Flag Storage Questions

[NKOMO]

Need a little advice from the experts. At the SOS I picked up 9 different communist flags from El Salvador and Nicaragua. Some have the letters and stars sewn on, while the others are painted on. My question is how do I store them? Most are very large and won't fit in frames. Any ideas? I am at a complete loss!
Arch Rigsby

[Paul G]

I will first qualify my answer with " I am by no means an expert". I collect Japanese Flags from WW2, and have too many to display, so they need to be stored. I store mine loosley rolled 2 or 3 together, and then put into a cardboard shipping container. The containers are cheap and easy to get at a postal / office supply store. I have found that the most damage to your flags over the long term comes from the creases of the folds. By rolling them, you eliminate the sharp creases. I guess if you could first wrap them in an acid free paper or?? that would help. I wrap mine in tissue paper. I am not sure if the contact with the inside of the cardboard tube will have an adverse effect.

PG

[Soviet]

Here is what a flag collector on the forum told me to do with my East German and Soviet flags.

Best way is flat like in a large drawing or map case, but having room for same is something usually only museums have! Next best is lightly rolled on an acid-free tube or on the pole - the latter is how they are stored in the <st1 =""><st1 ="">Moscow</st1><st1 =""> Museum</st1></st1> basement but also they have cloth flag cover cases over their flags too to keep dust out. Folding the flag is the worst case method, but usually is the only method a collector has available, which is no problem if the flag is not silk. If silk be sure not to stack lots of stuff on top of the flags, which will press down on the folds.<o =""></o>

Museums usually store flags this way, they put some acid free tissue paper or unbleached natural linen on the flag then they roll it on a poll then the item is put in a acid free roll tube.

Hope this info helps

[NavyFCO]

Arch-

I feel your pain! I collect flags from the Russian Civil War which are invariably fragile considering the materials available to build the flags at that time.

Most of mine are framed, and most of these frames are about 3x4 feet in size. Rather tough for wallspace, but I do actually have some of them stacked vertically against the wall to keep them both protected and displayable.

I have a few others that are lightly folded and placed on the top shelf of my uniform racks.

My best flag is actually folded lightly and stored in a glass display box. Probably not the best way to display it, but I just haven't gotten off my duff to go and frame it yet!

Not sure if any of these ways are really the best way, but this is just what I do and it seems to have worked okay thus far. Just watch out for sunlight and humidity! Either of those will kill a poor flag!

Dave

[MikeB]

Flag Storage...

Soviet is right on with his information. I can't add much to it other than maintaining proper temp/humidity. Silk flags should not be folded if you can avoid it. Many people place them in plastic bags too in order to keep them clean. This is really bad as the chemicals in the plastic can degrade the fabric. Flat storage is always best in an acid free environment with acid free paper or linen as a bottom or top cover. Some air movement is good as well to prevent mold formation. Of course, as "regular" collectors, it is tough for us to be able to do this at home. The most important thing to do is flag storage or loose roll in an acid free environment with good temp and humidity. Mike

[NKOMO]

I really appreciate everyone's advice and help so far. How much does is it cost to have a 3x4 flag framed? I have went to several dealers who have quoted me a framing charge of $80 for a 3ftx3ft flag! That is a little out of my price range at this moment in time. Do you make your own frames?
Another question, some of the flags are battle flags and are quite nasty/dirty. Should I try and clean the flags? Should I try and repair any holes or should I just leave them be? I am leaning towards leaving them alone, but I'm worried about the grime covering several pieces.
Arch

[Soviet]

Framing a flag is very expensive. Only this flag which is about 21 X 15 inches cost me about $90 to frame it with acid free paper and so on. The flag did only cost me 5 EUR. The outcome of the framing is very nice, but this is a lot of investment for a $6 flag.

Sorry for the blurry pic.

[MikeB]

Flag Storage...

Nice framing job! Expensive, but they look great!! Mike