HISTORICAL TEXTILES ON September 29th, from four until six o'clock, the Society held an advance showing, for members and friends, of its important fall exhibition of "American Scenes and Events on Textiles," consisting of printed cottons, linens, and silks dating from 1777 to 1941. The occasion announced the acquisition of the collection of historical textiles recently presented by Mrs. J. Insley Blair. Many of the textiles shown are the gifts of other generous friends of the Society, and the permanent collection is augmented by temporary loans through the courtesy of the Long Island Historical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum for the Arts of Decoration of Cooper Union, and the Museum of the City of New York. From the earliest days of the Republic, almost every important event in the history of the United States has been preserved on printed kerchief or textile. The exhibition is divided into sections, featuring George Washington, the Revolution and the Federal Period, the War of 1812, American Life, New York City, Political Campaigns, Expositions, Pictorial Maps, and Children's Kerchiefs. The earliest textile shown dates from 1777, and there are some modern ones printed very recently. Hanging on the walls, beside many of the textiles, may be seen the original engravings, lithographs, or photographs of oil paintings, on which the designs for the textiles were based, and some of the modern printed textiles are accompanied by their designers' original cartoons. Today, as in the past century and a half, printed kerchiefs using American subjects are playing their part in promoting patriotism. The early nineteenth-century printed textiles reproduced herewith and on the cover were presented to the Society by Mrs. Blair, and are included in the exhibition. This exhibition of "American Scenes and Events on Textiles" is being held in the Special Exhibitions Gallery and in the Library corridor on the third floor, and will remain on view to the public *32