Last week in Von Maur Department Store in Columbus OH, I saw these handkerchiefs for sale.
Seeing them reminded me of the little ironed squares my mother kept in a lacquered Chinese box.
My father had larger ones, not as ornate.
Nowadays you don’t see much handkerchief use.
Handkerchief
Here are the hankies for sale in 2016.
My mother’s box of handkerchiefs
A handkerchief I received from a student when I taught nursery school in the late 70’s. I framed it!
Detail
Not sure where this came from
I love handkerchiefs and have a big collection. It probably is a cultural thing, especially since paper is so much more convenient. xo
I hope you’ll share your collection if you haven’t already. I love children’s hankies with nursery rhymes, too.
I shared one story about making a tissue box cover and it has some of my hankies.
https://sabiscuit.wordpress.com/2015/09/21/make-a-tissue-box-cover-with-a-handkerchief/
I hope you like it. xo
I left a comment and hope my readers visit. Thank you. 🙂
That is lovely of you. Thank you very much. xo
You have some beauties, Ruth I , too have many I wish i knew what to do with. I do use some with nice edges as dollies.
Funny how they went out of fashion. I used to love hankies. Men always had them – not so much any more.
I use one everyday
Thanks Gary!
Those are beautiful. Mine had my initials on them and I thought they were a big deal. I used to get them as presents. I just saw You’ve Got Mail for the umpteenth time and Meg Ryan explains to a little girl what they are. Hey – I had to explain to Cooper what a camera was. Oh well
Oy… technology. I don’t feel “that” old, and yet my family used a crank-dial TV and a rotary phone [tethered to a wall, for goodness sake!] for a good long while – and most “younger” people have ZERO idea what these are…
One more thing – when I learned to iron, I learned on my dad’s hankies.
That’s an awesome memory.
That framed handkerchief is precious! Also like the Notre Dame “pencil sketch.”
Thanks Nancy. They are works of art.
What a lovely collection! I was just going to say I don’t know anyone who collects hankies, then the first comment I saw said ‘I collect hankies too’ 🙂 Especially like the one of Notre Dame. Happy weekend, Ruth!
Nice collection, Ruth! I will have to go through the box of linens that belonged to my mom and grandma and photograph the hankies!
My husband still carries a hankie. A few years ago the grandkids gave him some hankies that they had painted with fabric paint – a fun and unique gift!
Eager to see your photographs, Margie. Thanks for your visit snd comment.
I bought a dozen white men’s hankies in India a few years ago, but I must say I’d forgotten that they used to have designs on them!
A lovely collection.
Hankies are largely a relic of the past – but I do like them. The last one in your series looks a bit like WW II propaganda?
I believe your are right.
So lovely ……. Mom kept hers in a laquer box, too!!! ……. I wonder what antiques road Show would say embrodered and designed hankies are now worth! ? thanks for the memories!!!
What a priceless, lovely and magnificent collection of handkerchiefs made with such great effort and careful selection by your mother. Well done.
Thank you for your good words today. They do evoke another era.
I’ve had a devil of a time finding men’s hankies, Ruth. When I do see them, I buy 2 packs at a minimum. One is for kitchen use (cheesemaking) and the other personal — and they’re never mixed. I don’t know whether my laundry detergent is good for cleaning cooties.