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  1912 PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION PENNANT w/ EAGLE AND SHIELD, MADE IN PHILADELPHIA

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 25.25" x 14.25"
Flag Size (H x L): 19" x 8"
Description....:
1912 PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION PENNANT, FELT WITH GOLD STENCILED LETTERING, EAGLE AND SHIELD, MADE IN PHILADELPHIA:

Felt Pennant with metallic gold-painted stenciling that reads:

Souvenir
1912

The text is accompanied by images of a spread-winged eagle and patriotic shield. The pennant, which hangs vertically, has a tassel made of woven cotton rope and a brass bar along the to edge.

The pennant was made for the political convention of 1912, either for the Republican Party, which nominated Taft, the Democratic Party, which nominated Wilson, or the Teddy Roosevelt's National Progressive Party in the famed "Bull Moose Convention".

Whatever the case may be, this was one of the most interesting elections of all time. It was the only occasion where an independent party candidate, Roosevelt, came in 2nd.

The pennant is related to others by the same maker, Rudolph Brothers, which was located at 19 North 5th Street in Philadelphia and listed themselves as "Jobbers of Toys and Novelties". Three related examples are documented in "Threads of History: Americana Recorded on Cloth, 1775 to the Present", by Herbert Ridgeway Collins, Smithsonian Press, 1979. One was made for the inauguration of Wm. Howard Taft in 1909 (item 914, pg. 364). Two were made for the innaguration of Woodrow Wilson in 1913 (items 956 and 958, pgs. 378 and 379, respectively). This is the best text on American political textiles. Collins formerly served as Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian Institution. The Roosevelt-Fairbanks example is also documented (item 863, pg. 346).

Mounting: The pennant has been hand-stitched to 100% cotton rag mat and placed in a gilded molding that dates to the period between 1840 and 1860. Spacers keep the textile away from the glass, which is u.v. protective.
Collector Level: Beginners and Holiday Gift Giving
Flag Type:
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1912
Latest Date of Origin: 1912
State/Affiliation: Pennsylvania
War Association:
Price: SOLD
 

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