Tucker on 'Bonnet Gourds', 1874: "the women in the Southern States split it and made up very pretty and useful head coverings or bonnets"
— Kew Gardens Library and Archives (@Kew_LAA) July 14, 2014
This ((Letter from Joseph Tucker to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker; from Mobile, Alabama, United States of America; 5 Nov 1874; four page letter comprising four images; folios 458 – 459.)) seems to refer to Luffa, but does anyone have photos? I’d love to see what these bonnets look like, but unfortunately Google is not being very helpful. Gourds are inevitably much on my mind after my trip to PNG…
LATER: And here it is, thanks to Eve Emshwiller:
There is one from Jamaica in the Economic Botany collection at the Field Museum in Chicago. One can search their database, but I’ll provide a couple of links. Here is a link to the photo. And this one gives just a bit of information on the source of the item.
Thanks, Eve! How on earth did you find them?
I remembered seeing it in the collection when I worked there.
Good memory!