umbrella

Etymology

The word umbrella evolved from the Latin umbra, meaning 'shadow' or 'shade from light' as it provided a shade from the sun. The Oxford English Dictionary records the first recorded usage in this sense in 1611.

The word parasol is a combination of the Latin parare (to 'parry', 'ward off', 'shield') and sol ('sun'). The mostly nineteenth century Parapluie, from French, also combines para with pluie ('rain'), in turn derived from Latin pluvia. Again, French Paraneige is a combination of para with neige ('snow'), also from Latin nix. Hence, a parasol shields from sunlight, a parapluie shields from rain, and a paraneige shields from snow.

In Britain, umbrellas were sometimes referred to as "gamps" after the character Mrs. Gamp in Charles Dickens' novel Martin Chuzzlewit as the character was well known for carrying an umbrella, although this usage is now dated or obsolete.

In India the word छात्र (chhatra) has been used since ancient times. It represents, that which gives छाया (chhaya), meaning shade or shadow from the Sun.

Brolly is a slang shortening of umbrella, often found in Australia, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK.

Bumbershoot is a rare and fanciful Americanism from the late 19th century.

An umbrella may also be called a sunshade, rainshade, snowshade, or beach umbrella (US English).

History

Africa

The earliest known umbrellas in Ancient Egyptian art date back to the Fifth Dynasty, around 2450 BC. The umbrella is found in various shapes. Typically it is depicted as a flabellum, a fan of palm-leaves or coloured feathers fixed on a long handle, resembling those now carried behind the Pope in processions. Gardiner Wilkinson, in his work on Egypt, has an engraving of an Ethiopian princess travelling through Upper Egypt in a chariot; a kind of umbrella fastened to a stout pole rises in the centre, bearing a close affinity to what are now termed chaise umbrellas. According to Wilkinson's account, the umbrella was generally used throughout Egypt, partly as a mark of distinction, but more on account of its useful than its ornamental qualities. In some paintings on a temple wall, a parasol is held over the figure of a god carried in procession.

Zeinab Badawi in An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence states the umbrella was introduced by the Dutch to the Ashanti, when Osei Kofi Tutu I received one as a gift following his defeat of the other Akan kingdoms. Later, in 1707, Sir Dalby Thomas asked the British to supply the Asante with umbrellas.

By the 1800s, the Amanhene (senior chiefs) were using large multicolored umbrellas. Umbrellas were used during festivals as streets of Kumasi were paraded with them. Like the Asantehene's umbrella bearer, the others also spin their umbrellas in tune with the music produced by drummers while accompanying their "Ohene". Umbrellas were also used to provide coolness as well as highlight the importance of the various leaders.

Americas

The district of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was reported to have used an umbrella made from feathers and gold as its pantli, an identifying marker that is the equivalent of a modern flag. The pantli was carried by the army general.

Beehler Umbrella Factory est. 1828 was the first umbrella manufacturing company in the United States. Francis Beehler was a woodcarver in his home country of Germany. After he immigrated to Baltimore, Maryland, he noticed a lack of umbrellas. Americans generally scorned the devices for their "ridiculous effeminacy". Nevertheless he used his talents in making wooden poles and whale bone ribbed umbrellas to create a new market (steel rib designs would not appear until after 1852). Beehler's success attracted competitors. Baltimore was long recognized as the umbrella capital of the country; at the industry's peak in 1920 there were seven umbrella companies in the city producing millions of umbrellas annually.

Asia

The oldest extant example of an umbrella appears in the archaeological record around 2310 BC, in a victory stele of Sargon of Akkad. In later sculptures at Nineveh, the umbrella appears frequently. Austen Henry Layard gives a picture of a bas-relief representing a king in his chariot, with an attendant holding an umbrella over his head, dating from c. 710 BC. It has a curtain hanging down behind, but is otherwise exactly like those in use today. It is reserved exclusively for the monarch (who was bald), and is never carried over any other person.

In Persia, the umbrella is repeatedly found in the carved work of Persepolis, and Sir John Malcolm has an article on the subject in his 1815 "History of Persia." In some sculptures, the figure of a king appears attended by a servant, who carries over his head an umbrella, complete with stretchers and runner. In other sculptures on the rock at Taghe-Bostan, supposed to be not less than twelve centuries old, a deer-hunt is represented, at which a king looks on, seated on a horse, and having an umbrella borne over his head by an attendant.

The creation of the umbrella is attributed to the wife of Lu Ban, who invented it during the Warring State Period. Some investigators have supposed that its invention was first created by tying large leaves to bough-like ribs (the branching out parts of an umbrella). Others assert that the idea was probably derived from the tent, which remains in an unaltered form to the present day. However, the tradition existing in China is that it originated in standards and banners waving in the air, hence the use of the umbrella was often linked to high-ranking (though not necessarily royalty) in China. The use of umbrella as a social marker indicating and classifying the identities and social class of its users started by the post-Wei period and continued up to the Ming dynasty. On at least one occasion, twenty-four umbrellas were carried before the emperor when he went out hunting. The umbrella served in this case as a defence against rain rather than sun. The Chinese and Japanese traditional parasol, often used near temples, remains similar to the original ancient Chinese design.

