Visitor's itinerary

From printed handkerchief, as it manifested itself in the 19th century, to luxurious women’s fashion accessory, this object’s history gives us a veiled impression of the sociological developments of its age, and notably of the redefinition of the link between army and nation.
But this history is far from being completed : more pages are being added even today, thanks to a military tradition still linked to the handkerchief as a means of instruction or commemoration. By means of a few contemporary examples, visitors can appreciate this object’s capacity for adaptation, through lending itself to any function assigned to it and accompanying soldiers to new operational settings.

Instructional handkerchief: Third Foreign Infantry Regiment Platoon Warrant Officer © Paris, musée de l’Armée, from the French Foreign Legion