Hankie History

Last week I wrote about men’s neckties, and also, that I used to give them as Father’s Day gifts, or sometimes I gave him handkerchiefs.  So this week we’ll talk about the history of the hankie.

Excavation in Egypt reveal entombed women of the second and first century BCE had finely textured linen handkerchiefs. In Greece, handkerchiefs were made of fine cotton or linen and often perfumed.  The Romans had several cloths, used by the male sex.  By the reign of the later Roman emperors, the cloths were no longer plain white, but richly embroidered with gold, and fringed.  They became a sign of high rank and position.  In Byzantine courts they took on ceremonial functions.

The lace handkerchief first appeared during the reign of Elizabeth I.  By the 1600’s handkerchiefs became showy and costly for both men and women.

In the 17^th and 18^th C handkerchiefs were oval, round and oblong.  The story is told that Marie Antoinette happened to mention to King Louis XVI that she was tired of such haphazard shapes, instantly the king decreed the “length of the handkerchief shall equal its width throughout the kingdom”.   One would think that the king had better things to ponder.

Printed hankies

Handkerchiefs with crochet and tatted edgings

Note the detailed crochet work for the butterfly and girl motif

Children’s hankies are particularly charming. 

The Scotty dog was designed by Tom Lamb (note the signature).  Lamb was born in New York in 1896.  As a young man he invested in his own textile studio.  His household fabric designs were seen in department stores in NY.

In the 1920’s Lamb designed a series he called “Kiddyland”.  Besides a cartoon series he introduced a line of children’s toys and accessories.

Today these once fashion accessories are becoming very collectible.  They can be found at flea markets, antique shops, and yard sales.

Father's Day Tie

When I was a child the choice of a gift for Father’s Day was simple.  Either handkerchiefs or a tie was wrapped and presented at breakfast.  Handkerchiefs have been replaced with paper tissues and since “casual” Friday now means “don’t wear jeans with holes” these choices of gifts have mostly been replaced with personal electronics and at a greater price tag. While there a several career positions that require the “coat and tie” dress code most tie collections have been put aside.  This fashion accessory doesn’t look quite the same when worn with a tee shirt.

There have been many types of neckwear worn by men: bandanas, fancy lace ruffs and collars, cravats, ascots, bolo and bow ties.  But since my gifts were traditional “ties” I decided to learn a little more about their history.  The internet information is quite broad but the general consensus is that 1. The Terracotta Army of the first Chinese Emperor (221BC) wore as part of their uniform a cloth tie around their necks and 2. The Croations wore such neck cloths and the word “cravat” came from this source.  One resource even showed a demonstration on how to properly tie the “tie”, the most common knot being the “four in hand”.  Perhaps the most famous knot is the Windsor Knot named after the Duke of Windsor.

 

The modern tie is made of three pieces of fabric, cut on the bias and sewn together.  Besides the patterned fabric there is also lining and interfacing fabrics. The standard length is 57 inches but the widths vary with the style of the day.  Remember the super wide and the very skinny ones?

Tie fabric, mid 20thC.

This tie fabric shows a man doing housework while his wife reclines on the sofa.  I can imagine the reaction when this gift was opened.

Flag Day

The idea of celebrating our national emblem occurred to several school - teachers in the late 19thC. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington D.C. school children celebrated organized patriotic programs and in 1916 President Wilson officially established Flag Day and in 1949 President Truman signed a congressional act proclaiming June 14 as National Flag Day.

Tatted flag, early 20thC.

Tatting is a type of knotted lace made of a series of double knots over a core of thread held by a small shuttle forming rings and chains, which are combined to form the lace patterns. It has been suggested that its origins began with knotting techniques of the 16th and 17thC but we know it reached popularity in England and Europe in the early 19thC.

The subject of flags is a fascinating one, going back centuries in countries all over the world. In 1957 a word meaning the study of flags, vexillology, was coined by Whitney Smith, who today is a flag scholar and a founder of the North  American Vexillological Association. A vexillologist designs flags. A vexillographer studies flags and what their images and colors represent. These terms are derived from a Latin word, vexillum, which means a standard or banner.

These textiles contain dramatic symbols that have great meaning to the peoples of the countries they represent. They are sources of great pride, a show of their allegiance and a descriptive of their culture. Each flag tells a story, each is unique. 

Denmark’s flag is the oldest national flag in the world, having been flown since 1625.





The flag of Nepal is unique in that it is the only such banner that is not a quadrilateral. It is composed of 2 triangles representing the Himalayan mountains, the highest mountain chain in the world. The triangles also represent the two major religions of the Nepali people, Buddhism and Hinduism. The two designs represent the sun and the moon.

