A Souvenir of Central Library
Souvenir handkerchief, 17 Jul 1934 M740/8/4/3/6
In the 1930s, Manchester children were reminded of the library every time they needed to sneeze with the production of a run of souvenir Central Library hankies.
According to the Manchester Guardian (available free online in Manchester Libraries) for June 28 1934, it was agreed to issue this handkerchief free to all 123,000 elementary school children in the city. In the end, some 250,000 were printed, with school children in surrounding such as Stretford also receiving one. The actual cost of purchase at the time was 4/- (20p) a dozen for small and 5/- (25p) a dozen large.
Over the years, dozens of these hankies have found their way back to Central Library, to the Manchester Archives and Local Studies collections. No more donations are required - unless perhaps you have one of the much rarer full-colour versions (above), which may have been kept for dignitaries or sold in the shops.
Souvenir handkerchief, 17 Jul 1934