Never ... that is FANTASTIC! Super cool and in great condition

Agree... That Tigers pennant is fantastic. I have never seen one from that series with an animal mascot. It is always an image of a Player.

Uber rare and super unique! :eek:

Really nice Tigers pennant. Looks great.

I just framed my Giants pennant from the series.

Looks fantastic Marc!

Thanks again, Rob, for making it available. I think I owe you a few beers.

Because eBay allows this now - can make offers even when seller doesn’t have the Make Offer option - it “forces” you to play along. Personally, I like the auctions, they are exciting. But now there’s no guarantee that it goes the distance, if other offers are being made. (Actually even before you could make offers, and there were only auctions, items I’d be following would sometimes vanish and then pop up in live auctions a couple months later .... one auction house in particular that isn’t too far from me.)

I’ve never seen that Tigers pennant. That’s definitely a new one to add to the list

Link?

I’ll have it in a couple days.

The pennant or the link? :confused:

Both! Actually here’s a pic

Heavy Hitter!

This (not mine) is for sale on ebay. I guess this is what happens when you try to dry clean a pennant.

Came a day early. KB might have a better idea but my guess is that these are from Chicago Pennant Co. and are pre-1910. Perhaps the first “series” of pennants where a single company made a general style pennant for multiple teams. ... It appears that silk screening became commercial sometime between 1907-1911. It would seem to be that if it existed, it would have been preferred to simplify things. Most of these pennants have the same batter graphic, but they were drawn and cut by hand in leather, and then details were burned in with a heated tool. Same general batter graphic but considerable variability. Someone’s job was to make these painstakingly one at a time. And I think without screenprinting, leather was the only real option. These are all pure wool? with the feel of a heavy army blanket. Moths love these, my other two have some small holes.

Also noteworthy is the size ... 13” by 42”. Extra extra large. The three I have are all different size, White Sox is 13” by 39” and Cubs is 15” by 42.5”. Bizarre. They weren’t trimmed because of the reinforced edges.

Additionally I have seen this for Red Sox, Cubs with inverted colors (compared to mine), and “Pittsburgh” (presumably Pirates). But the Holy Grail from this set is the Tigers (I don’t have it) as it has a leather Tiger head. Mark has this and so does Jeff (he posted it last week here) ... . I’ll go so far to say that the Tigers is the single best pennant in existence. Optimal combination of beauty, rarity, workmanship, and age.

Anyway here’s a pic, I already made a custom fitting holder. This was kept in a vault somewhere, barely anything but a couple minuscule nips in the wool.

Not to mention that the dry cleaner pinned a tag to it! Ugh!

As a follow up to the earlier post, I would guess that the oldest series thst was screenprinted are the “B.B.C.” pennants. I think Mark said there was a huge auction of multiple teams some years ago.

Beautiful pennant, Greg!

Pretty sure this wasn't made by Chipenco. They never, to my knowledge, made pro sports pennants during their seven decade run; and, they always sewed a label on the reverse with their name on it.

I'd love to see a library of the other pennants from this series if anyone can easily post one...?

You really have to appreciate the work that went into these. These two-piece with border pennants must've taken forever to make. I'll always be a sucker for chevron tipped tassels; especially if they're two-color.

The "B.B.C." series is also quite interesting; even if screen printed. Did they ever make a Brooklyn one??

Here’s a pic of my other two, under the mirror. Have never seen a Brooklyn B.B.C. pennant! Also have not seen Yankees. For that matter ... anyone ever seen an oversized NYY pennant?

New pickup, only exciting to me, these are otherwise dull pennants. Trench Phillies pennant on gray felt. Don’t know of anotger Trench pennant on gray. (Not toned, it’s the true color.) Wondering if there are any other colors I’m missing ... maybe maroon? Anyone got one?

What years do those date to? Most of the Giants pennants that were done in that many colors are a little more....er,....interesting.

The ones pictured are late 1950s to mid/late 1960s, based on the little baseball trademark on a couple of them. This logo dated to the early 50s though, there are still many more variations that involve the shading of the cap. The white one is from 1960-61 when they briefly used print with a velvet like texture to it. (Many 1960 team picture pennants have this.)

I find it interesting that back then, they made the same pennant designs in so many different colors, including those that were not team colors.

