Pennant materials

[Hankphenom]

I'm sure the information I'm looking for is somewhere in the many pennant threads here, and I plan to read all of the Pennant Fever posts, but I'm hoping someone can give me a brief summary of the various materials and combinations thereof used for sports pennants from the beginning of their manufacture through today, including approximate dates of their usage and any notable characteristics such as appearance, feel, etc. Thanks in advance.

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

I'm sure the information I'm looking for is somewhere in the many pennant threads here, and I plan to read all of the Pennant Fever posts, but I'm hoping someone can give me a brief summary of the various materials and combinations thereof used for sports pennants from the beginning of their manufacture through today, including approximate dates of their usage and any notable characteristics such as appearance, feel, etc. Thanks in advance.

Hi Hank .... I’m not sure if this helps but here we go ...

Pre 1920 pennants were often oversized (approx 35 inches long) and were heavy felt, almost the feel of an army blanket. Moths liked this material. This gave way to a thinner, softer cottony felt until the late 40s, then they got a little thicker again by early 50s. By this time pennants would show creases if folded. Sometime around the late 50s a woven “cloth” was introduced ... thin with sometimes loose threads on the edges. These were succeptable to fading. Most of these still had a felt spine. Felt and cloth were seemingly used interchangeably up through 1970 or so. Then the stiff cardboard-like garbage made its debut.

This may not have been terribly informative but is this the type of response you were hoping for? I wish I knew names for the types of material but we just call them “felt” and “cloth”.

Greg

[Hankphenom]

Thanks, Greg, this is the pennant that made me wonder. This is obviously an older pennant, probably 1940s, but seems to be made from a stiffer material than I would have thought from that time. You can see the creases from being folded over the years, and a softer "felt" or "wool" wouldn't do that, I don't think. It just raised the question in my mind if one of you experienced pennant guys had a fix on what era pennants were made of what. I've always loved them, and have collected and sold many over the years, but I just never paid that much attention to their composition. I bought this one for a friend for Christmas and wondered if the material would offer a clue as to the period of issue. The graphics look like 1930s to me, but of course the pennant could have been made any time. Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Thanks, Greg, this is the pennant that made me wonder. This is obviously an older pennant, probably 1940s, but seems to be made from a stiffer material than I would have thought from that time. You can see the creases from being folded over the years, and a softer "felt" or "wool" wouldn't do that, I don't think. It just raised the question in my mind if one of you experienced pennant guys had a fix on what era pennants were made of what. I've always loved them, and have collected and sold many over the years, but I just never paid that much attention to their composition. I bought this one for a friend for Christmas and wondered if the material would offer a clue as to the period of issue. The graphics look like 1930s to me, but of course the pennant could have been made any time. Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.

Hank I know this pennant, I suspect this could be as late as the 1960s, which explains the texture. Looks like an Ad Flag and they were known to use old-time player graphics well past their time. Hopefully some of the others can hop in here with input.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Depending on the make up of the pennant and material I generally classify this pennant as early as late 40’s to 1950’s. It is true that some makers used these generic designs up in to the 60’s and even the 70’s if you can believe that, but for the Packers in particular they had many “newer” designs that capitalized on the Lombardi era Packers and their NFL championships. I would say your pennant based on the material is a classic 50’s example without being able to handle it and examine it closely. Jason

[Domer05]

This pennant was indeed made by Advertising Flag Co. of Chicago, IL, a.k.a., ADFLAG. Additionally, it was made ca. 1960, as this maker also made a 1960-dated "WORLD CHAMPIONS" variant featuring this same artwork. Toward the middle and end of the 1960s, they made other Packers pennants; including some referencing their Super Bowl wins.

Here's a link to my post on ADFLAG if you crave more info on them:

https://pennantfever.weebly.com/blog...tising-flag-co

There's a pennant library at the back end of this post that features a dozen or so NFL and AFL pennants by ADFLAG made during the 1950s and 60s, including the above described pennant.

It's a cool pennant, nice pick-up!