Travel By Hankie, Part One

As regular readers of this blog know, I like to write about things I find at estate sales.  One of my favorite things to find is a collection of decorative vintage handkerchiefs, or hankies.  

Over the past few weeks, I've come across a number of souvenir hankies, which I will showcase here and in some subsequent posts.

When we look at a souvenir hankie, we can imagine our mid-century traveler visiting a new place, returning to an old one, or just collecting souvenirs along her journey from Point A to Point B.  A hankie would be the ideal souvenir for many reasons.  It's small enough to easily carry or mail to another person.  It reminds the owner of a place she once lived or visited.  Or, as a small gift, it can answer the question, "What did you bring me from your trip?" 

Our first travel-related hankie is from the state of Ohio.  If you're from Ohio, can you find your town on the map?

The whole hankie

The scarlet carnation is the Ohio State Flower

Wright Field is shown in this part of the hankie.  
It became part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1948,
so it's probable this hankie was designed before that time
(or the designer was looking at an old map).

I like the little cows on the hankie, representing agriculture

I think that's a paddle wheel boat on the Ohio River

Collector's Weekly gives a concise history of hankies:

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/accessories/handkerchiefs

Katie Dix's website provides some information on the history of vintage souvenir hankies:

http://www.storyofvintagehankies.com/Hankies/Magic_Hanky_Ride.html

Hankies were used to commemorate more than just travel:

http://yesterdaysmagazette.wordpress.com/3-vintage-handkerchiefs/