began to cover the arms and backs of their chairs with washable cloths to preserve the fabric coverings from being spoilt. Around 1850, these started to be known as antimacassars.

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 bought from shops.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, they had become so associated in peoples' minds with the Victorian period that the word briefly became a figurative term for it.

Lucille

Retrieved from "

Actually, I have a set labeled by my great grandmother as an "antimacassar set" large piece for the back of the chair and a smaller pair for the arms. And I do recall both grandmothers referring to the set as antimacassars.

And I've seen the "real thing" or should I say felt and smelled it at Victoriana museum ( I think either in San Francisco or San Diego). It was oily and I didn't care for the smell.

Cheryl

OOOOoooo! Thank you, George! My little triviaphilic brain is just drinking this up.

Elizabeth