PENNANT FACTORY
Homemade pennants inspired by designs of the past
The jobThe Brooklyn Dodgers captured the National League Pennant a total of nine times. That stretch began in 1916, and continued through '20, '41, '47, '49, 52', '53, '55, and ended in '56. Seven of these forced a match-up against the cross-town rival New York Yankees. As is well known, they won only one of these contests. That win came in 1955, against the Yankees. Three years later the team moved to Los Angeles; and that was the end of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Understandably, Brooklyn fans were euphoric when their team finally won the World Series. In the wake of their jubilation, numerous vendors manufactured a range of souvenirs commemorating Brooklyn's '55 team. Here's three of my favorites I'm certain were a real hit: Of course, plenty of novelty makers manufactured the more traditional felt pennant to commemorate Brooklyn's status as world champions, like these classics, by Trench Mfg. Co.: Obviously, I love pennants; but, I've always been partial to the banner; especially when it comes to celebrating a particularly big achievement. And, ending five decades of post-season futility is exactly such an occasion! I know of several banners from 1955 commemorating the Dodgers; but, the bulk of these were made for their status as National League Champions--not World Champions. Here they are: These are all good. Especially the one with the Ebbets Field + Brooklyn Bridge graphics. But, if I'm being honest, the curious, "Welcome..." salutation common to them all never sat well with me.... In the days between the end of the regular season, and the start of the World Series, the borough would host a "reception" (pep rally) on the steps of Brooklyn's Borough Hall. This was done throughout the 1940s and 50s after the Dodgers clinched a pennant. If you were a souvenir vendor, a gathering of fans celebrating a league championship is as good a place as any to sell merch! And that's where these welcome banners filled a need. Here's a picture of one of those rallies, taken October 4, 1949--note the three welcome banners positioned in front of the stage: Look, I certainly hope the Brooklyn players felt "welcome" in Brooklyn standing before Brooklyn fans; but, surely someone made a championship banner for the '55 team that didn't look like a travel poster, right? Then one day, in my search for interesting items to make I came across this wonderful little banner. Emphasis on the word, "little." Contrary to what you might think, this banner's original dimensions were only 8.5" x 11.75." Another words, about the size of a sheet of paper. Although it appears that the graphics would have been screen printed in conventional ink; the graphics were in fact flocked, giving them a velvety look and feel. Rather than felt, the substrate was made of linen. A sleeve was sewn in to the top which permitted the insertion of a wooden dowel through it. Finally, each end of the dowel had a gold string tied to it, enabling the owner to hang it therefrom. Let's not forget the artwork. A baseball topped with a crown bearing the year, "1955." Simple. Brilliant. I've only seen two of these in all my years collecting Brooklyn Dodgers ephemera. This one, featured above, was the only complete one I've come across (the other had been trimmed for framing purposes). It sold for $840 when it was last auctioned in August of 2020. I'm not about to spend $840 on a banner I can fit on a single sheet of printer paper. It needs to be bigger. So, I decided to make it myself; and enlarge it by about 50%. And then it hit me: while I'm at it, why not commemorate the 2020 World Champs with a version of their own? The result: 1955 bannerI decided to make two versions of the 1955 banner: one that can be hung by a dowel, like the original; and one with metal grommets, like a more contemporary banner. The former version was screen printed in blue ink on a linen substrate. The latter was screen printed on off-white felt. Both versions are about 50% bigger than the original design. |
AuthorIn 2018 I started a separate website called Pennant Fever dedicated to 20th century felt novelty manufacturers. It focuses on these companies' history, products, etc. Eventually, my interest in these businesses inspired me to start making my own pennants. THIS site you're currently viewing, Pennant Factory, is where I'll showcase some of the felt projects I've taken on. Most are reproductions of real pennants once for sale to the public. I've done my best to re-create the originals as authentically as possible based upon surviving photos, known dimensions, etc. Others are my original work, intended to look like the styles of yesteryear. Some turned out better than others. See for yourself. Enjoy! -KRB Projects:
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