Is it a “little baseball trademark” or is it the SportService “SS” that Kyle identified?

Looks like the "SS" Sports Service logo.

I can attest to the fact that we (as kids) got one of these Phillies Pennants at Crosley Field between the years 1968 - 69.

Correct, and that’s great info, Mark. I have a pennant with the same cap logo, same font letters, and the 1969 trademark. ... Kyle did a great job with the trademark history, it provides us with a way to identify “series” of pennants. The “TMC” pennants are almost entirely stadium pennants from presumably 1956-1959 as they include the Ebbets and Polo Grounds. I don’t know of any other team besides Phillies and Senators I that has a TMC pennant without their ballpark graphic.

Sold for $625...I offered $587....was gonna do a Rob Goulet "spine transplant."

I offered $525. Fantastic colors. These pennants fade if you put it under a lightbulb for a half hour. We will either never see this ever again or we will see 100 of these in exact same condition.

Secondly ... I wonder which company makes these. I think it’s the same maker as the one who makes the mid 50s WS pennants and also the Colts NYG NFL Championship game. You can tell by the unique spine ...

Definitely the same outfit that made this one...

Then again, the bridge and the hills were taken from the Giants' letterhead, so maybe not the same outfit...

I was thinking of you when I saw this one but figured the condition to asking price ratio was way too far off. The spine transplant would not have been a bad idea, especially if you framed it.

Has anyone ever tried to erase or other wise remove pencil writing on a pennant? I usually pass on pennants that have been written on but I do have a couple I'm tempted to experiment with.

PS...Who offers $587? $575 sure. $590 ok. $587? LOL

$587 + $12.95 shipping. Do the math. :p

With another $42(?) in tax, it’s all I could justify.....even though I’m now wishing I had gotten it. :mad:

I hear you...Just teasing. I do the same thing. The tax really sucks!

So this is interesting, another storage find, this one looks like early 60s.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-195...fiLii&LH_BIN=1

The seller does himself a disservice by showing the box, he’s got a 0.00% chance of getting anything near what he’s asking now. Will be lucky to get $10 apiece. Anyway, what strikes me is that the quality of these pennants (he has a few other teams and all appear to be 3/4 size) is not that great. In fact had I not seen the Trench box I’d think they were knockoffs. Look at the printing ... just looks blotchy to me. This is evidence that what might look like a knockoff might not be.

Wow! It is kind of cool to see the box. Maybe Kyle can get it from the seller.

Looks like he has Angels and Red Sox for sale thus far, along with KC.

It appears that these are the only teams in the box, many of the same

Sent to Cleveland via Greyhound.

Funny that I can’t pull the trigger on $600 and then a Net54 member offers me a card for....






wait for it......





$28K :eek:






Who does he think I am???? Mark Steinberg????? ;)

I have a few of these already but the condition made this too hard to pass up. I love the cloth pennants and these are hard to find without the blue getting dull or faded, they are like the ‘71 Topps of pennants. ... Still looking for the version that says “World & National League Champs”.

Here you go. :)

https://ebay.us/5Ijzp0

Good find Rob....

I never knew they made that one in brown felt! :rolleyes:

LOL I did see that!

I believe that's what's referred to as a "wall hanger" in pennant collecting jargon. :p

Yeah... based on the color and scattered moth bites, it looks like it was "wall hanging" for at least half a century. :o

You know what, though? Somebody loved it. I’ll imagine that a boy went to Ebbets with his dad who bought this for him and it gave him great memories. And the boy grew up and kept hanging it up - dorm room, first house, etc. Then gave it to his son. Etc etc ... This one I bought got no love, got shoved in a drawer for 65 years. I think maybe I bought the wrong one.

Yep... no doubt about it... We/I have devolved into pennant snobs. :o

Some of you have! I take what I can get.

After seeing Greg buy his 4th 1955 NL Champs pennant, after earlier saying he was going to hold off and wait for a World and NL Champions version, another word than "snobs" may come to mind.:rolleyes:

LOL oh c’mon now this was a condition upgrade, my others are nice but this last one is POP 1. Or close. I’m gonna move the others soon, and most of those that I’m not displaying.

Well, Greg's post about the Dodgers pennant almost brought a tear to my eye. Just like waiting for the mail is now bringing tears to my eyes.

