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Lincoln Logs (U.S.)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 7 July 2017

Description

See also:

Commercial Flags (index)
United States of America

Description

The flag has a ratio between 5:8 and 2:3 and it is made of printed sticker paper (the reverse most probably being identical, to be readable, not mirrored/chiral) glued on blank plastic flags (apparently always red).

This is both a commercial flag and a fictional flag: It is a (real world) commercial flag because it features a real-world company logo; if this design is not actually used as a flag in the real world, then this is a flagoid (ersatz flag). And it is also a fictional flag because it is part of the elements created by the toy manufacturer to enable the self styled “fictional universe” that playing with them makes (why would all ranches, forts, and camps of said universe fly the same exact flag is a blind spot.)
António Martins-Tuválkin, 7 July 2017

To be fair, there’s at least two more flag types in the Lincoln Logs version of the U.S. 19th century frontier: the national flag and a yellow triangular pennant. The latter comes with set Big L Ranch: http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Log-Big-L-Ranch/dp/B0002593NS, http://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/416BJRWH2EL.jpg (it may be present in other sets, too). It is made of solid yellow plastic, no printed stickers, and it is longish, about 1:2. It seems to stand for nothing in particular, just a generic/ornamental/placeholder flag.

The national flag features as a never-existed, 13-stripes 16-stars version (anachronistic expected future flag in 1795-1818; cp. actual 13-stripes 16-stars) on the box of one of the earlier sets [http://www.museumofplay.org/online-collections/1/17/115.405] [http://www.museumofplay.org/online-collections/images/Z009/Z00946/Z0094630.jpg]. It seems to show a 4×4 block pattern, not staggered, although the sketchy artwork showing a fluttering flag makes it hard to guess the original intention. (I don’t know whether the set thus boxed included a flag, nor about other boxes or their contents).

At least one other Lincoln Logs set includes U.S. historical national flags: [http://qvc.scene7.com/is/image/QVC/t/69/t101069.001] [http://www.qvc.com/Lincoln-Logs-Frontier-Fort.product.T101069.html] Frontier Fort (with the Lincoln Logs sticker glued on its gate beam) includes both a 13-star flag in “Betsy Ross” (ring) arrangement and a 20-star flag in Great Star arrangement.

These are also, as said for the Lincoln Logs brand flag, made of printed sticker paper glued on blank plastic flags — and we have now sort of confirmation that its is likely always red, for these two U.S. historical national flags seem to have only 11 stripes on paper (starting and ending in white): The impression of the outer stripes being given by the visible edges or the red plastic all around, and such red border being present also atop the canton and along the fly doesn’t ruin the illusion. Given the specific constraints of the medium, this seems to be a smart solution.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 7 July 2017