Hi, Greg,
My original question was based on the Certificate of Authenticity that accompanies the Troiani print "The First Battle Flags" (of which, I recently acqired print # 1007/1150). It was written by Howard Madaus and includes the statement in quotes "the flags were of reds of all types - magenta, solferino, and pink...". From everything I've read about Howie M. and his work, I feel pretty sure he didn't just pull that statement out of the air. It must have been documented somewhere. The idea of a magenta battle flag is intriguing. I was wondering if any of that shade (or close to it, considering the fade factor) survive. Most of the ones I've seen pictures for are faded to almost a white-ish pink. Another thing I was wondering is if some of the red silk flags that survive still retain their rich red hue, what is the difference in the pink dyes that caused them to fade out so bad, or... is it possible that the surviving pink hued flags were actually that light in 1861?