Muslin Handkerchief
date: label: date made
content: 1790-1820
notes: label: Description
content: The market revolution of the 1700s expanded people’s access to goods from around the globe. American merchants and business owners in the early republic acquired and sold a variety of smaller goods such as tea from China and ceramics from England. Handkerchiefs from India—such as this one made of pink and blue muslin—often appeared in merchants’ ledger accounts. For instance, Ramsay recorded an imported “Sastracundy” handkerchief, the name indicating its Southern Indian origin. As a fashionable and practical accessory, men and women wore the piece of cloth about the neck, tucked into a pocket, or carried in the hand. This Indian handkerchief is made with a pink and blue pattern on white muslin. It has a floral border 2” wide. Floral sprigs overall and a floral medallion details the center.
place: label: used
content: United States: Connecticut, Stonington
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Costume
label: See more items in
content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition
content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Sewer, Andy; Allison, David; Liebhold, Peter; Davis, Nancy; Franz, Kathleen G.. American Enterprise: A History of Business in America
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of John Brenton Copp
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CS.006724
label: catalog number
content: 006724
label: accession number
content: 28810
objectType: label: Object Name
content: neckcloth
label: Object Type
content: Accessories Worn on the Body
label: Object Type
content: Woman
label: Object Type
content: Neckcloth
label: Object Type
content: Neckwear
label: Other Terms
content: neckcloth; Neckwear; Accessories Worn on the Body; Female
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 35 1/2 in x 34 3/4 in; 90.17 cm x 88.265 cm