In its inaugural volume, edited by NAVA’s president, Scot Guenter, Raven presents flag scholarship under the Raven flag of the Vikings, the first to fly over North America. He writes: “Just as the Raven [flag] signaled a the beginning of a new era for the Americas, so, it is hoped, will the birth of this journal signal another step forward for the social science of vexillology.”

Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon

Anne M. Platoff, research librarian for the New Initiatives Office, Johnson Space Center—La Porte, Texas How, exactly, did the Apollo 11 astronauts come to deploy a U.S. flag on the lunar surface? This paper, exploring the technical aspects and international considerations surrounding that $5.50 flag, won the Driver Award in 1992.

The Controversy over the Alamo Battle Flag

John H. Gamez, chair of the NAVA nominating committee and student of history and flag design—San Antonio, Texas.

No eyewitness described in specific detail what flag or flags flew over the Alamo. One candidate, the guidon of the New Orleans Greys, is held in a museum collection in Mexico and its return has been eagerly sought by Texas politicians and other activists for many years. This article explores the history of the flag and the obstacles to its return.

Vexillaria

Kevin Harrington, president of the Canadian Flag Association—Scarborough, Ontario

A poem “in fond memory of many NAVA conferences”.

A Canadian Flag for Canada

Alistair B. Fraser, a faculty member at Pennsylvania State University and past winner of the Driver Award—Lemont, Pennsylvania

While 95 years separate the adoption of Canada’s inaugural flag and the adoption of its National flag, the maple-leaf trail connecting one to the other is continuous. Dr. Fraser summarizes Canadian flag history with a cogent narrative running from 1870 to 1965.

Evolutionary Vexillography: One Flag’s Influence in Modern Design

Don Healy, past president of NAVA—Trenton, New Jersey.

Some flags influence the designs of others. This paper traces the “family tree” of the red-white-blue horizontal tribar of the Netherlands through five major lines: New Amsterdam, Russian, South African, French, and Dutch, asserting direct ancestry or at least influence for over a hundred flags. It won the Driver Award in 1988.

"Battle Born" Vexillology: The Nevada State Flag and its Predecessors

James J. Ferrigan III, a native of Nevada, Driver-Award-winner, and long-time master flag retailer—Sonoma, California.

Nevada has had the dubious distinction of having had more official flags than any other state in the union. Those designs receive detailed scrutiny and description: the Sparks-Day Flag of 1905, the Crisler Flag of 1915, the Schellback Design of 1929, and the Raggio Modification of 1991, in which the author played a key role.