Creative Maine: Trade Banners and the Crafts That Built Maine

This book celebrates the preservation of seventeen brightly painted banners that were carried by members of the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association in an 1841 Portland parade. In 2010, these proud emblems of the nineteenth century working class were threatened with dispersal to private collections and out-of-state institutions. Maine's cultural community came to the rescue by purchasing them at auction and placing them at the Maine Historical Society. Each color image of the banner is accompanied with a history of the trade it represents. Historic photos, prints, and the history of the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association, Portland's mercantile economy in the 1820s are also included. Authors: John P. Johnson and Kate McBrien. Paperback; 59 pages.