54th Annual Meeting

North American Vexillological Association

13 June 2020

Library of Congress Virtual Meeting Room

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Welcome! Dear NAVA 54 participants,

Welcome to NAVA’s first-ever meeting in cyberspace! It’s

frustrating that we cannot meet in person as we usually

do, but we’ll still enjoy a robust program of vexillological

presentations, special events, and other fun things. On

the plus side, the cyber format enables many more of our members to participate –

we have registered attendees from Argentina, China, India, and several European

nations. Vexillology knows no borders, and it’s ironic that the COVID-19 crisis has given

us a chance to reaffirm that.

If this were a normal NAVA meeting, I would be extolling the sights and ambience of our

conference venue. That’s not appropriate this time, but we will have a virtual

introduction to our host facility, the United States Library of Congress. The LOC is both

a historic institution and one of the most significant research facilities in the world, and

we’re honored that it is hosting this year’s meeting. Having done research there myself,

I can personally attest both to the incredible scope of its collections and the pleasures of

working with its staff.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Planning Committee, and the many volunteers

who have made this possible, thank you for joining us on this historic day for

NAVA. Enjoy the program!

Vexillologically,

President, NAVA

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Tour

From Dublin, Ireland, textile conservator and NAVA member

Rachel Phelan gives a virtual tour of her studio. She holds

a primary degree from Trinity College,

Dublin, and graduated from the Textile

Conservation Centre. She works for a

wide range of institutions and private

clients from her Dublin studio. As a

board member of The Institute of

Conservator-Restorers Ireland Flags,

flags, banners, and ceremonial textiles

are an area of special interest for

Rachel. She won the Whitney Smith award for her

presentation at ICV 27 in 2017 and the Driver Award for her

presentation at NAVA 52 in 2018.

A very popular tradition at NAVA annual meetings,

Vexi-Bits are short “show-and-tell” items, where

members present brief flag-related stories and display

flags of interest. Shorter and less formal than other

presentations, they nevertheless hold great interest for

participants in NAVA meetings. Today’s Vexi-Bits

session is moderated by long-time NAVA member and

Chesapeake Bay Flag Association president Jack Lowe.

Vexi-Bits

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Roman Mars

NAVA member Roman Mars is the host and creator

of 99% Invisible, a short radio show about design and

architecture. With over 400 million downloads, the 99%

Invisible podcast is one of the most popular in the

world. Fast Company named him one of the 100 Most

Creative People in 2013. His crowd-funding campaigns

have raised over $4 million and he's the highest-funded

journalist in Kickstarter history. He is also a co-founder

of Radiotopia, a collective of ground-breaking independent

podcasts.

He received a standing ovation as a TED main stage

speaker in 2015, presenting “Why city flags may be the

worst-designed thing you've never noticed”. The talk,

currently the most popular TED Talk about design with

over 6 million views, sparked a wave of municipal flag

redesign across the U.S. and beyond.

Roman participates today in NAVA 54 with a special live

interview with Ted Kaye.

Special Guest

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Flags and State Iconography of Hashemite Iraq,

1921 to 1958

John Andrews

Neḥushtan at Sea: What is Fouling that Anchor?

Bard Cosman

A Flag Incident in San Francisco

Jim Ferrigan

Advancing Vexillogical Philately

Edwin Jackson

The Thin Blue Line Flag: A Controversial Success Story

Scott Mainwaring

United States Revenue-Marine and Customs Flags:

A New Perspective

David B. Martucci

The Unwaved Flag in Churches

Benjamin Nickodemus

Surprise visit to Dublin —

a virtual tour of a flag conservator's studio

Rachel Phelan

Presentations

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Created in 1979, the Captain William Driver Award

is presented by the Executive Board to the individual

who presents the best paper as part of the scientific

program at the annual meeting. The award judges

select the winner based on criteria emphasizing

originality and accuracy. The award is a certificate

accompanied by an honorarium of US $250,

generously underwritten by commercial members of

NAVA. The winning presentation is usually published

in Raven: A Journal of Vexillology.

