I acquired the what I believe is a baptism blanket from the 1860s. It has five different monarchy crests laced into it (including Russia). Where would something like this originate? Why would five different monarchies be represented all in the same piece?

by initforthefood

Here’s a link to the album with pics for reference.

https://imgur.com/gallery/TSJWtw6

dromio05

That's hard to say without knowing more about where it came from. The double headed eagle with a rider on the shield does look like Russia. The other arms look like the United Kingdom (lion and unicorn), Serbia (double headed eagle with a shield with a cross), maybe Montenegro (double headed eagle with a lion), France (two roosters), Italy (large cross and "FERT FERT FERT"), and maybe Belgium (three lions). It's interesting that it includes (if my identification is correct) Serbia and Montenegro, but not much larger countries like Austria, Spain, or Prussia. Do you know if it's silk, linen, cotton, or something else? The quality of the material could be a clue.