Here are a few recent pickups to show. Thanks to Erik for the Giants pennant. I think that the white spine/graphics version is much more difficult to find that the Orange version.

The 49ers pennant is one of those "modern" (almost 40 years old, Yikes) super-rare pennants. There is a version without the N for NFC at the end that is uncommon, but findable. This one is much more difficult. But then, as these things go, two showed up in one week. Fballguy snagged the first for a great price and made it available to me (now stuck in the mail). I managed to win this second one, and it is funky. The back is entirely white. All of the graphics are painted onto the front.

Hey Greg, no explanation is necessary, you can certainly buy whatever you want. Personally, I wouldn’t spend over $800 to upgrade a pennant if I already have a nice one. To me, I appreciate the history the pennant represents as well as the artistry involved in making it, so a pennant that shows gentle love is fine for me, I don’t need a mint version.

As an example, the 1947 pennant pictured below was listed on ebay with a $325 BIN (a good price IMO), but before I could hit the button, someone bought it. To me, a Jackie Robinson collector and Dodger fan, finding a dated 1947 pennant from his rookie year is at the top of my list, so I was pretty disappointed it vanished so quickly. About a week later, it reappeared on ebay from the same seller. I contacted her, and was told the buyer returned it, just saying “he didn’t like it”. She said the pennant had belonged to her grandmother, who was a huge Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn Dodger fan, and it was always displayed with pride in her home. I bought it immediately, and couldn’t be happier, as I believe these are rather scarce in any condition. If a mint version appears, I won’t be a bidder. But I understand that there are lots of different factors that drive collectors. And for me, it’s probably a little different than most of you on who are pennant collectors on this forum because I am a Dodger/Koufax/Robinson collector who occasionally buys a pennant related to them.
Attachment 423236

Beauty, Rick!

Well yeah of course I don’t have to explain, your mention of the bid/price was a tad unnecessary but you were correct about the first part. We all have our own reasons for collecting - for me it’s an appreciation of the aesthetics. I like how the old pennants look and even how they feel. While I coach baseball (college) and used to follow it religiously as a kid, I don’t even watch the WS now. That being said your 1947 pennant is very cool, very rare, and is in great shape, congrats on a nice pickup.

Maybe others can chime in on why they collect pennants, might be interesting to see how many collect strictly for the aesthetics, or because of the events the pennant is tied to. It could well be some combination of the 2, or other reasons as well. Rarity could be another factor. For me, it is 65% weighted by the events tied to the pennant versus 35% the pennant's aesthetics. That's probably why I am drawn more to dated pennants.

For me it's 80% aesthetics / 20% what the pennant commemorates.

The best scenario is a pennant that combines the two, like this 1914 World Tour Pennant...

Could not agree more. In this era of counterfeits and reproduction, I wouldn't really want something that didn't show it's age. And for the record, for me, the condition of the Dodgers pennant can't be improved upon. It's as "Mint" as I'd ever want it.

Mark, that is absolutely beautiful. And for a very cool event.

Giants, Giants, Giants.....and Giants, Giants, Giants!

For the record, the ‘55 is not mint, just very close. My guess is that we are all “expert” enough to spot a fake/repro from a mile away and if not, the second we touch it. ... my concern about flawless pennants is that it might reflect a “find” of a whole batch which affects its value. As much as I go for eye appeal, I want to be able to get my money back at some point.

Nice pennant, Mark.

For me, it is a combination of both. I moved from cards to pennants (some photos, broadsides) because I like to easily view/display what I buy. Dated pennants are nice, but there are so few for my primary teams (Santa Clara, San Jose, Giants, 49ers).

Because I was bred as a card collector, I still think about condition, but I am more flexible with pennants than I am with cards. I wish I knew more about the backstory of the pennants I own, but it seems that very few come with such info.

I like to think I’m preserving history by collecting what I do. These souvenirs were once a large part of the sport but the things sold now are just junk. I often look at things I have like this 1929 pennant and wonder if it was purchased at Wrigley Field during the World Series. I also wonder about the road it took to end up on my wall.

Beautiful ... my favorites of yours (among so many great ones) are the leather Tigers and the Clark Griffith Nationals pennant.

