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  "REPEAL & ROOSEVELT", AN EMBROIDERED ARMBAND SUPPORTING THE REPEAL OF PROHIBITION, 1932

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 12" x 27.5"
Flag Size (H x L): 3" x 16"
Description....:
Made for the 1932 presidential election, this graphic armband supports the repeal of prohibition. This was part of the campaign platform of Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Made of blue felted wool with white embroidered text, bound with a red blanket stitch and having red ties at each corner, this is an uncommonly beautiful textile from the first campaign of our nation's only four-time president. Take particular note of the bold and attractive lettering. The tall and narrow font with slightly larger "R’s" lend it an attractive appearance.

The 18th Amendment effectively established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages by declaring production, transport, and the sale of alcohol (though not consumption or private possession) illegal, while the separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcement. The amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919 and took effect on January 16, 1920. For the following 13 years Prohibition was officially in effect, though the ability to enforce it was limited by the Volstead Act and by corrupt and complacent politicians who overlooked illicit manufacturing and smuggling. It was repealed by Congress in 1933 through ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which represented the only instance in American history that a constitutional amendment was repealed in its entirety. Following congressional approval, Franklin Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation 2065, to officially end prohibition, on December 5, 1933.

Mounting: The textile has been hand-stitched to 100% hemp fabric. The mount was then placed in a modern molding with a cove-shaped profile and a finish that is very dark brown, almost black, with red highlights, to which a blank-painted and hand-gilded Italian molding was added as a cap. Spacers keep the textile away from the glazing, which is U.V. protective glass.

Condition: There is some breakdown in the red ties. All of the material in the ties is original, though some were extended by removing threads from one to apply to another, so that all were even. Rarely were these trimmed evenly in the period.
Collector Level: Beginners and Holiday Gift Giving
Flag Type:
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1932
Latest Date of Origin: 1932
State/Affiliation: New York
War Association:
Price: SOLD
 

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