Pocket square from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pocket square advertising Turf cleaners from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway. The pre-made pocket square is a small piece of blue, woven fabric stitched with white thread to a piece of white, heavy stock paper. The fabric is mainly dark blue with some lighter blue stripes woven in. It is attached to the paper with white thread. The paper is rectangular in shape and folded at the bottom. Printed on one side of the paper, at the top, is the name of the dry cleaners, [Turf], printed in large blue text above a matching blue graphic of a racing horse and rider depicted in profile, overlaid on a horseshoe. In front of the horse’s front right hoof is small text that reads [FLASH / 1 HOUR / SERVICE]. Printed blue text below reads [CUSTOM / CLEANERS & DYERS / FLASH! 1 HOUR DRY CLEANING / AND SHIRT SERVICE / COLD STORAGE / CRANG PLAZA / 1620 WILSON AVE. / —241-9981— / ROYAL YORK PLAZA / 1500 ROYAL YORK ROAD / —241-4951— / APPLEWOOD / SHOPPING CENTRE / 1077 NORTH SERVICE ROAD / COOKSVILLE, ONTARIO / —277-1080 — / FOLD TO FIT POCKET[UNDERLINED] / NOTTINGHAM SUPPLY & PAPERCRAFT LTD]. The paper is folded just below [APPLEWOOD / SHOPPING CENTRE]. The back of the paper is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th-late 20th century
• Manufactured by: Nottingham Supply and Papercraft Ltd., Canadian
• Distributed by: Turf Cleaners Custom Cleaners and Dyers, Canadian
• Worn by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Type: handkerchiefs
• Medium: synthetic fiber with ink on card stock
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 6 5/16 × 3 1/4 × 7/8 in. (16.1 × 8.3 × 2.3 cm)
• Place made: North York, Ontario, Canada, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Entertainers
• Object number: A2015.273.1.1.39
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.