Nice 1947 Dodgers pennant Rick. I have the matching Yankees. I am with you. I don’t mind smaller condition issues if the display is still good. That mainly goes for my Yankees collection. For resale, condition is king. One thing I don’t really like is bad fading. I can deal with some minor tears or holes, but bad fading get me.

This is nice ... and strange, currently on eBay. It has the Keezer stamp on the back ... The thick tassels and stitching are indicative of Keezer - it’s definitely legit IMO - but the design is very much Trench. Keezer art is very distinct and nothing like this.

I was actually referring to Rick's '47 Dodgers. Can't believe anyone would return that due to condition. It looks exactly like I'd want a 70+ year pennant to look. Obviously, your 55 is beautiful too.

Oh yes, I know.... if one looks only for mint condition baseball pennants he will have a tiny collection.

Now the original buyer didn’t return it because of condition. I know because it was me! I goofed actually. I assumed it was a 3/4 size pennant (26”) the length was actually given in the description but I missed it. It’s a great pennant but not really in my collecting wheelhouse. She accepted returns for any reason as policy, I mailed it back in a sleeve. It is very cool and I don’t know of another 1947 dated Dodgers pennant.

Key point: it was a BIN, wasn’t up long, there was no downside to the seller. Had it been an auction, I wouldn’t have returned it.

Yeah, this is an odd Bruins pennant, isn't it? I completely agree, Greg. It is legit ... sorta.

In my research of both Keezer and Trench, I noted that, toward the later 1960s, Keezer began copying Trench's artwork. This is especially reflected in Keezer pennants for local New England teams. They did the same with a handful of ca. 1967 Red Sox pennants from that era: one that featured the same distinctive "Boston" cursive; and another featuring a photo window--all stolen from Trench.

Additionally, as concerns these limited acts of plagiarism, you will note that the graphics are polychromatic. This was the first time in Keezer's history to my knowledge that they ever got this fancy.

It's lack of originality notwithstanding, I love this Bruins pennant!

That makes sense Greg. Well, I for one am happy to have one you threw back as it fits in well with the Jackie Robinson stuff I collect. And as you know, it isn't perfect as it does have some wear and is a little dirty. For the record, the seller didn't seem upset at all with the pennant being returned. And if you want to throw back the '55, PLMK:)

Rick, I thought it was about as good as you’d want a 73 year old pennant to look. I obviously don’t need 4 of the same pennant, the middle two were simply very good deals. The plan was to eventually use them for trade, but I haven’t been able to get to many shows the past few years and the ones I did attend have had slim pickings ...

Greg, there is this other Brooklyn pennant from '47....

Ah yes I remember this now. Also very rare. Thanks Domer!

Starting to dive a little into football, if only for the ones that look cool. Had a chance to grab two of the best looking, IMO. I just love the cloth when it isn’t faded. This seems to be a non-Trench version of the goldpanner, I have another like it and also one that is much more colorful. But the giveaway is the stitching on the back is not Trench but resembles ASCO or Keezer (though I don’t think it is them, either.)

^^^^ A little OT but when I want to exclude the SF football team from my searches, I have to specify 49ers, 49’ers and 49er’s. Everyone seems to have a different idea of how it’s spelled. :p

That Rams pennant is a stunner ... very rare. Great colors.

I'm quite certain both are actually by Trench. Trench used that same "Los Angeles" cursive script on their late 1950s Dodgers pennants; and that mascot-inside-the-tilted-football graphic was part of a series that, again, traces back to Buffalo, NY.

I don't know anything about the stitching anomaly you spotted. Maybe they used different kinds of sewing machines for different kinds of materials?

I looked closely at that pennant, Greg. The grey spine was different than most others I had seen. I had wondered if it was added later. Here is a picture of some of the color variants of that pennant (not mine).

That's one of my favorite Rams pennants and hard to find so dark. Great buy!

This one just arrived today. There are many versions of the Astros Astrodome style pennants, but I had never seen one with these exact graphics/colors. Was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was cloth, not felt, and in really nice shape for a cloth pennant.

You should concentrate on Astros. ;)

Wow these are fantastic!

Here you go, Ooo-ribay. Some new Astros pickups, and a very non-threatening Giants pickup. The Giants and orange Astros are new old stock.