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  WEST POINT PENNANT OF THE WWI – WWII ERA (circa 1918 – 1945), WITH GREAT COLORS & GRAPHICS

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 20.5" x 42"
Flag Size (H x L): 11" x 30"
Description....:
Triangular pennant, made for the United States Military Academy at West Point, printed with seven different pigments onto a black felt ground, in the manner of the best manufacturers of that time. The patriotic device is a loose interpretation of the Great Seal of The United States, with most of the basic elements, but in a stylistically altered and elongated fashion. 13 stars are slightly arched above an unusually long, billowing, red, white, and blue streamer with the expected “E Pluribus Unum” text (out of many, one). The eagle clutches arrows in its proper right talon and an olive branch in its proper left. Its head faces the arrows, which may signify that the device was of wartime origin. I would suggest that the image is likely to have originated with WWI patriotism (U.S. involvement 1917-18). The pennant itself could have been made anytime between this timeframe and WWII (U.S. involvement 1941-45).

Much to-do was made about the position of the eagle’s head in WWII’s closing year. In March of 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had served as Secretary of the Navy during WWI, began to address a change in U.S. Navy signals. Though he passed in April of that year, this ignited discussions between President Harry Truman, who followed, and the U.S. Army’s chief of heraldry, Arthur DuBois, concerning the position of the eagle on the Great Seal, which had no formal, written definition. The outgrowth of this was Presidential Order 9646, issued on October 25th, 1945, which set forth certain characteristics, including the way the head of the eagle must face, to its proper right, and the location of the olive branch in the right talon, to indicate a time of peace. This came close on the heels of Nazi surrender to Allied Forces, which had taken place on September 2nd. It seems unlikely that either a maker of West Point pennants, or the institution itself, would have afterwards continued to manufacture or procure flags or related textiles with the head of the eagle facing the arrows, though an example acquired by a family in November of 1970, similar in form, but printed on different fabric, bears the same basic emblem.

Beyond the eagle, “West Point” appears in canary yellow, in Old English letters. Black felt ties were stitched at the top and bottom of the hoist and a length of golden yellow felt was machine-sewn along the leading edge for reinforcement.

Mounting: The pennant was mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and have framed thousands of examples.

The pennant has been hand-stitched to a background of 100% hemp fabric, ivory in color. The gilded molding has a slanted profile between a flat inner and outer edge, to this a stepdown profile molding, very dark brown in color, almost black, with reddish undertones and highlights, was added as a liner. A shadowbox was created to accommodate the ties, which were mounted in a 3-D fashion. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas).

Condition: There is a tiny nick of fabric loss along the top edge of the pennant. A piece of black fabric was placed behind this area for masking purposes, during the mounting process. There is very minor soiling.
Collector Level: Intermediate-Level Collectors and Special Gifts
Flag Type:
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1917
Latest Date of Origin: 1945
State/Affiliation: New York
War Association:
Price: SOLD
 

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