Handkerchief
ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-handkerchiefs and bandanas
Datemid 20th Century
MediumFabric
DimensionsOverall: 12 1/2 x 12 1/2 in. (31.8 x 31.8 cm)
Object number40626.2
DescriptionThis mid 20th century handkerchief comes from a group of souvenir objects purchased in France, likely in the early postwar period when there was a strong sense of unity after Allied forces liberated the country. Yet a handkerchief is a curious object to be embroidered with a flag. If the decorated portion of the hankie were used for its intended purpose one would be blowing their nose on a sacrosanct symbol. The flag was never intended to be used as anything but a stoic icon of patriotic sentiment but since its introduction it has continued to evolve. Visually this took the form of new stars being added every time a state joined the union. Symbolically as it spread and became an icon of American identity, the flag became more and more pervasive in where it was used.On View
Not on view
c. 1950
1936-1949
1936-1949
early 20th Century