There are many reference volumes available on world flags and their meanings . Perhaps you will recognize some of these banners while watching the Olympic Games in July

Arpilleras

I have always said that textiles have power.  They not only symbolize power as in military uniforms or papal vestments, but they have an inner, intrinsic power.  One of the powers that textiles have is eliciting emotions from viewers and, naturally these emotions are individual.  Another power of textiles is that the cloth can have different meanings depending upon circumstances. An excellent example of this is Arpilleras.

Arpilleras are handcrafted, appliquéd cloths depicting village life, scenes from nature and, sometimes a fantastic assortment of surreal plants and animals. The name comes from a word that means burlap, the cloth often used as backing material. The images are created from cotton cloth of vivid colors and accented with contrasting threads usually in stem or straight stitch, occasionally in blanket stitch. The composition is definitely not to scale, plants and flowers larger than houses, children leading small llamas or tending large sheep.

 In Peru the arpilleras feature stuffed human figures that are clothed in native style dress and carry baskets, flowers or bags of grain. These 3 dimentional figures are sewn onto background that has already been appliquéd with buildings and landscapes.

The quality of workmanship varies considerably from elaborate vignettes with much embroidery and added details to plainer cloths with raw edges of the applied fabric apparent.

So what emotional power do these patchwork pieces possess? When my husband and I travel we try to take time to visit beyond the large cities, spending a day driving through the country and visiting, if we can small towns and villages. Sometimes we are lucky to catch a market day, festival or religious procession. We have even come across a wedding and actually were invited to join the outdoor celebration. So when I saw and acquired my first arpillera I was joyfully reminded of these travel adventures. However, in researching these textiles further, I was surprised to find that this sentiment of bucolic village life was not universally shared. You see the women that create them are nearly all very poor, their families depend upon the extra income generated when the arpilleras are sold. So some believe that they represent a difficult life, not the pleasant scene under the large South American sun.

Perhaps the most different meaning attached to these cloths comes from Chile. While there had been some use of narrative handwork used to express political and social dissatisfaction in the 1950’s and 60’s in Chile the events of September 11, 1973 (yes, it seems that 9/11 is a fateful date) saw the military takeover by General Pinochet of the government and the years of terror that followed. Thousands of Chileans thought to be unsupportive of the regime were taken from their homes and were made to disappear. The simply ceased to exist and their families had no recourse. The wives and mothers of these “detained and disappeared” were left in extreme poverty. Many turned to workshops, often sponsored by churches to create handworked pieces, which were then sold. The women used the arpilleras to tell their story. In more muted colors, their loss and demands for justice were stitched. Often scenes from a home depicted empty chairs around the eating table or the names of the missing family members.

Today, arpilleras (also called “cuadros” in Peru) can be found in many South American tourist areas. Regardless of how we interpret their meaning, they are a truly views into the lives of their makers and voices of their thoughts and feelings.

Folly Cove Designers

Despite the overwhelming impact of industrial manufacturing there has always been interest in high quality, handcrafted articles.  First, in Europe “arts and craft " societies were founded and flourished, then, in America institutions such as Black Mountain in North Carolina, Berea College in Kentucky and  Cranbrook Institute in Michigan were educating artists in the crafts of textiles and weaving, woodworking and silversmithing. If it were not possible for interested students to attend a two or four year program of industrial arts there were seasonal courses available.  During this period Arts and Crafts Societies appeared, somewhat reminiscent of the European medieval guilds.  Each such society set standards for design and workmanship and often offered outlets for finished products to be made available to the public. 

According to Ayres, Hansen et al,  (American Arts and Crafts Textiles, Abrams, 2002) “Arts and Crafts textiles represent one medium that actually attained the goals of the Arts and Crafts movement: to introduce and disseminate a new design aesthetic that was affordable, attainable, and of its time, and that emphasized an appreciation of handwork. Through books, magazines, schools, and commercial companies the tenets of Arts and Crafts design were spread via textiles.”

Not all the Societies were large, nor were some long lasting.  One exception is Folly Cove Designers, Cape Ann, Massacheuttsets.  The group’s leader, Virginia Burton Demetrios stressed the concept of designer-craftsmanship and the 43 designers who worked from 1941-1969 (some left the group after a few years, while many remained until they closed the workshop in 1969) came to be known as professional block printers.  Their designs were carved into linoleum blocks and printed onto fabric for household goods, such as placemats, clothing and bed linens.  Some designs were created to be printed on paper for wallpaper and greeting cards. Following the death of Demetrios, the remaining designers agreed to cease selling their designs to the public and donated their design samples and prints to the Cape Ann Historical Association.

The Association held a major exhibition of their work in 1982 and again in 1996.

