Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I have just received a copy of the new edition, The Preliminary Hearing in the Lizzie Borden Case by Stefani Koorey, Harry Widdows and Kat Koorey (Thanks for all your hard work)
I am on the second page of Dr. William A Dolan's (old page88/new page 18) testimony and have come across what I suppose is the slang of the day. In describing the position of Mr. Borden's body to Prosecuting Attorney Mr. Knowlton, Dr. Dolan says, with regard to Mr. Borden’s head, “At the head of the sofa, which was to the west, there was a Prince Albert coat folded up, that was placed on top of, I think an afghan, some knit cover, and on that was placed a small sofa cushion with a piece of tidy on it;


I am guessing that a piece of tidy may be a doily? Would I be correct? If not, can someone tell me what it is please?

I tried to search this site to see if it was discussed but found the same thing but also that it was a piece of white tidy. I thought of it as a sofa doily or some kind of fancy piece of handiwork used to cover the pillow or protect the sofa. But like you I am only guessing.

A tidy was a crocheted or crochet edged covering that protected the sofa/chair arms and the back of the sofa/chair where the head would rest. And, yes, it was to protect the sofa or chair from dirt/hair dressing. Men used "dressings" on their hair that tended to be oily and if they rested their head directly on the sofa it would leave a stain. The tidies were washable and protected the sofa. I remember as a kid in the 1960's my mother used tidies on the chairs and couch!! They were used probably well into the 1960's.

My grandmother had several crocheted "tidies" which had belonged to her mother, who would have been approximately Lizzie's age. They were also known as "anti-macassers" because one of the most popular hair dressings for men was called "Macasser Oil" and it left a greasy black mark on the upholstery.