There is a crowd of chanting people walking down the street, traffic is at a standstill and police line the pavements. Whether you lived 150 years ago, or today, it's their banners that tell you. Introduction For hundreds of years, organisations that have a marching tradition have made banners in order to identify themselves. Political organisations that did not have a tradition of processions, like for instance the Anti Corn Law League or the anti-slavery movement, did not produce banners.
Historians can 'read' banners for evidence in much the same way as documents.
The origins of political banners Historians can 'read' banners for evidence in much the same way as documents. Strangely enough, the origins of nineteenth and twentieth century banners can be traced to a time when organisations were concerned not to be identified. The precursors of trade unions were the trade societies. In the eighteenth century, when industrialisation was beginning to make an impact, trade societies were established to protect the interests of skilled artisans. Until the repeal of the 1799 Combination Act in 1825, membership of trade societies was illegal.