Stow described handkerchiefs ‘with a button or tassel at each corner, and a little one in the middle, with silk and thread; the best edged with a small gold lace, or twist’. In a period before women’s ...

Cloth handkerchiefs are back as people seek more sustainable ways to handle sneezes, putting an end to the times they were seen as old-fashioned and unhygienic – though take care when you wash ...