Travel Mementos: Gather 'Round the Flags for a Rally
Reviving the Spirit of Adventure: The Fascinating History of Travel Pennants
In the mid-twentieth century, a unique cultural phenomenon swept across America - the travel pennant. These small, triangular flags or banners became cherished souvenirs, symbols of journeys, and visual markers of identity, experience, and social status related to travel.
Travel pennants were a modern adaptation of the ancient heraldic and banner traditions, which were used historically for identification and demonstration of achievements or allegiances. In the post-war era, they found a new home in the hearts and vehicles of Americans, who used them to showcase places visited and express a sense of adventure or regional pride.
The rise of travel pennants was closely tied to the boom in automobile travel and tourism. With increased mobility and the development of highways, the practice of displaying such pennants on cars or in homes became popular as symbols of travel achievement and leisure.
These pennants served as tangible reminders of personal Grand Tours, embodying the spirit of exploration and the joy of discovery. They held nostalgic value as keepsakes representing memorable journeys, similar to coat of arms or heraldic devices in their symbolic role of identity, but specific to leisure and travel rather than lineage or battle.
While the search results do not directly describe the history of travel pennants, their cultural role can be inferred by analogy to banners and pennants as symbols and collectibles commonly used in American travel culture in the 20th century, derived from older traditions of heraldic and banner use in identification and achievement display.
The smallest travel pennants were about 12" long, and the largest rarely exceeded 30". They were often hand-sewn, but mass manufacturing led to screen-printed ones in the late 1940s. For generic locales, travel pennants often had generic illustrations, while vacation spots were often represented on them with specific landmarks or symbols.
Early pennants featured cowboys on bucking broncos and Native Americans in full regalia for trips to the once-Wild West. If you visited Buffalo, New York, your pennant would feature a buffalo, while a Salt Lake City pennant would showcase the Mormon Temple, and a Rhode Island pennant would showcase a lobster.
Today, choices for vintage travel pennants abound online, with most priced under $25. Many of these pennants were produced by businesses specializing in souvenir novelties, operating out of New York City's garment district.
In summary, travel pennants grew popular in the mid-twentieth century, especially during the era of affordable travel. They reflect a modern civilian adaptation of historic banner and heraldic traditions used for identification. Their significance lies in expressing identity, travel achievement, and leisure culture amid expanding car travel. Though not explicitly described in the search results, the concept aligns with the broader history of banners and pennants in American cultural practices.
- Collectors of home-and-garden items might find vintage travel pennants a unique addition, given their historical and cultural significance as symbols of travel achievements and leisure.
- One's lifestyle can be a composite of personal passions, and for some, home decor may include travel mementos like pennants, each carrying tales of visits to different places, making one's dwelling a testament to global exploration.
