Barkcloth Treasure!

Off on a jaunt with local friends, I thought it unlikely that I would find any new additions for my textile collection. We weren't in the vicinity of flea markets or large quantities of used vintage items and there was little time to browse leisurely among vendors. One store did have a sizable collection of linens, almost entirely tatted hankies, or embroidered napkins and damask tablecloths. But there was one exception and I found it - this long bark cloth table runner of a park scene.

Sweethearts are holding hands on a park bench, a nanny with a halo pushes a baby in a perambulator with a halo while a terrier watches them pass by. The tidy village from which they come adorns the foreground, with gingerbread Victorian houses, evergreen and deciduous trees.
On the other half a band concert is playing next to an equestrian statue, a crowd gathered wearing capes and berets, full skirts and suits. A soldier leans casually on a tree, while the ice cream man sells Italian ices to parched villagers.

I love my new treasure! I purchased it as an investment to sell, but all too quickly I am falling in love...