Civil War Flag Pole Top

[manayunkman]

Picked this up this weekend.

 

Seldom have I seen such an old eagle form.

 

I appreciate any education and criticism so please tell me what you think.

[GAZOO]

Awesome Love it, Just gave an eagle to a neighbor (proud Marine) for his flag pole
that I can see from my kitchen window :)
This one is truly a great one

[manayunkman]

1 hour ago, GAZOO said:

Awesome Love it, Just gave an eagle to a neighbor (proud Marine) for his flag pole
that I can see from my kitchen window :)
This one is truly a great one

Many years ago at the Hershey Car show I found a WW1 USMC flag with a beautiful EGA pole top.

 

Sold it to Rick Keller my old old friend.

 

The moment I saw this piece I thought of him.

 

Very kind gesture on your behalf.

[Dirk]

Here’s a few from an amazing collection I just saw at the annual meeting of the Company of Military Historians…most CW of various manufacturers.

[manayunkman]

1 hour ago, Dirk said:

Here’s a few from an amazing collection I just saw at the annual meeting of the Company of Military Historians…most CW of various manufacturers.

Amazing!

 

Thank you for taking the time to help.

 

Most of them are not perched  or have their wings positioned like mine but a couple are close.

 

There are variations how can you be certain?

[manayunkman]

This eagle is in a most unusual pose compared to what you commonly see to this day.

 

Could it be that the form had some sort of purpose?

 

It has a 10-1/4” wingspan 

[Dirk]

Peter your correct not a complete match but similar….looking at the pole yours is resting on is very similar to the one showed in the group pix. 

[themick]

I have one of these identical to the one at the far right in post #4, the table top covered with these.  Mine, however, in not mounted on marble, or anything original.

Are these all supposedly Civil War era?

 

Steve

[warguy]

Here’s mine, had it over twenty years. Was advertised as CW when I bought it but I really have no clue. I liked it because of the patina mainly. Mounted it to the base myself. Yours is different than most I see and quite interesting. 

[Dirk]

Kevin I think yours looks CW!  Steve the marble and wood stands were made by the collector….most of them were civil war or shortly thereafter I was told 

[GAZOO]

I did notice the eagle facing to the left is not the common direction
Did they change that at one time ?

also looks like the original one posted looks more in FLIGHT then the rest,

the very center eagle in the group photo looks the closest to me 👍

[manayunkman]

My eagle is on half a wood pole that is about 5 feet long.

 

The other half of the pole is missing.

 

Here are some more pictures 

[manayunkman]

It’s perched and just getting ready to fly.

[manayunkman]

Dirk, thanks so much for the information and photos.

 

The odds are that it’s not Civil War.

[themick]

3 hours ago, manayunkman said:

It’s perched and just getting ready to fly.

Civil War or not, yours is a spectacular piece, and I really like it's still on the staff, manayunkman

I'll post a picture of mine either later today or tomorrow.

 

Steve

[manayunkman]

Thanks Steve I appreciate the encouragement.

 

Peter

[manayunkman]

Well imagine my surprise when I had the opportunity to reunite this set.

 

You can see a difference in patina which leads me to believe they have been separated for a long time.

 

Its 9’6” to the bottom of the ball the eagle is perched on.

 

 

 

[manayunkman]

And my mystery is solved because the lower bronze connection is engraved.

 

[manayunkman]

On 5/9/2023 at 3:36 PM, Dirk said:

Kevin I think yours looks CW!  Steve the marble and wood stands were made by the collector….most of them were civil war or shortly thereafter I was told 

The solution fell into my lap.

 

1898 Knights Templar Conclave.

[ken1967]

I just bought this book directly from the author. He lives near me and is a wealth of information on these flagstaff toppers, etc. He is on the second edition of the book, and it's almost sold out. Highly recommend getting one if you're interested in this subject.

 

Book | Flagstaff Finials | United States (flagstaff-finials.com)

 

Ken

[manayunkman]

1 hour ago, ken1967 said:

I just bought this book directly from the author. He lives near me and is a wealth of information on these flagstaff toppers, etc. He is on the second edition of the book, and it's almost sold out. Highly recommend getting one if you're interested in this subject.

 

Book | Flagstaff Finials | United States (flagstaff-finials.com)

 

Ken

Thanks for the tip.

 

These finials are very interesting.

[Dirk]

Excellent book Ken!

[manayunkman]

Has anyone written a book about the history of US military finials?

[themick]

A bit late in posting this, but here is mine.  It has been painted but is solid brass.  It's the same type as the one at the far right in post #4.

 

Steve

[ken1967]

After connecting with Del Thomasson (book author named in post #20), I was able to acquire two Federal eagle finials for my collection. Based on Del's classification system, these would be New York style and Ohio style. These finials can be quite addictive and make great additions to a CW display.

Ken