Captain William Driver Award

Driver Award Underwriters The Bear Flag Museum Sacramento, California

Herold Flags

Rochester, Minnesota

Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc. York, Pennsylvania

smALLFLAGs.com Oregon City, Oregon

The Flag Guys

New Windsor, New York

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Vexillology is like a great banner set before the world. Fashioned by many hands, it manifests unity; torn by violent gales, it holds entire; variegated in its form, it partakes of beauty; bound to an

unmoving staff, it floats free. The Unity of Vexillology lies in its purpose; that more shall

know; that they shall know more; that they shall know better; that their knowledge shall reach unto the least flag, of the farthest

part, of the remotest time the world can know. The Strength of Vexillology derives from its construction: the

joint and several efforts of untold men and women, interwoven over the centuries, often in defiance of the enticements of

Chauvinism and Commerce, the structures of Tradition and Faith, the injunctions of Prejudice and State, have made a fabric

not easily rent. The Beauty of Vexillology obtains from its nature: never complete, it cannot be worn out: never perfect, it sustains constant reweavings; never simple, it tests all patterns, all

proportions, all colors in itself as in each flag. The Freedom of Vexillology knows but one restraint: the great

standard which supports it, planted in the firm ground of Experience yet aspiring towards the open heavens, is Truth.

Dr. Whitney Smith, 1972

A Vexillologist’s Credo

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NAVA 54 Flag

In a flag-design contest that ran for less than four

weeks, 44 vexillographers submitted 101 designs for

the NAVA 54 flag. In under three days, the five-

member selection committee chose the winner,

created by Matthew Thomas of the U.K.

He explains its symbolism: “This flag features a

rotated ‘V’ for Vexillology, stylized as the ‘Share’ icon

used across social media. This symbol and the WiFi

bars represent the Internet’s growing importance for

vexillology and its ability to unite flag lovers everywhere,

as in NAVA 2020. The flag features the colors of the

flag of NAVA.”

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Founded in 1967, the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a

non-profit organization dedicated to vexillology, the study of flags and their cultural,

historical, political, and social significance. It is the largest association of its kind in

the world. NAVA recognizes and promotes excellence in vexillological scholarship

through its publications program, annual meetings, and flag-conservation and flag

research grant programs. NAVA serves flag collectors and historians, educators,

museum professionals, government officials, flag manufacturers and retailers,

writers, designers, and those interested in flags as a hobby.

North American Vexillological Association

Post Office Box 55071 #58049

Boston, MA 02205-5071, USA

www.nava.org

The Library of Congress for hosting the virtual meeting

CRW Flags for supplying the large meeting flags

PROMEX GmbH for subsidizing the flag pins

Dixie Flag Company for storing NAVA’s meeting flags

and for its lead sponsorship

Thanks We extend our deepest gratitude to the following

for all their help with NAVA 54:

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Volunteers The NAVA Executive Board

