1910s Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

This is a beautiful example of a printed 48-star Whipple flag pennant. In the first decade of the twentieth century, a contest to design a classical style of American heraldry was he...

RARE SUFFRAGETTE ARMBAND IN GOLDEN YELLOW FELT, ONE OF ONLY TWO EXAMPLES THAT I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN THIS COLOR & THE ONLY ONE IN THIS EXACT STYLE; MADE circa 1912-1919: Wide, felt ...

This is a beautiful example of a printed Whipple star flag pennant. In the first decade of the twentieth century, a contest to design a classical style of American heraldry was held. The flag designed by Wayne Whipple, a well-known author of popular works on American history, was chosen in 1912 from among 500 entries. Whipple's flag was approved by President Taft, widely publicized throughout the nation, and produced. Whipple’s flag design was a wonderful and symbolic celebration of our nation’s history. At center, 13 stars were arranged in a central six-pointed "Great Star" to symbolize the 13 original states. The ring of 25 stars...

Antique historic American double blue star flag, circa 1917, a World War I flag honoring two family members in service. The flag is hand crafted of wo...

Unusual paper suffrage pennant, with bold and whimsical, western style lettering, circa 1915 American Suffragette pennant, in a very rare format, with text that reads “Votes for Women,” in a combination of two bold, Western-style fonts. Made of golden yellow paper, with the lettering printed in black, the profile is an unusual one. Linear for approximately 2/5 of its length, the remainder tapers to a point. An example in this style is documented in "The Keynoter: Journal of the American Political Items Conservators," Summer/Fall/Winter 2008 (Women's Suffrage Special Triple Issue), Volume 2008, Number 2-4, p.133. This periodical is the best printed reference that presently exists on Suffrage objects. Golden yellow was the customary color of the suffrage movement in America, a tradition that began with the first actual campaign to give women the right to vote. This took place in 1867 in Kansas, the first state to hold a referendum on the issue when suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Stanton focused their efforts there and wore sunflowers—the state flower—in a show of support, as well as yellow ribbons. The flower was an appropriate emblem for a rising sun and growth, which led to its use in other states, and the color carried over to many other objects employed in the campaign for years to come. In England, green, white, and purple / violet were introduced in 1908 and became the colors of the movement, which gave way to a nice acronym for “Give Women the Vote.” Various groups used these colors also, in the States, sometimes substituting golden yellow for green. Mounting: The textile was mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and presentation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples. This is a pressure mount...

Antique Historic American Blue Star Flag, circa 1917, a World War I flag honoring a family member in service. The flag is handcrafted of linen. It is ...

Antique forty six star large wool American flag by Horstmann Company, circa 1908-1912. Horstmann firm was founded by William H. Horstmann (1785-1850), who had immigrated to Philadelphia from Germany. Horstmann bought out a local swordmaker in 1828 and thereafter entered the military goods field. The firm benefitted from the Civil War, becoming the largest military goods supplier in the nation by 1864. WILLIAM H. HORSTMANN & SONS, Manufacturers of Dress Trimmings and Military Goods. 5th & Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, PA. This house was founded, in 1815, by William H. Horstmann, a native of Cassel, in Germany. He had learned the trade of silk-weaving in France, and, emigrating to the United States in the above-mentioned year, established himself in Philadelphia as a manufacturer of fringe, laces and trimmings of various kinds. He married the daughter of Frederick Hoeckly, a German settler in Philadelphia, and also a manufacturer of fringe, coach-lace and tassels. He devised several improvements in this trade, especially by introducing varieties in the styles and patterns of this class of goods, there being at that time only two patterns used in the trade, which were known as the Jefferson pattern and the Monroe pattern. In 1824, he introduced into this country from Germany the use of plaiting or braiding machines, and about the same time he was the first to introduce into this country the use of the Jacquard loom, for weaving patterns in textile fabrics. His location was in the first instance at No. 50 North Third street, but within a short time he removed to a store next to the Harp and Crown tavern, afterwards known as the City hotel, and continued his business within a short distance of this point for many years. In 1828, he commenced the manufacture of military trimmings as a special department, and this branch has grown to most important proportions, Horstmann's military goods being in demand throughout time country. The firm have also executed large Government contracts in this line for the War and Navy Departments. In 1831, he established a branch house in New York city, and about the same time erected a factory at the corner of Germantown road and Columbia avenue. The factory was continued here until time erection of the extensive building at Fifth and Cherry streets, where the works, salesrooms and offices of time firm now are. This massive structure is six stories high, and extends 140 feet on Fifth street and 200 on Cherry street, and reaches back to Race street. The separate departments into which the business is divided are thirty in number. More than 1000 distinct looms and machines are in use in the building, many of them very costly and some invented and used exclusively by this firm, the motive power being supplied by a steam engine of fifty horse power. The area covered by the works is about 11,000 square feet. Time number of hands employed is very large, about 500. When the erection of a vast factory at this point was first proposed, a strong opposition was made by time holders of the neighboring property. The ancient German Lutheran Church and burying ground, since removed, stood opposite the site, and a bill was introduced into the Legislature to forbid the use of a steam engine within 100 yards of any place of worship. The interests which such a bill would have affected injuriously, especially those of several newspapers, roused a strong opposition to it, and it failed to become a law. In 1845, William H. Horstmann, the founder of the house, retired from the business, and his two sons, William and Sigmund, assumed the management and it was under their direction that the new building, above described, was erected. The goods produced by this house are of almost endless extent and variety. They include goods woven from all the various textile fibres—cotton, wool, silk, etc.—in every style, color and pattern, and are used for an infinite number of purposes. Narrow woven goods are time staple production, made up into material for dresses for both sexes, for use in daily life, and for regalia for ""societies;"" for the costumes of the stage, the upholstering of houses and of carriages, the uniforms of soldiers, together with equipments for the same, and for funeral purposes. The raw material used in the manufacture is to a great extent very costly, and their store rooms often hold as much as $200,000 worth of goods in an unworked state. There are two rooms devoted to power looms in the factory, one for coach lace and one for other styles of weaving, in which about 250 of these machines are constantly running. The braiding machines in the coach lace room are very noteworthy. The cord to be covered with braid is drawn through an opening in time middle of a flat, circular, metallic plate, about 15 inches across. Up to a point on this cord, about a foot above the plate, the threads of the braiding material converge, like the ribs of a tent-roof, and there weave in and out and out and in, as the coating of braid grows, and time covered cord rises and is wound away above. The weaving is accomplished by the motion of the spools below that carry the different threads of the braid. These spools stand in uprights, which are carried round and amongst each other in curved slots in the above-mentioned broad metallic plate. All but two of these spools run in and out among each other, with a swift, easy and intricate motion, mind so rapid that time eye can hardly follow it, while one or two special spools run steadily round and round among time twisting spools with the most extreme swiftness. Many other machines, displaying equally ingenious mechanism, are used in the factory. The various details of equipment manufactured and supplied by this house are also important, both for their number and the superior quality of the manufacture. The one article of swords may be taken as an instance. This trade grew naturally and immediately out of the established army and navy goods department of the works, it being necessary that the sword itself should be furnished together with the sword-belt and other trappings all complete. Every part of the sword and trappings, with the exception of the blade, is made on the premises. The blades are almost all imported from the ancient German sword-blade emporium of Solingen, where, it is said, swords have been made ever since the year 1147, when Count Adolphus of Berg brought home from the East and established there the business of forging Damascus blades. There is in this department a stock of some thousands of blades, of many different patterns and sizes, ready to be set and finished. Any style or sword can be had from this warehouse, from the plainest kind up to a presentation sword...

