PENNANT FACTORY
Homemade pennants inspired by designs of the past
BackgroundIf there's one thing I've observed about pennant makers, it's this: all were keen on finding ways to lower manufacturing costs, speed up production, and increase profit margins. These were for-profit businesses, after all, so maintaining their competitive advantage was critically important. They accomplished this by constantly exploring new production techniques or processes. Innovation was key to their survival. Early 20th century pennants were mostly sewed together from contrasting pieces of felt. This required a fair amount of sewing, depending upon the design. Sewing machines and die presses helped speed things up; but, at the end of the day, much of the labor was performed by hand.
Above/left: This ca. 1916 ("BF2") Grover Alexander premium-size promo pennant was distributed by the Ferguson Bakery of Roxbury, MA and manufactured by Bradford & Co. of St. Joseph, MI. As a promotional item, manufacturing costs had to be minimized. Consequently, its design required no sewing from its maker. Note that it featured not only a faux spine; but faux tassels, too. Above/right: This 1959 promotional insert from Topps baseball cards showcases the promo pennants being offered at mid-century. Note the faux spines. By the late 1950s, tassels were far less important to consumers; so nobody bothered to even paint them in. Faux spines worked for small promo pennants where the consumer wasn't expecting much in terms of craftsmanship. But, for full size pennants ... not so much. The problem was, until the late 1940s, consumers expected full size pennants to come with at least two pairs of real, cloth tassels; and these tassels had to be secured to the pennant somehow. Typically, tassels were secured by the two stitches running the length of the spine. So, if you employed a faux spine; you generally had to nix the tassels, too. Or else, find some other way to secure them.... One pennant maker came up with the perfect solution. Why not screen both the graphics and the faux spine on; then secure a real pair of of cloth tassels with a pair of brass grommets? In effect, they pioneered a design that yielded a full size pennant, with tassels, requiring no sewing whatsoever. I've named it a "grommet pennant"; but, I may as well have named it "a pennant maker's pennant." Unfortunately, this innovative maker's identity remains a mystery as of the time of this writing. We do know that they made a large number of league championship pennants for both National and American League pennant winners throughout the 1920s and 30s. A common feature seen across the series is the inscription of text running vertically down the length of the faux spine, declaring the team as "CHAMPIONS" followed by the the year of production. Ostensibly, these were made for and sold primarily outside World Series games. Here's the few I know of that have surfaced over the years: 1920 If you noticed a plethora of St. Louis representation in the above mix, you're not alone. It seems likely that, whoever this manufacturer was, they were located in the midwest--perhaps in St. Louis. If so, I know of only one pennant maker in St. Louis doing business in the 1920s: St. Louis Button Co. For the most part, they manufactured pinbacks; including baseball pinbacks for the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals. But, they were listed in multiple trade journals of the day as a maker of felt pennants. Therefore, it seems reasonable to believe they made a baseball pennant or two during that time frame. So, who knows? Maybe they're our mystery maker?
If you had any hopes of acquiring one of these grommet pennants, let me warn you: it's not going to be cheap. Dated pennants, in general, are in high demand on the collectible market; especially when they're from the early 20th century. They're even more collectible when they're associated with a particular championship. Case in point: that Chicago White Sox AL champions pennant, from 1919, the year of the infamous "Black Sox scandal," featured above? Sold for $34,500 at auction not too long ago.... Yeah. I didn't have $34.50 to spend on that 1920 Brooklyn Dodgers pennant, so that meant: I'd have to make my own. Above: The 1920 Brooklyn Dodgers NL champs pennant was actually made in two colors: sky blue, shown earlier, and reddish brown, pictured here. The resultI bought a grommet maker on Amazon for under $20, and it turned out to be a nice little investment. Pretty easy to use, too. Basically, you punch a small hole in your felt; then you place two ends of a grommet along the front and back sides of the hole; and then you strike them with a hammer--which fuses the two rings of the grommet into one. When complete, the grommets actually secured each pair of tassels to the pennant. This was the first pennant I've ever made that didn't require any sewing (or, felt glue, my preferred substitute). |
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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