PRESIDENT

Peter Ansoff, Annandale, Virginia

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

Steven A. Knowlton, Princeton, New Jersey

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

Stanley K. Contrades, Woodbridge, Virginia

SECRETARY

Edward B. Kaye, Portland, Oregon

TREASURER

James J. Ferrigan III, Reno, Nevada

Organizing Committee

Peter Ansoff

Amber Atteberry

Elizabeth Brown

Stan Contrades

Ted Kaye

Flag Design Committee

Thomas Berryhill

Zach Harden

Carlos Alberto Morales Ramirez

Maikel Arista Salado

Winn Wasson

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Annual Meetings NAVA 0 Boston, Massachusetts 1967 NAVA 1 Purchase, New York 1967 NAVA 2 Chillum, Maryland 1968 NAVA 3 / ICV 3 Boston, Massachusetts 1969 NAVA 4 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1970 NAVA 5 Ottawa, Ontario 1971 NAVA 6 Chicago, Illinois 1972 NAVA 7 Valley Forge, Pennsylvania 1973 NAVA 8 Baltimore, Maryland 1974 NAVA 9 Cleveland, Ohio 1975 NAVA 10 Toronto, Ontario 1976 NAVA 11 / ICV 7 Washington, D.C. 1977 NAVA 12 Montgomery, Alabama 1978 NAVA 13 Salem, Massachusetts 1979 NAVA 14 St. Louis, Missouri 1980 NAVA 15 / ICV 9 Ottawa, Ontario 1981 NAVA 16 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1982 NAVA 17 New York City, New York 1983 NAVA 18 Vancouver, British Columbia 1984 NAVA 19 Kansas City, Missouri 1985 NAVA 20 Bordentown, New Jersey 1986 NAVA 21 / ICV 12 San Francisco, California 1987 NAVA 22 Portsmouth, New Hampshire 1988 NAVA 23 Dallas, Texas 1989 NAVA 24 North York, Ontario 1990 NAVA 25 Minneapolis, Minnesota 1991 NAVA 26 San Antonio, Texas 1992 NAVA 27 Portland, Maine 1993 NAVA 28 Portland, Oregon 1994 NAVA 29 Cincinnati, Ohio 1995 NAVA 30 Sacramento, California 1996 NAVA 31 Chicago, Illinois 1997 NAVA 32 Ville de Québec, Québec 1998 NAVA 33 / ICV 18 Victoria, British Columbia 1999 NAVA 34 East Lansing, Michigan 2000 NAVA 35 Norfolk, Virginia 2001 NAVA 36 Denver, Colorado 2002 NAVA 37 Montréal, Québec 2003 NAVA 38 Indianapolis, Indiana 2004 NAVA 39 Nashville, Tennessee 2005 NAVA 40 Reno, Nevada 2006 NAVA 41 Hartford, Connecticut 2007 NAVA 42 Austin, Texas 2008 NAVA 43 Charleston, South Carolina 2009 NAVA 44 Los Angeles, California 2010 NAVA 45 / ICV 24 Washington, D.C. 2011 NAVA 46 Columbus, Ohio 2012 NAVA 47 Salt Lake City, Utah 2013 NAVA 48 New Orleans, Louisiana 2014 NAVA 49 Ottawa, Ontario 2015 NAVA 50 San José, California 2016 NAVA 51 Boston, Massachusetts 2017 NAVA 52 Ville de Québec, Québec 2018 NAVA 53 / ICV 28 San Antonio, Texas 2019 NAVA 54 Cyberspace 2020 NAVA 55 St. Augustine, Florida 2021

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Schedule Saturday, June 13, 2020

Eastern Pacific

11:45 AM 8:45 AM Doors Open; Tech Briefing

12:00 PM 9:00 AM Opening Ceremony & Welcome

12:15 PM 9:15 AM Presentation #1: Andrews

12:45 PM 9:45 AM Presentation #2: Jackson

1:15 PM 10:15 AM Presentation #3: Phelan

1:45 PM 10:45 AM Break

2:00 PM 11:00 AM Vexi-Bits #1

2:30 PM 11:30 AM Special Guest: Roman Mars

3:00 PM 12:00 AM NAVA Business Meeting

3:30 PM 12:30 PM Virtual Tour (LOC)

4:00 PM 1:00 PM Toasts / Break

4:15 PM 1:15 PM Presentation #4: Mainwaring

4:45 PM 1:45 PM Presentation #5: Nickodemus

5:15 PM 2:15 PM Presentation #6: Martucci

5:45 PM 2:45 PM Break

6:00 PM 3:00 PM St. Augustine NAVA 55

6:15 PM 3:15 PM Vexi-Bits #2

6:30 PM 3:30 PM Presentation #7: Cosman

7:00 PM 4:00 PM Presentation #8: Ferrigan

7:45 PM 4:45 PM Closing Ceremony / Driver Award

8:00 PM 5:00 PM End Session / Photo