"The Cheerful Companions" printed textile kerchief or handkerchief

[EPHEMERA] [PRINTED TEXTILE] [KERCHIEF]. No date [c. early 19th c., 1840-1850]. (8 ½" x 12" approximately); white or cream linen weave, approx. 24 threads to the cm.; wood block cutting printed in red; design features a central image surrounded by a vine and 7 additional titled pictorials; hand rolled and sewed hem cutting into the printed border; age-toned linen, one small black stain on the lower right quadrant, no holes or other large defects; near fine.

An early red printed child's handkerchief, or correctly called a 'kerchief,' illustrating children at various activities. The titled pictorials show "Dancing Girls," "Jumping Boys," "Hopping," Playing at Ball," "Bowling Hoops," "Swinging," and "Reading." The central vignette shows 8 children playing at a rambunctious "Blind Man's Bluff" type of game with one child falling off an overturned bench, an overturned bowl of food on the floor, and a man with a cane standing in the doorway, presumably about to end the game!

The monochromatic print in red as well as the dress of the children helps to date the piece. Note the boys in the belted blousons jumping and playing hoops. In the pictorial of the dancing and swinging, the girls wear dresses with wide necks. Early children's handkerchiefs were printed in brown and red ink, and other colors were added as the century and printing processes progressed. (J.J. MURPHY P19)