Long before the modern convenience of toilet paper, personal hygiene was a class issue. While peasants made do with whatever nature provided—leaves, moss, hay, even their own shirt sleeves—French royalty took a decidedly more luxurious approach. They wiped their bottoms with fine linen and lace.

This wasn't just any lace. Before the Industrial Revolution, lace was extremely difficult to make and expensive, often taking skilled artisans weeks or months to create intricate patterns by hand. Using it as bathroom tissue was the ultimate display of wealth and status.

The Hierarchy of Wiping

In 15th and 16th century France, what you used in the bathroom clearly advertised your social standing:

Royalty and aristocrats: Fine linen, lace, hemp, and wool—often scented with rose or lavender water
Middle class: Plain linen or rags
Peasants: Whatever was available—leaves, moss, corn cobs, or their clothing

Servants kept the wealthy supplied with fresh white linen for both body wiping and clothing. The idea was simple: cleanliness meant changing linens frequently, not necessarily washing the body itself.

A Global Perspective

While French nobles dabbed themselves with delicate lace, other cultures developed their own solutions. Ancient Romans used a shared sponge on a stick called a tersorium, soaked in saltwater or vinegar. Ancient Greeks preferred pottery shards and stones. The Chinese invented the first dedicated toilet paper in the 6th century, though it didn't become widespread globally for another thousand years.

In colonial America, wealthy families used pages from old books and newspapers, while farmers relied on corn cobs—which were actually quite effective when dried properly.

When Did Things Change?

Modern toilet paper as we know it wasn't commercially available until 1857, when Joseph Gayetty introduced "Medicated Paper for the Water Closet" in the United States. Even then, it was marketed as a luxury item.

The French aristocracy's preference for fine fabrics continued well into the 18th century. At the Palace of Versailles, servants maintained elaborate systems to keep royalty supplied with fresh linens for all their hygiene needs. It wasn't until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that disposable paper products finally replaced reusable cloth across all social classes.

Today, the average American uses about 50 pounds of toilet paper per year. That's roughly equivalent to the weight of several bolts of fine French lace—though considerably less expensive.

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