Volume 17 (2010)

RAVEN: A JOURNAL OF VEXILLOLOGY

RAVEN  Publishes Volume 17

With its 2010 volume, NAVA’s scholarly journal resumes its standard format:  several excellent articles on varied flag topics.  All were presented first as papers at NAVA’s annual meeting 2009 in Charleston, South Carolina; they represent the pinnacle of vexillological scholarship in North America and include the winner of the Captain William Driver Award and the recipient of the honorable mention.  Unusually, two of the members of the Editorial Board of Raven contributed articles—demonstrating the deep commitment its members have to vexillology and furthering their personal research in the field.  Volume 17 comprises:

Juxtaposing Symbols in Civil Religion:  The Lady and the Flag

Scot Guenter, founding editor of Raven and coordinator of the American Studies Program at San José State University—San José, California

In a timely analysis, the leading proponent of observing the flag as the centerpiece of the country’s civil religion now explores how Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice-presidential candidate, embodied the archetypes of the female essence of America—Good Mother, the Woman Warrior, and the Sex Goddess—all juxtaposed with the American flag.  Extensively illustrated.

Flags of the State Navies in the Revolutionary War

Peter Ansoff, U.S. Navy contractor and tireless researcher into revolutionary-war-era flags—Annandale, Virginia.

Ten states created their own navies, separate and distinct from the Continental Navy organized by Congress, to fight the British.  Categorized into “blue water”, “brown water”, and “minor” navies, they played an important role in the Revolutionary War and the development of the nation’s early flags.

Ensigns of New Zealand

Dean Thomas—expatriate Kiwi and vexillologist for the XIV Commonwealth Games in Auckland—Beebe, Arkansas

While the roots of the country’s ensigns lie in those of the United Kingdom, those of New Zealand have often “broken the mold” with a potpourri of tradition and originality.  The article describes over a dozen ensigns ranging from the national flag to the Ministry of Transport ensign.

Soviet Children’s Flags

Anne M. Platoff, Slavic Studies Librarian at the University of California, Santa Cruz—Goleta, California

In the Soviet Union (1922-91) small flags designed for and used by children were more than just toys.  Deep scholarship and extensive illustrations of flags from the author’s collection show how such flags played a significant role in the socialization of Soviet children.

The Presidential Flag of Cuba from 1909 to the Present

Maikel Arista-Salado y Hernández, Cuban immigrant and historical scholar—Miami, Florida

How could the flag of the chief of state of this Caribbean nation have been portrayed with the wrong color in otherwise-definitive flag books (such as Neubecker) for most of its history?  The author shows how a misreading of the original description led to the use of a light blue field instead of the standard dark blue, and proposes an update to the design of the flag.

Raven is a benefit of membership in NAVA.