Jeff Bridgman Antique Flags
Sold Flags



  "I LOVE YOU CALIFORNIA" PENNANT WITH GREAT SCALE AND ATTRACTIVE GRAPHICS, CA 1915 - 1920's

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L):
Flag Size (H x L): 19.25" x 58.5"
Description....:
Extremely large, wool felt pennant, in deep blue, with a yellow panel, wedged in a truncated fashion at the hoist end and tapering out at the fly into a elongated profile that follows the triangular lines of the textile. Within this, in matching blue wool, are appliquéd, old English letters that spell out "I Love You California."

To the left of the slogan, a 48 star American parade flag, printed on silk, is appliquéd so that it cants at an angle, to which a gold, felt appliqué was added to serve as the staff. Twisted silk floss was added to this to serves as tassels. A narrow strip of blue binds the hoist, along which are three sets of yellow felt ties. All of the appliqué work and binding were done by machine, as-is expected in felt pennants with stitched elements.

Pennants like this one, some of which read simply "United States" or "U.S.A." or "America," appeared with the patriotism of WWI (U.S. involvement 1917-18). Their production may have begun slightly earlier and would have continued through the celebration of our nation's 150th anniversary of independence in 1926, then resurged during WWII (U.S. involvement 1941-45). Those dating around the First World War tend to have qualities that are distinctly earlier, such as the appliquéd felt lettering seen on this California example. While some are of more average scale, the size of the earlier examples also tends to be larger, as-is the case here.

This size of this example, when added to the colors and graphics, makes a seriously dynamic statement. I have not before encountered this precise style of pennant, so as of now this is the only example I know to exist.

Mounting: The pennant has been hand-stitched to 100% hemp fabric or a hemp and cotton blend (we use both interchangeably). The mount was then placed in a deep shadowbox molding with a step-down profile, to which a black-painted and gilded molding was added as a liner. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic.

Condition: The 48 star parade flag is a period replacement. The original was completely faded, with colors bleeding into one-another, and badly stretched. Great care was taken to find an example made in the earliest part of the 48 star period and which matched the footprint of the original as exactly as possible. There is moderate soiling throughout the blue wool, accompanied by modest to moderate soiling in the yellow wool. There is modest bleeding of the blue dye into the yellow in the top, hoist-end corner of the yellow window and there is a tiny rust stain at the fly end tip of the same. There is extremely minor mothing in very limited areas. Many of my clients prefer early flags and banners to show their age and history of use.
Collector Level: Intermediate-Level Collectors and Special Gifts
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1915
Latest Date of Origin: 1920's
State/Affiliation: California
War Association: WW 1
Price: SOLD
 

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