No one knows quite when people began carrying squares of
cloth for use in drying sweating foreheads or wiping runny noses. Writings from
Roman times and accounts of Richard II of England (1377-1389) mention their
use. Renaissance paintings show people
carrying white cloths. At first it was mainly the upper classes who used
handkerchiefs for expressing approval or for flirting in addition to their
utilitarian purposes. As textile production industrialized, more and more
people could afford a handkerchief.
Men's handkerchiefs are typically rather plain squares of
cotton, linen or silk with perhaps a simple border or an initial.
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| Men's linen handkerchief with initial |
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| Women's handkerchief |
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| Women's handkerchief |
Printed handkerchiefs, sometimes made to commemorate certain
events or places became popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This one was
a souvenir of the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915.
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| 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition Commemorative Hankie |
As in so many other things, the use of handkerchiefs began
to change during the circa 1920 period.
The reason was the Kimberly Clark Company's introduction of paper
tissues ( Kleenex) in 1924. A package of 100 sheets cost 65cents. Pop-up
cartons were introduced in 1928. This dispenser is a wall-mounted unit from a
doctor's office.
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| Metal Kleenex box cover |
Originally the company marketed them as a substitute towel
for removing cold cream ad makeup. But
consumer surveys found that people were actually using them as disposable
handkerchiefs. They company changed its marketing to emphasize this use, saying
“Don't carry a cold in your pocket,” and sales doubled in a year.
By
Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath,
Oregon
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