The Foundling museum London used to be a children's home & hospital in the 1700s and they have a collection of hand written records of the babies and children always with a scrap of cloth from their mothers or the child's clothing. The exhibition entitled 'Threads of Feeling' reflects the life of children 'left' in the hospital by absent, often deceased parents. The scraps of fabric signify show maternal emotions and the historical background for cloth books. Of course the high levels of illiteracy amongst the working classes at eh time mean the fabrics were also a practical way for children to be 'labelled' and identified years later.
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