Linen cloth, such as this Ivory Striped Linen, was woven of flax fiber in many grades and weaves. Used in every aspect of living from clothing, to household needs and furnishings, to the shroud made for the corpse, linen was so common that a tax was proposed as a source of easy revenue on the coarser sorts being imported into the US, towards the end of the 18th century.
Finer, semi-sheer linens were often used for aprons, sleeve ruffles, tuckers, caps and summer weight gowns. Examples of linens like this appear in the collection of Anders Berch (1711-1774), the first Professor of Economics in Sweden, who collected extensively as a teaching aid for his students.