The ancient book of Chinese ceremonies, called Zhou Li (The Rites of Zhou), dating some 2,400 years ago, directs that a dais should be placed upon the imperial cars. The figure of this dais contained in Zhou Li, and the description of it given in the explanatory commentary of Lin-hi-ye, both identify it with an umbrella. The latter describes the dais to be composed of 28 arcs, which are equivalent to the ribs of the modern instrument, and the staff supporting the covering to consist of two parts, the upper being a rod 3/18 of a Chinese foot in circumference, and the lower a tube 6/10 in circumference, into which the upper half is capable of sliding and closing.

Europe

The Bronze Age Dupljaja chariot, a ceramic sculpture found in Serbia dating from c. 1300 BC (attributed to the Dubovac culture), depicts a male figure, interpreted as a solar deity, standing in a three-wheeled chariot with an attached umbrella held above him.

Umbrellas are first attested on pottery shards from the late Mycenaean period (c. 1320–1190 BC). Ancient umbrellas could be opened and shut, but rigid examples may have also existed. The earliest archaeological evidence for a collapsible umbrella was unearthed in Samos in a context from about 700 BC and follows closely the shape of a slightly older Phrygian specimen excavated at Gordion. The sliding mechanism of the two pieces is remarkably similar to those in use today.

In Classical Greece, the umbrella (skiadeion, σκιάδειον), was an indispensable adjunct to a lady of fashion in the late 5th century BC. Aristophanes mentions it among the common articles of female use; they could apparently open and close. Pausanias describes a tomb near Triteia in Achaia decorated with a 4th-century BC painting ascribed to Nikias; it depicted the figure of a woman, "and by her stood a female slave, bearing a parasol". For a man to carry one was considered a mark of effeminacy. In Aristophanes' Birds, Prometheus uses one as a comical disguise.

Cultural changes among the Aristoi of Greece eventually led to a brief period, between 505 and 470 BC, when men used parasols. Vase iconography bears witness to a transition from men carrying swords, then spears, then staffs, then parasols, to eventually nothing. The parasol, at that time of its fashion, displayed the luxury of the user's lifestyle. During the period of their usage, Greek style was inspired by the Persian and Lydian nobility's way of dressing: loose robes, long decorated hair, gold, jewellery, and perfume.

It also had religious significance. In the Scirophoria, the feast of Athene Sciras, a white parasol was borne by the priestesses of the goddess from the Acropolis to the Phalerus. In the feasts of Dionysos, the umbrella was used, and in an old bas-relief, the same god is represented as descending ad inferos (towards the underworld) with a small umbrella in his hand. In the Panathenaea, the daughters of the Metics, or foreign residents, carried parasols over the heads of Athenian women as a mark of inferiority.

Modern use

National Umbrella Day is held on 10 February each year around the world.

The pocket (foldable) umbrella was invented in Uraiújfalu (Hungary) by the Balogh brothers, whose patent request was admitted in 1923 by the Royal Notary Public of Szombathely. Later on their patent was also approved in Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, Great Britain and the United States.

In 1928, Hans Haupt's pocket umbrellas appeared. In Vienna in 1928, Slawa Horowitz, a student studying sculpture at the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste Wien (Academy of Fine Arts), developed a prototype for an improved compact foldable umbrella for which she received a patent on 19 September 1929. The umbrella was called "Flirt" and manufactured by the Austrian company "Brüder Wüster" and their German associates "Kortenbach & Rauh". In Germany, the small foldable umbrellas were produced by the company "Knirps", which became a synonym in the German language for small foldable umbrellas in general.

In 1969, Bradford E Phillips, the owner of Totes Incorporated of Loveland, Ohio, obtained a patent for his "working folding umbrella".

Umbrellas have also been fashioned into hats as early as 1880 and at least as recently as 1987.

Golf umbrellas, one of the largest sizes in common use, are typically around 62 inches (157 cm) across but can range anywhere from 60 to 70 inches (150 to 180 cm).

Transparent umbrellas, often made with plastic or composite materials, were invented in 1958 by Mitsuo Sudou. The transparent umbrellas were popularized as fashion items during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The production had since been relocated to China and other Asian countries and has become ubiquitous on Japanese streets due to its affordability, aesthetics, and ease of access.

Umbrellas are now a consumer product with a large global market. As of 2008, most umbrellas worldwide are made in China, mostly in the Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. The city of Shangyu alone had more than a thousand umbrella factories. In the US alone, about 33 million umbrellas, worth $348 million, are sold each year.

Other uses

The umbrella is used in weather forecasting as an icon for rain. Two variations, a plain umbrella (☂, U+2602) and an umbrella with raindrops overhead (☔, U+2614), are encoded in the Miscellaneous Symbols block of Unicode.

