The image is of a poster for the 1937 Paris World Exhibition. Recognize any of the flags? (Answer below the fold).
These are not national flags. A reader at Poemas del rio Wang offers the correct answer:
They are international maritime signal flags. The front tier reads, from top to bottom: P-A-R-I-S. In between those letters, the next tier back (of penants) reads: 1-9-3-7. Beyond, it's more difficult, the swallow-tail shapes should be distinctive of signal flags, rather than national ones, but I do not find their patterns in memory or any reference guide that I can find.
The patterns of the third row of flags look like they may indeed be national flags. It's hard to tell exactly, since the colors have been reduced to blue and white, but it looks like (top to bottom) Switzerland; too indistinct to tell; Denmark or Finland; Iceland, Norway, or Sweden; Greece.
ReplyDeleteGiven the placement of light and dark shades, I would guess most likely Denmark and Norway?