Recently, over in the Maryjane Farm forum... I signed up for a vintage hanky swap... which prompted me to spend some time with my hankies.
I have 2 boxes full of hankies... and each one I cherish.....
I have been collecting hankies for about a good 14 years,, when I found my first one in a little basket of hankies (in a Antique shop)...
From there, I just couldn't resist and continued to add more to my stash..
I always keep a hanky in my purse... you never know when you will need one....
At a funeral several years ago, I gave the hanky from my purse to a grieving widow....who commented, that she hadn't carried a hanky in over 50 years,, and what sweet memories it brought.
If you love hankies, I encourage to rescue them when ever you spot one.
This is a great book on the history of hankies,,,, I need to find Volume #1...
I found one hanky designer, Tom Lamb,,, and was excited to find I had one of his designs..
Tom Lamb's hankies value between $30-35.00
I also have a Shirley Temple-Black hanky, called "The little Colonel" (for those of us who remember Shirley Temple)
Here is a sweet set of 6 'Days of the Week' hankies... minus Saturday... all hand stitched.
I can only guess it wore out from being used a lot or.. misplaced or given away...
I have hundreds of hankies... and would love to show them to you.. but.. maybe another time :>)
I hand wash most, but not all of my hankies in mild soap and rinse in vinegar water and then when ironing I use lavender water spritz...
The flocked ones, or ones never used, I wrap in tissue paper with lavender buds for a week to freshen them up a bit.
It goes with out saying,, I keep lavender sachets in the boxes where I store my hankies.
I think each hankie has a story to share... A child's 1st hanky,, a gift for grandma, a brides special gift to her brides maids... a teacher's gift, a Christmas or Birthday gift... or just a special pretty hanky bought for ones self...
Did you know, shops sold fabric padded hanky holders,,,,
I still have my grandmothers holder and a boxed set of hankies...
Here are the padded hankie holders.... the bottom one with the pink ribbon ties,, is from my grandmother.
I love finding 'Boxed' hankies.. the one below is from my grandmother and was never used...
The other ones have assorted hankies in them. and when I find hankies with their Labels on,, I get giddy...as the labels were either pinned on or glued on.. which would fall off from handling.
Even the boxes were sweetly decorated.....
while some had clear lids to make viewing easier.... I suspect the clear labeled boxes were from the " 5 & Dime stores " (Woolworths, Sprouse Ritz, JJ Newberry, etc) so they could be seen with out handling, while closed lid boxed hankies probably came from high end shops like Bloomingdales, Macys etc, where a clerk would pull the box of hankies from behind the glass display case and open the lid for the customers viewing..
the box below had assorted never used hankies...
and the best part,, I found this box of hankies at the Goodwill store in Spokane, WA... the Goodwill price tag is still on the back side... $1.99.. (above)
Hankies were made from various fabrics, from silk to cotton and even Viscose...
The Pink one with "Mother" on it,, is a flocked hanky. Christmas and Valentine hankies were popular flocked hankies.
Hankies were also a great souvenir purchase...inexpensive, and easy to tuck in a suitcase. The one on the right, with Gold printing was a Pendleton Oregon flocked hanky, but looks to have been laundered so the picture is slightly faded.. Flocked hankies did not wash well and so the flocking would come off often after the 2nd washing.. trust me,,, done that! oops!
Yep, I do love my hankies.. so,,,
What is your hanky's story?