SILK CAMPAIGN KERCHIEF IN AN UNUSUAL, HORIZONTAL FORMAT, MADE TO PROMOTE THE 1912 PRESIDENTIAL RUN OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT, WHEN HE RAN ON THE NATIONAL PROGRESSIVE PARTY “BULL MOOSE” TICKET: Bull moose heads, large clubs (sticks), and standing bears wielding clubs decorate this rectangular format bandana from the 1912 presidential campaign of Theodore Roosevelt. These images surround a center medallion that encircles the date and Teddy’s famous Rough Riders hat. The elements were widely recognized symbols of the man who won America’s heart, but fell out of favor with the Grand Old Party when he decided to run against incumbent President William Howard Taft on an independent, National Progressive Party ticket. Printed on silk, in red, white, and blue, this interesting textile has the party’s name, spelled in block letters, arranged in a wave format along the border. Roosevelt nicknamed his the “Bull Moose Party...

Turkey red bandanna, made for the 1912 presidential campaign of teddy Roosevelt, when he ran on the independent, progressive party (bull moose) ticket Printed cotton kerchief, made for the 1912 presidential campaign of Theodore Roosevelt when he ran on the Progressive Party ticket (a.k.a., the Bull Moose campaign). This graphic textile, in a classic, western style, typical of the iconic red bandanna, is indicative of both the Republican Party in the late 19th century, and T.R.’s love of the American West. In this example, a geometric design with diamonds, surrounded by multiple, linear borders, is accompanied by the following text along the top and bottom that reads: “The Roosevelt Bandanna” and “Progressive Party,” respectively. A maker’s mark in the lower right corner reads “Cochranes Mfg. Co.” Cochrane’s was known for their long-lasting, red dye process, called “Cochrane’s Turkey Red.”. It was really a process, as opposed to a dye itself, to which the name applied. The dye was actually a derived from a synthetic colorant called “alizarin,” imported by Alexander Cochrane’s family, who emigrated to the United States from 1847, and owned a chemical company in Massachusetts that produced the dye. The fabrics were produced by the family of John Cochrane, who emigrated from Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1844. Both families, who resided in Malden, Massachusetts initially, traced their ancestry to Barrhead, Scotland, in the heart of the textile-producing region, near Glasgow and Paisley. It was in Glascow that Turkey Red printed bandannas are said to have originated, in the shop of Henry Monteith & Company, in 1802.* TR's decision to enter the 1912 election was not exactly popular among many of his friends and former supporters. His participation manifested into a unique political incident, in which the independent, Roosevelt, beat out a major party ticket, garnering 27.4% of the vote. At the same time, however, he lost the White House, not only for himself, but for his former Republican friends as well, by dividing support between his own candidacy and that of incumbent President William Howard Taft...

Silk suffragette sash ribbon in yellow & white with "votes for women" text, circa 1910-1915 Section of wide, silk, grosgrain ribbon, of the type often worn as a sash, in a deep, s...

Antique Historic American Blue Star Flag, circa 1917, a World War I flag honoring a family member in service. The flag is hand crafted of linen. It is...

13 HAND-EMBROIDERED STARS AND EXPERTLY HAND-SEWN STRIPES ON AN ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG MADE IN PHILADELPHIA BY SARAH M. WILSON, GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER OF BETSY ROSS, SIGNED & DATED 1911: ...