AMERICAN DATED LINEN BIRDS-EYE TWILL WEAVE MAN'S HAND TOWEL / SHOW TOWEL, rectangular, having red cross-stitched "David / Lehman" with the date "1839" between and two carnation/floral tree designs, hemmed upper edge and self fringe at base with two tape tabs on upper corners. Possibly Somerset or Dauphin Co., Pennsylvania. Dated 1839. 50" x 16 1/2" OA.
Good condition overall with some scattered staining and toning, particularly to fold lines.
Literature: Embroidery and recording of this particular towel as in Gehret - This is the Way I Pass My Time p. 172.
Provenance: From the Allentown Art Museum to benefit future acquisitions for the Museum's textile collection.
Catalogue Note: Hand towels were infrequently made for or by men as it was often something made by/for young women, so the man's name at the top of this hand towel is unusual. Gehret notes that "Sisters, mothers, sweethearts, or new wives were the likely persons to embroider a hand towel for a man".

Good condition overall with some scattered staining and toning, particularly to fold lines.