Milford chronicle., 1895-03-15
A TOWEL coLLsc1oa.
One Who Has Drawn These Adjuncts Of
Toilet From An over the World.

One Who Has Drawn These Adjuncts OF
Toilet From All over the World.
Mr. Benjamin r. Davenport of Asbury
Park, n. j., has been engaged for 20
years in the amassing Of this bizarre ex-
hibit, which includes towels of cotton
wool, linen and silk. He has been ably
assisted by many of his friends To the
acquaintance departing for distant lands
! Davenport has been won't to say, Send
me a towel from Madagascar, " or While
you are in Patagonia pick me up one of
! the native towels A"
By far the greater part of the collection
was picked up in the hotels Of the United
States by Mr.. Davenport personally. They
vary in size and texture A thin, sleazy
cotton rag, through which one might read
a newspaper, bears the startling legend,
indelibly stamped across its limp surface,
"Stolen from the Occidental hotel, Lead
vile, Colo" 1t is evident that the min
ers had formed the habit of carrying of
the towels TO use as shirt fronts.
In contrast to this economical rag there
is roller towel, 80 feet in length, secured
in an Illinois washroom. 1t was what
the porter who sold 1t to him called 'the
house towel. . One set Of seven towels, OF
varying thickness and texture including
a genuine Turkish article that looks like
40 cents worth Of tripe, recalls the lux
ury of a local bathhouse. A square sec
tion of jute bagging, such as is used 70
cover cotton bales, was considered quite
the thing In hostelry on the banks Of the
YazOo river. A real curiosity is stiff
and infexible affair found in the compos-
ing room of a Pennsylvania weekly news
paper. 1t was the office towel. !"
There are towels of softest damask, with
daintily embroidered initials that call up
romantic visions, and there is a section Of
mummy cloth, brought home from Cairo
which once might have been used to dry the
moisture from the fair skin Of Pharaoh's
daughter or possibly have been tucked
under the chin of the infant Moses.
There are towels that are as small as
napkins and towels that would answer for
bedspreads Some are as soft to the touch
as the fluffy bosom of elder swan, and 9th
ers could be used to CRATE horse radish up
on. There are dainty French towels and
heavy, square German towels; ssft Italian
towels that give forth faint OdOr Of gar
lie; cold, heavily starchcd towels that come
from England; a Scotch towel that is
made of tweed; an Irish towel Of un-
bleached linen that will take off the cuti-
ole as If 1t was made Of emery paper; tow
3ls from tho South Sea islands that are
not towels, but are coooanut mats; care
FULLY dressed cbamOis skin which came
rom the Alps, a joan towel from India, a
Japanese towel Of fibrous paper and a
ieavy silk towel once owned by Adelina
Patti.
Then there are common towels Of no
particular individuality that are in the
collection because they were known TO
lave been used by some celebrity or be-
ause there isa tale of adventure, romance
II sentiment connected with their acqui-
ition. Mr.. Davenport's conscience is never
roubled when he oontemplates bis treas
res. Very few Of them were accidentally
acked into his baggage As to the con-
ciences Of the porters and ohamberinaids
Tho assisted in their compilation, that Is
mother story. Each of the towels is duly
agged and numbered, and a catalogue
ives the history Of each artiole.-Phila-
elphia Record.