Embroidered flour sacks in WW I: Nice souvenirs, serve well as gifts; the profits are worth talking about.
The relic of a heroic people.
My first article about the WW I decorated flour sacks has been published in print!
23 pages with text, photos and a selective bibliography can be found in the September 2019 issue of Patakon, the bakery heritage magazine of the Furnes Bakery Museum.
Summary
The article in Patakon is putting the Furnes Bakery Museum WWI flour sacks in their historical context. Through historical newspaper reports and photographs I broaden and deepen the Belgian perspective on the remembrance culture of the decorated “American” flour sacks.
I present 15 newspaper reports and 8 images from illustrated magazines, published between 1914 and 1918, with flour sacks related quotes.
Another 7 images illustrate the relief efforts of women in occupied Belgium, including Madame Vandervelde whose campaign for food aid in the USA resulted in flour sacks, printed with the name of her own Madame Vandervelde Fund.
Embroiderer Ferdine De Wachter, at the age of 18, is proudly standing next to her embroidered flour sack.
My research of the Furnes Bakery Museum flour sack collection led to the discovery of several remarkable details. The detection of similar flour sacks in other collections led to new conclusions through comparative research with the three Furnes decorated flour sacks. In addition, I delved into historical information about the origin of the flour sacks.
These flour sacks are souvenirs that the Furnes Bakery Museum is right to store with care and display with pride.
The article was created in collaboration with Ina Ruckebusch, scientific staff member/collection manager.
The article originally appeared in the Dutch language.
You can read its English translation here.