Threads of Feeling

A bunch of 4 ribbons narrow – Yellow, Blue, Green, & Pink’. Silk ribbons tied in a bunch with a knot. Foundling number 170. A girl admitted 9 December 1743. Given the name Pamela Townley by the Foundling Hospital. Died 1 September 1746.

Threads of Feeling. The Foundling Hospital's textile tokens, 1740-1770.

The Foundling Hospital textiles consist of 5,000 small swatches of fabric dating from the middle decades of the eighteenth century. They are pinned to the registration documents that recorded the entry of each baby to the Hospital. These fabrics were kept by the Hospital as a means of establishing an identifiable link between the child and its mother. They now comprise the largest collection of everyday textiles surviving from the eighteenth century in Britain.

The exhibition continues at The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London WC1 until 6th March 2011. Entrance is £7.50.