Children's handkerchief with title "Foot ball" [object]

" Martha Washington S.H. Greene & Sons"--lower left corner.
Printed in red and black on cream-colored cotton.
One of a series of four handkerchiefs displaying children's sports and games: Cricket, Skip Rope, Hop Scotch, and Foot Ball, produced by S.H. Greene & Sons.
The image centers on three football players with a round ball and goal behind them. The upper two of the four corner vignettes show "THE FLAGS" (a player setting out field flags) and "THE KICK OFF", while the lower vignettes show a clubhouse and maintenance tools (roller, rake, and spade). The fact that the handkerchief was produced around 1870 makes it interesting, since at that time American football, soccer, and rugby were in their infancy, and there was no clear distinction between the three sports.