Open umbrellas were used by critics of Neville Chamberlain. This protest tactic was then adopted by conservative Americans in the 1950s and 60s who perceived certain politicians to be "appeasing the enemies of the United States".

In religious ceremony

As a canopy of state, umbrellas were generally used in southern and eastern Europe, and then passed from the imperial court into church ceremony. They are found in the ceremonies of the Byzantine Rite, were borne over the Host in procession, and form part of the Pontifical regalia.

An umbrella, the ombrellino (Italian) or umbraculum (Latin) is an historic piece of the papal regalia. Although the popes no longer use it personally, it is displayed on the coat of arms of a sede vacante (the papal arms used between the death of a pope and the election of his successor). This umbraculum is normally made of alternating red and gold fabric, and is usually displayed in a partially unfolded manner. The popes have traditionally bestowed the use of the umbraculum as a mark of honor upon specific persons and places. The use of an umbraculum is one of the honorary symbols of a basilica and may be used in the basilica's coat of arms and carried in processions by the basilica's canons.

A large umbrella is displayed in each of the Basilicas of Rome, and a cardinal bishop who receives his title from one of those churches has the privilege of having an umbrella carried over his head in solemn processions. Beatiano, an Italian herald, says that "a vermilion umbrella in a field argent symbolizes dominion".

Roman Catholic liturgy also uses an umbrella, known as the umbraculum or ombrellino. It is held over the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist and its carrier by a server in short processions taking place indoors, or until the priest is met at the sanctuary entrance by the bearers of the processional canopy or baldacchino. It is regularly white or golden (the colours reserved for the Holy Sacrament) and made of silk.

In several Oriental Orthodox Churches, such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, umbrellas are used liturgically to show honor to a person (such as a bishop) or a holy object. In the ceremonies of Timkat (Epiphany), priests will carry a model of the Tablets of Stone, called a Tabot, on their heads in procession to a body of water, which will then be blessed. Brightly colored embroidered and fringed liturgical parasols are carried above the Tabota during this procession. Such processions also take place on other major feast days.

In Buddhism

A decorated parasol is ushered over relics and statues of Gautama Buddha, Buddhist scriptures, and Bhikkhus, as a sign of respect.

In photography

Umbrellas with a reflective inside are used by photographers as a diffusion device when employing artificial lighting, and as a glare shield and shade, most often in portrait situations. Some umbrellas are shoot-through umbrellas, meaning the light goes through the umbrella and is diffused, rather than reflecting off the inside of the umbrella.

As a weapon of attack

In 1835, the Baron Charles Random de Berenger instructed readers of his book How to Protect Life and Property in several methods of using an umbrella as an improvised weapon against highwaymen.

In 1897, journalist J. F. Sullivan proposed the umbrella as a misunderstood weapon in a tongue-in-cheek article for the Ludgate Monthly.

Between 1899 and 1902, both umbrellas and walking sticks as self defence weapons were incorporated into the repertoire of Bartitsu.

In January 1902, an article in The Daily Mirror instructed women on how they could defend themselves from ruffians with an umbrella or parasol.

In March 2011, media outlets revealed that French president Nicolas Sarkozy had started using a £10,000 armor-plated umbrella to protect him from attackers. "Para Pactum" is a Kevlar-coated device made by The Real Cherbourg. It will be carried by a member of Sarkozy's security team.

During the 2014 Hong Kong protests, sometimes referred to as the "Umbrella Revolution", protesters used umbrellas as shields against the pepper spray and tear gas used by riot police.

In 1978, Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov was killed in London by a dose of ricin injected via a modified umbrella. The KGB is widely believed to have developed a modified umbrella that could deliver a deadly pellet.

In 2005, in a well-known case in South Africa, Brian Hahn, associate professor of mathematics and applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town, was beaten to death with an umbrella by ex-doctoral student Maleafisha Steve Tladi.

In 2007, a 23-year-old woman in Rome was killed by another woman in the subway by stabbing through the eye using an umbrella.

In architecture

In the 1950s, Frei Otto transformed the universally used individual umbrella into an item of lightweight architecture. He developed a new umbrella form, based on the minimum surface principle. The tension loaded membrane of the funnel-shaped umbrella is now stretched under the compression-loaded bars. This construction type made it technically and structurally possible to build very large convertible umbrellas. The first umbrellas of this kind (Federal Garden Exhibition, Kassel, 1955) were fixed, Frei Otto constructed the first convertible large umbrellas for the Federal Garden Exhibition in Cologne 1971. In 1978 he built a group of ten convertible umbrellas for British rock group Pink Floyd's American tour. The great beauty of these lightweight structures inspired many subsequent projects built all over the world. The largest convertible umbrellas built until now were designed by Mahmoud Bodo Rasch and his team at SL-Rasch to provide shelter from sun and rain for the great mosques in Saudi Arabia.

Later works by the architect Le Corbusier such as Centre Le Corbusier and Villa Shodhan involve a parasol, which served as a roof structure and provided cover from the sun and wind.