I was perusing the aisles of Waterstones recently – I like to see what crafting/business books are out every now and again – and I came across this: The Printed Square by Nicky Albrechtsen. Ugh. Practically no text, just pages and pages of gorgeous vintage handkerchief visuals. My kind of book.
Actually the first few pages do give a little background to the handkerchief. My favourite quote: “women carried [handkerchiefs] sprinkled with cologne. It was used coquettishly for romantic and flirtatious gestures: letting it drop to the ground, for example, as an invitation for friendship..drawing it across ones cheek was a sign of love”. Ha. Can you imagine that these days..
The book focuses on handkerchief prints from the 1920’s to the 1950’s and boy what a fabulous array of prints and colours.
I have a large stock of handkerchiefs. They’re so great for crafting small projects. They are always my main seller at the vintage markets…I’ll pop some in my online shop soon.
