ICV 27 Speaker 13: Manuela Schmoger

 Schmoger revealed the on going personal efforts to catalogue flags of local municipalities flags in Germany.  It is often a time consuming practice, yet the rewards are compelling.  Often it is that local municipalities are not aware of local symbols.  But Schmoger was able to get most of the local flags charted in Bavaria and publish the date on newer easy to use Wikis.

Schmoger ended the talk by recruiting others to help.

ICV 27 Speaker 12: Roberto Breschi

Breschi discussed how the local municipality flags from the 1860s were rediscovered. 

Breschi ran into an old index book of flags for Italian municipalities.  Although index publications are often less than friendly reading, they are trustworthy resources.  The index that Brechi discovered was dated to 1869.

Apparently several flags were created to celebrate Alighieri's 600th birthday, who was influential in establishing modern Italian; Dante Alighieri was born in 1265.  Alighieri is best known for his work the Divine Comedy 1320. 

Eventually Breschi was able to match up index numbers from a lost collection of flags were literally wafting away in a museum basement.    

Identifying lost flags is a cumbersome process, but Breschi was able to reconnect unidentifiable flags to their celebratory event in 1865, it was true tale of a successful vexillological archaeologist. 

IVC 27 - Speaker 11: Rachel Phelan

Phelan discussed in exquisite detail the preservation efforts of the Irish Republic Flag of the 1916 Easter Rising.  Her paper was entitled What's Up with the Big Green Flag?  The Conservation of the flag of the Irish Republic.   Phelan was charged with honoring and preserving the original Irish Republic flag which is now 101 years old. 

Phelan showed us that flag was captured by the British and treated as a hunting prize, hung upside down in imperial contempt.  However, as relations between the UK and Ireland eased she showed us a short clip of its honorable return to Ireland.

The paint on this historical flag was turning to dust and major distortions were noticeable, which required the use of expensive and impressive machine technologies, something of the gelatine solution was used to preserve the flag itself. 

Rachel also corrected the legendary tale of its creation.  Flag restoration is complicated process that involves many individuals and specific experts.  But Phelan was the lead coordinator to help preserve and establish one of Ireland's Original flags.  It is now under proper care and can be seen by the public at large in Ireland.

ICV 27 - Speaker 10: Ralph Bartlett

The flags of a local artist were featured with his paper Flags by King for Country.  The title is wonderful play on words of the featured flag designer named Robert King Crawford.  Crawford designed several flags for social events in his local community in Australia.  Crawford often used Good Flag principles before the publication of Good Flag, Bad Flag.

It was keenly notes that documentation of early flag exploits before the rise of the internet is important.  Many flags can get lost in the shuffle, but by focusing one persons unique and collection of flags is solid work within vexillology.

Vexi-Bits ICV 27 London at the Huxley Building

This year, there was the smallest of smallest Vexi-Bits at an ICV.  Usually Vexi-Bits take place in an informal matter.  Typically a NAVA person is chosen to organize an after hours meeting to discuss random flag topics, where each speaker gets 1-3 minutes to talk about his or her flag related item.  At ICV 27 Lodon, Vexi-Bits were set up at a last minutes notice.  But the schedule was already heavily booked with activities, consequently Vexi-Bits ICV 27 London ended up as a solo act.  But it was a powerful Vexi-Bit nonetheless, that may effect all other Vexi-Bits to come!

Ted Kaye, Holding a Vexi-Bit Flag: London ICV 27

Interestingly the solo Vexi-Bit saw the first design proposal for a Vexi-Bit flag.

The Vexi-Bit flag like the UK Union Flag is a combined flag, derived from three flags.  With the UK Union Jack, the three components that make up the British Ensign are the banners of Scotland, England, and Irish St. Patrick's Cross flag.  Likewise the three elements of the Vexi-Bit Flag are the NAVA flag and two of the International Maritime flags: the letter V and letter B.  Obviously V stands for Vexi, while the B stands for Bits.  The Vexi-Bit flag has a swallow tail design, as it is for the wholly red Letter B-Bravo flag.  Thus it is fitting that the first Vexi-Bit flag should manifest itself in the UK under a triplet flag, being a triplet flag itself.

Thus the Vexi-Bit flag declares subconsciously, "Victory for NAVA, Bravo!"

https://nava.org/

Random Flags at London

ICV 27 - Speaker 9: John Cartledge

 

Cartledge presented an overview on the particular attachments to the colour red.  Often described as passionate colour of life and blood, Cartledge gave a brilliant and often amusing battery of red's symbolism.  No doubt the associations are red are established deep in the collective mind as a leading brilliant colour that can easily catch ones attention.