Reich Service Flag, 130" X 76" - original, or repro?

[Steve]

Hi guys.

I've recently received this Reich Service Flag, 130" X 76", eagle-M marked.

The flag is not glowing under the UV light, and the burn-tread test revealed it's not synthetic. Despite this all, the fabric looks maybe too "new" for its supposed age.

The flag seems composed of two halves, stitched together on the longer side by a red thread.

The fabric is soft at the touch, and it may appear a little thin/light for the dimensions of the piece. Those thicker reinforcements that we can find on other flags (like the Kriegsmarine Reichskriegs flag) are missing. May this mean, this was a banner instead of a flag?

About the design: the junction of the two halves isn't sewn with excellent precision, resulting in a slightly deformed swastika.

I've posted below some pictures shot with a good camera and with a phone. The flag was hung vertically, not stretched as it should. I've also posted a pic of the flag compared with a chair, to better appreciate the dimension. Note: in two details, in post-production I had to open the black tones to allow the thread to be seen. This may cause the picture to look a little unrealistic.

Thank you very much, as always, for your kind support, and for your preciously shared experience!

All the best,
Steve.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Steve, I must say I have never seen a flag constructed in this manner before. That would make me wary of it.

Cheers, Ade.

[Rakkasan187]

Steve,

I agree with Ade that I have never seen a flag constructed like this before, so it does merit suspicion but it also has intrigued me to try and find some more information...

I am going through some references right now to try and figure out the reason behind the 2 piece construction. I read somewhere that the block printing may have been necessary for the swastika in the center to be done in two separate pieces due to the size of the flags constructed. These 2 sections of larger flags would then be sewn together connecting the top and bottom through the middle. Now I can't confirm this information as being factual at the moment.

I am trying to go through some Kriegsmarine references for the flags flown on their vessels but unfortunately the books do not go into manufacturing techniques which would most likely explain the 2 piece construction, and unfortunately there are not too many reference books that specifically discuss makers and methods of Third Reich flags.

Ben Weed (Rest in Peace) would have possibly known the answer or would have known where to look for the answer, so for the time being I don't have a definitive answer for you.

When time permits I will look into this with more attention, but work right now has me strapped for time..

You took some great photos, THANK YOU,, it will help when I reach out to some other flag folks to see if we can get some solid answers..

It is a really nice looking flag..

Best regards, stay safe and I will be in touch soon...

Smitty

[Steve]

Thank you very much for your feedback, Ade!

Best,
Steve.

[Saladin]

Hello Steve,
I don't see anything unusual in your flag. It looks very clean.
I know of these two piece flags and it is probably designed in two sections because of the printing requirements.
A big one pieced flag would need a very big printing screen.

Here is a link to one that was posted here some time ago.
State Service Flag

All the best
Doug

[Steve]

Hi Smitty,

thank you very much also to you. This sounds really interesting. Please take all the time you need. I'll post here below a few new pictures shot with my phone today. The quality is not the same as before, but they may help to grab some more details.

Thank you also for appreciating the photos I posted. I hope I can shoot more and better in the future (such a wide, thin, and light subject may really be a challenge, especially if ironing it is not an option.

Take care,
all the best.
Steve.





.1 I forget to post a detail of the markings, here's the first one;





.2 and here's number 2;





.3 here's the reinforcement close to the rope;





.4 from the same reinforcement, a stitching detail (I had loved to shot this with the camera - deep red makes the phone sensor going crazy);





.5 a detail of the rope (bent in a nice way, without any functional aim);





.6 on the flag's short side, a detail of what would seem a really thin edge reinforcement (made just with some stitching lines running parallel to the edge). The pencil is just a reference to get an idea of the dimension of the framed detail.

[FloridaFlagGuy]

Its a good solid original.

I have several larger ones in my collection, and a few are stitched kinda wonky. Nothing to worry about,

The rope and stitching are right, as well as the corner reinforcement stitching.

[Rakkasan187]

I am still trying to find the information about the larger 2 piece construction flags being sewn together in the middle..

I wish Ben Weed were still alive.. I have been looking at some of the posts on the WAF for this specific information but I had to stop for the time being..

If anyone can help out here with the documented information or source of the information regarding the the large Block printing process and the marrying together of the two pieces that will be great..

@ Steve,

Thank you again for the follow-up pictures. I have switched direction on my search and focused on some of the makers and that may reveal the information.

This is truly a wonderful flag and I would like to see similar two piece constructed State Flags like this one for comparison..

Anyone out there have one to show us??

Best regards everyone, stay safe

Smitty

[Steve]

Hi Doug,

thank you for your link, really interesting.
I beg your pardon, I haven't seen your post till now, you probably posted it while I was writing the second part of mine.

All the best,
Steve.

[Steve]

Hi, and thank you very much!
This is great news!

Best.
Stefano.