Quote:
Originally Posted by thetahat
My guess would be neither. I suspect Domer will disagree, though, and he may know better given his research. The black pennant is Trench, the red has nothing in common with it besides the player graphic.
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I think the best argument out there is, yes, Trench is the manufacturer of both.
For me, there's too many similarities between the two pennants to ignore. The tapered four-digit year on the tail-end of the pennants is identical, both in terms of location and script. Trench did this throughout the 1940s and 50s. it was practically their signature in those days. See below.
As to the artwork of the catcher + runner duo--it's pretty much the same on both pennants, too. This is a significant connection, for me. I don't know if it was original to Trench's art department, or they simply copied it from a team publication or logo, but ... the fact that it appeared on at least one Trench pennant suggests they would have no objection to its further use on another design. I know that's simple logic, but it makes a lot of sense doesn't it?
I can't speak to the composition discrepancies you all noted; however, the Phillies and companion Yankees pennant were both league championship pennants, i.e., they were made for and sold at the world's series. This means the manufacturer had limited time to make these. They undoubtedly would have cut corners here and there. They may even have contracted with other printers in Philadelphia to make some, which would explain why the felt may not look like that which we'd expect to come from Buffalo, NY (Trench). We've all seen evidence before of this. Might that just explain why these were composed of unusual materials?
Maybe that paper thin cotton-like stuff was super cheap? Maybe it absorbed the ink better? Trench was known for being an innovative company and they experimented with several types of felt throughout the 1950s.