U.S. Coast Guard or Revenue Cutter Service Commissioning Pennant

Commission pennants are the distinguishing mark of a commissioned U.S. Navy ship. Flown at the topmast, the typical American format is a long blue field, usually with a single row of white stars, although sometimes with their total divided into two rows, followed by two long stripes, red-over-white. A ship became commissioned when this pennant was hoisted. Flown during both times of peace and war, the only time the pennant is not flown is if a flag officer or civilian official was aboard and replaced it with their own flag. Sometimes the owners of private ships mimicked the use of Navy signals. Some seafaring men would have served in the Navy and become privy to various practices in that capacity. Others flew them purely for stylistic reasons, either on a regular basis or while the boat was dressed for special occasion. Hudson River steamers regularly flew pennants of this nature, as evidenced by period photography as well as the paintings of artists such as John and James Bard...

ENTIRELY HAND-SEWN, 32-FOOT, SHIP’S COMMISSION PENNANT OF THE 1845-1865 ERA, A HOMEMADE, COTTON EXAMPLE, WITH 13 STARS ON A CORNFLOWER BLUE CANTON, IN A BEAUTIFUL STATE OF PRESERVATION Commission pennants are the distinguishing mark of a commissioned U.S. Navy ship. A ship becomes commissioned when the pennant is hoisted. Flown during both times of peace and war, the only time it is not flown is if a flag officer or civilian official is aboard and replaces it with their own flag. Flown at the topmast, this would be the first thing one would see coming over the horizon and identified the vessel as a warship. Sometimes the owners of private ships mimicked the use of Navy signals. Some seafaring men would have served in the Navy and become privy to various practices in that capacity. Others flew them purely for stylistic reasons, either on a regular basis or while the boat was dressed for special occasion. Hudson River steamers regularly flew pennants of this nature, as evidenced by period photography as well as the paintings of artists such as John and James Bard...

AMERICAN SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT PENNANT WITH "VOTES FOR WOMEN" TEXT, IN A LARGE SIZE AND WITH ATTRACTIVE PATINA FROM AGE AND OBVIOUS USE, circa 1912-1920 American Suffrage movement penna...

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS PENNANT FROM PARRIS ISLAND, circa WWI (U.S. INVOLVEMENT 1917-18) -1930’s Faded, red, felt, United States Marine Corps pennant with a variant of the central device of its official seal printed in blue, yellow, gold, tan, and white pigments, and “Parris Island S.C.” in white beyond, slightly arched, extending toward the tapered point. Note the whimsical profile of the letter “c,” with an exaggerated, scrolling tail. The device generally consists of a federal eagle perched upon a globe, superimposed on a canted anchor with a whirling chain, the combination of which is to symbolize the Corps’ watchful, worldwide, maritime presence. In this instance the image was modified to fit the elongated profile of a pennant’s basic design, with the anchor rotated slightly clockwise to the horizontal, an adaptation sometimes encountered in both Marine Corps and U.S. Navy examples. The colors used to represent the Marine Corps changed over time. The present combination of scarlet red and gold, predominant here, were formally adopted in 1925, but American military traditions tend to be as hard to extinguish as the men and women of their ranks, and the Corps was certainly no exception. 14 years would pass before the official change caught up with the Marine Corps’ flag...