Great war souvenir of Egypt

[Jerry B]

I picked this up today whilst out and about. A printed cloth Souvenir of Egypt in lovely condition with bright colours. Has images of the heads of states of the allies, including the Tzar so it must pre date 1917. I have not seen one of these before and perhaps an uncommon survivor, especially in such good condition.

[4md]

excellent condition, this one hasn't seen much daylight. Cant say I have ever seen anything like this before, Nice pick up!

[Jerry B]

On another forum someone commented on the Aussie flag being the funniest one they had ever seen, but before WWI Australia did not have it's own flag and one was invented at the start of the war, the first one of which has recently been found. The one on the souvenir is perhaps the wrong colour, though they did come in Red & Blue versions but is otherwise pretty nearly correct, considering it was made in the bazaar in Egypt.

Australia's first flag forgotten, found and restored all in 100 years - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[HPL2008]

Australia's first flag forgotten, found and restored all in 100 years - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Now that was some serious jigsaw puzzle work!

[Jerry B]

Now that was some serious jigsaw puzzle work!

You have to admire their dedication in putting it back together.

[AIF]

That is pretty cool Jerry That is the first one I have ever seen like it, and I am always looking for this kind of stuff!
I have quite a few different WW2 souvenir cushion covers, handkerchiefs, wall hangers and other odds and ends from Egypt, Palestine and Syria in the collection and not one single item has the stars positioned correctly on the flag. One of the hankies from Syria the flag looks pretty much the same as the one on yours. I guess the people making the stuff knew there were a few stars on the Aussie flag and just guessed where they went lol.

[Jerry B]

That is pretty cool Jerry That is the first one I have ever seen like it, and I am always looking for this kind of stuff!
I have quite a few different WW2 souvenir cushion covers, handkerchiefs, wall hangers and other odds and ends from Egypt, Palestine and Syria in the collection and not one single item has the stars positioned correctly on the flag. One of the hankies from Syria the flag looks pretty much the same as the one on yours. I guess the people making the stuff knew there were a few stars on the Aussie flag and just guessed where they went lol.

They were pretty close, all things considered and there cannot have been many actual Aussie flags in theater at the time to copy and it is WWI when the flag was still pretty new. I was lucky to find this and the condition is superb as it has been under glass since then and thankfully not in direct sunlight.