Hello Rhian,
I admit that a knowledge of German in this case helped; people think of toilets now as
strictly porcelain conveniences but in other languages it refers to the actual toilette.
I checked on google (
http://www.wordnik.com/words/toilet-cover) and found the following:
quote
n. A cover for a toilet-table, formerly often of rich stuffs, embroidery, etc., in later
times more commonly of washable material decorated with ribbons, etc., which can be
detached.
unquote
There are further examples on the web page; I think this fits with your list
Regards
Karin
-----Original Message-----
From: powys-bounces(a)rootsweb.com [mailto:powys-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Rhian
Williams
Sent: May-27-12 2:24 PM
To: WLS-Powys
Subject: [POWYS] Wedding presents
This isn’t a Powys question and only borderline family history really, but I thought it
might be interesting and maybe someone could help me. I hope it will be Ok with John.
My friend was looking at a list of the wedding presents her grandparents had received in
rural Merionethshire in 1906 kept in the family with their marriage certificate and a poem
written by a local poet. Although a Welsh speaking couple, the list is written in English
as taught at school, and is full of the usual small things – crockery, cutlery, linen of
various kinds, fire implements and the odd 10/- (10 shilling) note, which would have been
quite a sum in that period.
Two people, or two families, had given something we couldn’t quite identify. We knew what
a table cloth and a table cover were (this latter we thought was a chenille cloth with a
fringe for putting on the dining table when not in use or to protect the surface under the
cloth, often dark green or maroon) but what would a toilet cover be? They were given two
of them. Their actual toilet (WC) would have been down the bottom of the garden and may
not have had a lid at all, so I doubt that it would have been a cloth or knitted cover for
the toilet lid. Anyway wasn’t that a fashion that started about the 1950s? It definitely
wouldn’t be what Wikipedia calls a toilet cover today – a paper toilet seat cover! We
speculated whether the word toilet might refer to an older usage, washing ourselves in
days before bathrooms. So might it be a ewer and basin? Or maybe the cloth runner that
went on top of the chest of drawers in the bedroom on which the basin and ewer stood?
Any other suggestions or knowledge?
Thanks for any contribution
Rhian
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