Panel, commemorative printed silk panel

Silk handkerchief; plate print in black ink, 1739-40. This early example of a souvenir printed on silk was produced on a press moved onto the frozen Thames during the Great Frost of 1739-40. Showing eighteen couples in national dress, (typical of illustrations often used as sources for masquerade dress), it was probably intended to hang on a wall or in a window, rather than be used as a handkerchief.

18 couples in national costumes: Chinese, Mogul, Persian, Turk, Tartar, Polander, Muscovite, Laplander, Hungarian, Dutchman, Spaniard, Hottentot, "Negro", Moor, Mexican, Virginia Indian, Florida Indian, Scots Highlander and serveral 'exotic' examples. Note: "Printed on the River Thames in the Great Frost, which began in the month of January 1739-40."