For road bikes, hi-flange hubs are definitely a 1960s (late 1950s through mid-1970s) phenomenon; almost everything earlier and later is low-flange. (Of course, high-flange hubs have been a staple of track racing for decades, but that's a separate discussion.) Since the era of centerpull brakes roughly coincides with that of high-flange hubs, I generally vote for high-flange on frames which came with centerpulls. For my 1960 Capo project bike, it's a no-brainer, since I have the original Campag. high-flange hubs and the original Weinmann 999 centerpulls. Likewise, I used period-correct Campag. lo-flange hubs when I built new wheels for my 1981 Bianchi, because high-flange would just look wrong on that bike. Because low-flange hubs have been plentiful all along, it is a much smaller travesty to use low-flange on a high-end 1960s bike than to use high-flange with a significantly newer or older frame.

I have built and ridden lots of wheels with each type of hub flange. I was never able to feel any difference in ride quality, but the only hub flange I have ever cracked was a Shimano high-flange front.