Jump to content

The Great Jolly Roger


Recommended Posts

There is one in particular I am looking for, and I don't remember whose it was, if anybody can remember... It was basically the skull crowned in roses, (I believe the Grateful Dead appropriated it for a time, eh) I found a whole slew of really great ones! Blackbeard's devil spearing the hearts was one of my favorites! Any ideas? Pictures?

:ph34r::P

"You have a woman's skin, m'lord! I'll wager that hides never been rubbed with salt and flayed off to make stockin's for a pirates best cabin boy!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

McCrumb.... I have several books with various historical flags and banners. The one you describe is in none of them. I am quite sure that there were many banners and flags that never made the history books, because they were simply not known about. I am also very certain that my books do not list all the known ones. So... when you do find it, please pass on the info. This is a subject I am very much interested in.. Thanks.. The Capt.

:P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PirateMod has a fabulous collection of black T-shirts where you can see traditional pirate flags on them and they are listed with the name of the pirates who flew them below each photo. They also have thier own line of goth pirates designs and funny ones, like a biker pirate shirt where there is a skull and crossed wrenches below it or a Chinese food pirate with crossed chopsticks!

I don't recall seeing the crown of roses anywhere other than on the Grateful Dead's logo, but I'm gonna hunt and see what I can find.

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another symbol that was used is an hour glass... this was meant to send the message "your time is running out!!" which was quite effective when put next to a jolly roger to signify death!

Here is pirate Emanual Wayne's flag:

pir_ewyn.gif

And another pirate Christopher Moody's which had the red, no quarter given background, the skull and crossed bones for death, the hourglass, for time is running out which also has wings for time flying and the arm with a dagger... which kinda needs no explanation!!

pir_cmoo.gif

There are some other examples at the bottom of this page on pirate flags

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On roses, so far I haven't found anything about pirates having used them, but Tudor roses were painted on the sails of the British Royal Navy... hmm... does that mean that if you wear a grateful dead shirt you're saying "death to the English?!!"

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think my mom has a picture of me posing in front of that 19th century Jolly Roger. I must be around 6 or 7 years old...

It is a "must do" thing every time I go to Mariehamn to go to the Maritime museum just to see that flag :)

Does anyone now if that is the only existing real* Jolly Roger? Or are there any other somewhere else?

*With real I mean that it must have flown on a actual pirateship during years long gone by.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:huh: Considering your age, what's 'years long gone' ? Ive flown one longer than you've been alive! And I'm still flyin' one daily, post 9/11, inna CG's face! Even been boarded over it, with the comeback, 'wht'ya expect from pirates? Therefore, in my book, anyone wot flies the jolie rouge with any kind of heart, is flyin' a real jolly roger. ALl in one's interpretation, and 'proof' is slim, in the Brethren :ph34r: p.s. would'ya translate the german, as most o' us only speak 'pyrate'?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

:huh: Considering your age, what's 'years long gone' ? Ive flown one longer than you've been alive! And I'm still flyin' one daily, post 9/11, inna CG's face! Even been boarded over it, with the comeback, 'wht'ya expect from pirates? Therefore, in my book, anyone wot flies the jolie rouge with any kind of heart, is flyin' a real jolly roger. ALl in one's interpretation, and 'proof' is slim, in the Brethren :ph34r: p.s. would'ya translate the german, as most o' us only speak 'pyrate'?

"years long gone" I´d say would be 19th century or earlier...

And kudos to you for flying the JollyRoger for 30 years :)

The lyric means:

"And now sing the Likdeelern song

When our flag waves

It is to late for all ships

We are uited in the fight

Gods friends and

Enemies to all the world"

It is from a song called "Störtebeker" by the

great german punkband Slime.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this is a link to one of my favorite modern jolly roger's

fern canyon press

Capt Weaver

"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned. A man in jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company. "

Dr. Samuel Johnson

Capt Weaver's Pirate Perversions

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are a few photos of the Royaliste, proudly flying her colors. The jolly roger she is flying has flown over 3 different ships during a period of (correct me if I'm wrong on this Cap'n) more than 30 years.

Here are several photos of the Royaliste flying her colors

RoyalisteFlysHerColors2.jpg

RoyalisteJollyRoger.jpg

RoyalisteJollyRoger2.jpg

...And a couple of the locals out getting a tan, who don't seem to be the least bit disturbed about having a pirate ship in the neighborhood!!

RoyalisteSeals.jpg

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone now if that is the only existing real* Jolly Roger? Or are there any other somewhere else?

*With real I mean that it must have flown on a actual pirateship during years long gone by.

Jack Rackham flag is suppose to be in a museum somewhere in the Caribbean. I heard about it When the Cutthroat Island people tried to sue the museum over displaying the flag. They said they had *trademarked* the flag design and the museum could'nt display the flag without *their* permission and the museum had to pay for that. The judge in the matter to one look at the case and threw it out of court. I think the Cutthroat Island people had to pay the museum's court costs. Can you imagine the chuztpah to try to trademark a 280 year old design?! :ph34r:

If you look at some Cutthroat Island souvenir books they'll be a registered trademark symbol by Cailco Jack's flag. Others printed after the suit will not have it.

Red Maria

The Soul of Indecency

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was a bit on the news a few weeks back about the Raiders doing the same thing- copyright infringement, over someone using a similar design. I guess this falls under the infamous Mickey Mouse case- Mickey's copyright (or patent? I can't recall) expired and Disney was trying to get a landmark decision in the courts to renew. The argument was that an icon like Mickey Mouse eventually becomes part of something like American heritage (don't recall the exact term used). I think that would probably be the case with Jack Rackham's flag or the generic jolly roger skull and crossed bones. But if ol' Calico Jack were alive today, he'd probably be shrieking 'COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT!!" (although that be a weeeeeee bit hard with a rope 'round th' neck, eh?!!)

-Claire "Poison Quill" Warren

Pyrate Mum of Tales of the Seven Seas

www.talesofthesevenseas.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jack Rackham flag is suppose to be in a museum somewhere in the Caribbean.  I heard about it When the Cutthroat Island people tried to sue the museum over displaying the flag.

Kool!

Do you kow if there are any actual photos of this flag anywhere on the net? Or do you know of how to find out what museum it was?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jack Rackham flag is suppose to be in a museum somewhere in the Caribbean.  I heard about it When the Cutthroat Island people tried to sue the museum over displaying the flag.

Kool!

Do you kow if there are any actual photos of this flag anywhere on the net? Or do you know of how to find out what museum it was?

Sorry. The info was on the offical Cuttthroat Island site, which seems to no longer exist. :-(

Red Maria

The Soul of Indecency

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...
&ev=PageView&cd%5Bitem_id%5D=303&cd%5Bitem_name%5D=The+Great+Jolly+Roger&cd%5Bitem_type%5D=topic&cd%5Bcategory_name%5D=Pyrate Pop"/>