Handkerchief of plate-printed silk, England, ca. 1851 Handkerchief of plate-printed silk. Printed in black on a white silk taffeta ground and has a yellow border. The design has a distant view of the Crystal Palace in the centre, and with a symbolic group from all national standing around a statue of Mercury. There are allegorical figures in the corners symbolising the four continents, and a floral outer border.