ABSTRACT
In the summer of 1863, the Children of the Jura, a choral society in the small town of Lons le Saunier, opened a subscription in the local newspaper in order to purchase a banner. Banners were a standard feature of nineteenth-century associative life: choral societies marched behind banners that announced their title and municipal affiliation, and were decorated with medals won in competitions. The town of Lons le Saunier had been slow in forming a choral society. Prior to publishing the subscription appeal, the local paper, the Sentinelle du Jura, had bemoaned the shortlived nature of musical associations in a town that, although small, was nonetheless the chef lieu of the Jura.1 But by 1863 local citizens had accepted the newspaper’s point of view and recognized that their civic duty lay in organizing to enhance the cultural life and reputation of their town.
