Gal, 'way back in the 1930's (and probably earlier, but I can personally attest to the mid- 30's:)) flour, sugar, cattle feed and probably more things, were sold in bags made of printed cotton. The sugar and flour 'sacks' were made with a finer thread count than the cow feed, and were particularly prized by quilters and sewers (sewists?) to use for their quilts and clothes. I remember wearing one pair of knickers with a prominent almost-bleached-out logo of a cow's face with the inscription 'Blue Cow Cottonseed Meal'. My granny made underwear out of the coarser sacks she couldn't use for quilting or aprons, but sometimes couldn't bleach all the lettering out of the feed sacks! I think the sugar and flour sacks had printed paper labels, though.
rusty (I really *am* older'n dirt ;))