Colorful Handkerchiefs and "some evil-minded Person"

I wanted to share with you all a recent find I made in America's Historic Newspapers. I thought this was rather timely given Hallie's recent posts on handkerchiefs. This advertisement for stolen goods is from the Boston Gazette, February 19, 1770. That "evil-minded Person" sure had good taste in accessories.

The Boston Gazette, February 19, 1770

How about that list of colors? Red with white, white with red, and purple with white. Anyone "spotting" a trend? Sorry, bad pun I know :)

I have a ringer for one of those red and white handkerchiefs - "Red Ground and spotted with White" You can see a similar spotted handkerchief worn by a young girl in the mezzotint, A Girl Singing Ballads by a Paper Lanthorn in the collections of the MET. A further search in the historic newspapers revealed several more hits for spotted handkerchiefs.

If you're interested in purchasing a colorful handkerchief of your own, check out these from Time Travel Textiles. They come in four different designs and a whole rainbow of colors.

Time Travel Textiles