Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-05-04

~ |
nETROVA goes all the way
through ono act OF her play OF
the winter with a jade-green
handkerchief crumpled in the
palm of her hand. She is dressed
In white. and the green handker-
chief is telling touch OF color.
Cheruit, this spring, puts
green handkerchief In the pockets
of the jackets OF her coat suits.
However, as Petroya wrote her
own play and began to play II be-
fore the spring openings. one
| imagines that she chose the Jade
green handkerchief just to carry
out her color scheme. just TO give
an other personal touch TO her cos
tune.
The thing Is very effective, any
way. A green handkerchief in the
palm Of the hand. a green hand |
kerchlef in the cont pocket, either
one Is good detail.
Just before the spring openings.
there was good deal OF talk
about the return to favor OF the
white handkerchief.
Now Of course the white hand
kerchief has never really gone out
OF fashion. for there have always
been women who would have moth
ing but white handkerchief
women to whom anything but the
whitest, finest linen seemed unfit
for a handkerchief.
And then, too. IL IL not likely
that colored handkerchiefs. deeply
fixed in our affections as they are.
will go completely out OF fashion
for many moons 20 come. If they
ever do. indeed. We like them too
we'll. and like Petrova and Cheruit
we are too cognizant OF their deco
rrative value TO give them up for
the pure white handkerchief.
They Once Meant Position.
Until comparatively recent times
handkerchiefs have been scces-
sories possessed only by persons
vi NtdllL
carry a handkerchief was 10 show
oneself above the common herd.
They are spoken of as one of the
refinements OF Roman civilization
that we're lost in the later Middle
Ages. In England 1t was not until
. the reign of Henry VIII that they
came into use in England and then
. were possessed only by persons
y lin polite society" In the por-
4 traits OF Ann Bolyn. Jane Seymour
h and the rest of Henry's Wits un-
: fortunate consorts you may often
see a handkerchief held conspicu-
ously-doubtless as a symbol OF
= their high estate.
By the time that the English be-
!, gan to colonize this country the
~ handkerchief was more generally
- used. though even then il was
y counted as luxury. In 1928 in ths
,, inventory of articles to be supplied
:, TO one hundred planters of Massa
- chusetts Bay there were but tive
. hundred handkerchiefs; two hand
= kerchiefs for each planter and hi!
- family seemed 10 be a generous al
lotment.
% Elaborate handkerchiefs are GER
y tainly not an innovation of pres
e ent times. In fact the very earli
II est mention of handkerchiefs de
s. scribed them as embellished will
- lace and sometimes bordered will
ST gold. In Colonial times handker
fI chiefs, or muckinders as the
y were called, were often OF elabor
l. ate workmanship and where men
IS toned in wills as among yalue
N possessions TO be handed dow
SC from generation to generation.
'rs In reference TO handkerchief
might be mentioned a description
OF the contents OF a package los
of and advertised in a New Englan
ur newspaper in 1867. 1t containe
on "One plain gauze handkerchie
es chief lac'd with a plain blond lac'
" and two plain gauze handkel
a chiefs" And the same year
n Boston shopkeeper enumeratin
p the sort OF handkerchiefs carries
vn mentions: Linen, checked, spo
ne ted. fiower'd, stamped and bo
.es dered Cambrick; Barcelona. Pull
-ly cat, Lungee. Bandanoe. Chin
vn Culgee, Negligee. Rosett and Sa
ret tinet handkerchiefs." There wei
ny black 'handkerchiefs val
os- square-probably used to cate
the torrent of tears OF mourner
IN When They Were Handkerchief
me
IN In France in the period folloy
sps ing the Revolution handkerchie
cal were proudly displayed by a
ere classes. They were seeming
,ur much larger than those display,
cps today. But they were Of ine m
ley terials so that they were not bulk
me The women carried them in Il
hand. In quaint prints of the tir