Exhibition catalog 1996

Eleanor Curtis “Bird Battalion” 1955  “Small battalions in early spring dip and wing and bank and turn and land-Each little craft maneuvering without command”

Placemat: teal-toned paint on cotton.  Large triangular trees with flocks of birds in flight

Demetrios often assigned design assignments in six basic types: horizontal, vertical, circles, squares, all-overs, triangles and progressions. This is an example of complete triangle design

Eleanor Curtis “Gay Bouquet” 1956

Placemat:  rose-toned paint on cotton.  Large rondels of two basic designs: one of garden tools: rakes, shovels, hoes and spades and forks, the second three circular patterns of floral “poseys” around a center of decorative baskets.

This is an example of a circular design

                                                       
                                                       Eleanor Curtis “Micah IV:3

                                                          Floral design on paper

Elizabeth Iarrabino “Sand Pipers” 1954

Placemat: blue-gray tone on cotton.

This progression design is an example in which each motif is repeated in five sizes with each progression twice the size of the preceeding one.

For more information on the Folly Cove Designers, including biographies, contact the Cape Ann Historical Association/Museum, 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

www.capeannhistoricalmuseum.org   978-283-0455

Graduation

In the next few weeks there will be many graduation ceremonies and despite trends to the casual, these are steeped in tradition. From the sheepskins to the caps and gowns there is great history being reinacted. 

So, we’ll start with the term “sheepskin”, meaning, of course, the diploma. From the Greek meaning “paper folded double”, a diploma, in our context, means, a certificate issued by a school, college, or university to a student, indicating the completion of a prescribed course of study. During the medieval period, the skin of animals was prepared for writing or printing upon by a laborious process that produced a translucent material we call vellum. Important papers were inked on vellum. Vellum can be far more durable than paper and there exists many examples of medieval documents remaining in collections. Today, there are still uses of animal vellum, although due to the expense, there is a modern version of plasticized cotton. 

My niece, Jenn 

While institutions in other countries have unique diversity in academic dress, the US has standardized a definite system that is followed by American universities and colleges. This is called the Academic Costume Code and Ceremony Guide. The American Council on Education has an appointed committee that periodically reviews the standards. The code covers the pattern of the gown (pointed sleeves for bachelors’ degrees, oblong sleeves for masters’ gowns and bell-shaped sleeves for doctorate degrees). Also covered is the color, trimmings, linings, hoods. For all academic purposes, the colors of the gowns and trimmings are associated with different disciplines, such as Theology (scarlet), Nursing (apricot), Philosophy (dark blue).


The cap usually worn consists of a square board fixed upon a skullcap. This is commonly referred to as a “mortar board” named after the board used for carrying mortar by masons. Middle Age scholars wore a similar cap which some thought actually helped them think (“thinking caps”). In the US mortarboards are worn also by high school graduates. A long tassel is fixed to the center point of the cap. A charm indicating the year may adorn the tassel. In some ceremonies, the student wears the tassel on one side until the diploma is received , then it is switched to the other side.


So we continue with all the Pomp and Circumstance. Congratulations to all of this year’s participants.

May Flowers

I guess the shower I wrote about last month did its job as I look out onto our back patio and see a very respectable garden. I am not a great horticulturist, I really am not that fond of gardening but I do appreciate the beauty of a nicely landscaped bed of flowers. It doesn’t matter what type of flowers, formal roses or wildflowers are fine with me. 

Floral motifs and patterns have been a part of textile design from the very early ages. . Even before hand- printed fabric, these motifs were added as surface embellishments. The most recognizable surface embellishment is embroidery. In the 18thC Saint-Aubin wrote “To Embroider is the art of adding the representation of such motifs as one chooses-flat or in relief, in gold, silver, or color- to the surface of a finished piece of cloth. There is hardly a Nation that does not embroider with the different materials produced by its climate.” (The Art of the Embroiderer, 1770) 

One of the earliest examples of floral embroidery is a silk fragment thousands of years old found in the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas at Dunhung., now at the British Museum. 

Early embroiderers were not concerned if they lacked the artistic talent of drawing their own designs from nature. They simply turned to the unlimited variety available in floral and herbal pattern books. Often these books also contained illustrations of insects, birds and other natural elements sometimes very representational, sometimes a bit stylistic. 

By the late 19thC patterns were found in every woman’s magazine or periodical or could be purchased through the mail. A very popular form of this hand work was called “silk work”, “needlepainting” or “art embroidery” due to its very realistic rendering of the subject.  Originally from England, it was enthusiastically embraced by American needle-workers.  One could order kits with pre-printed designs on cotton, linen, or even silk.  Included with the instructions was a quantity of silk threads, the colors chosen from hundreds available to produce the most subtle of shadings for the flower petals and leaves.

This pillow cover was embroidered from a kit offered by the Richardson Silk Co. of Chicago and Belding.  Many other manufacturers such as Corticelli and Heminway Silks offered such products.

                                                          Richardsons Design No 2833