Macassar Oil was marketed as “an unguent for the hair” in 1807 by an advertiser who claimed it was made from sweet-smelling oils imported from Macassar (on the island of Celebes in what is now Indonesia). The stuff was probably made from coconut or palm oil and other fragrances.

The fashion for men to oil their hair reached a peak in the mid-1800s. Because it had a tendency to transfer from the back of a gentleman’s head to the back of the chair in which he was sitting, housewives began covering the backs of their sofas and chairs with a protective cloth, or “antimacassar.” Elaborately crocheted antimacassars have become associated with Victorian frou-frou décor.