Handkerchief
Department Store Peck & Peck American
Not on view
Textiles were often used in the 1920s and 1930s for propaganda purposes. This souvenir handkerchief is makes a case for the growing sentiment toward repealing Prohibition, which was in effect from 1920 to 1933. The design is meant to evoke imagery from the 1875 painting, "Spirit of 76," the famous Revolutionary War-themed work by Archibald MacNeal Willard (1836-1918). Unlike the Willard painting, here a female figure is included and the protagonists march on beer foam instead of on solid ground. The Peck and Peck signature is evidence that a well-established department store carried goods that pertained to a political issue.
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