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31-Star American Parade Flag Celebrating California Statehood, circa 1851

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  • 31-Star Printed American Flag, Celebrating California Statehood, Circa 1850
    Located in Colorado Springs, CO
    This is a rare 31-star medallion printed American flag, celebrating the addition of California to the Union. The flag is printed on silk and has a spectacular “Great Star” canton pat...
    Category

    Antique 1850s American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Silk

  • 34-Star Civil War American Flag, Antique Great Star Pattern, circa 1861
    Located in Colorado Springs, CO
    The stars of this extremely rare, Civil War-era flag are arranged in what is sometimes called the "Great Flower" pattern, a large star made out of smaller stars -- named as such beca...
    Category

    Antique 1860s American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Linen

  • 46-Star American Flag Printed in Drum Star Configuration
    Located in Colorado Springs, CO
    This is an original 46-Star American parade flag, celebrating Oklahoma statehood. Each star on the flag's canton represents a state in the Union at the time. The official flag design would update every July 4th, to include any new states added to the Union in the past year. Oklahoma, the 46th state, entered the Union on November 16, 1907. As such, this 46–star flag was the official flag of the United States from July 4, 1908, until July 4, 1912. The silk flag has a dark blue canton with 46 white printed stars. The stars are printed in an 7-8-8-8-8-7 row configuration, or “Drum design.” The flag design is completed with 13 alternating red and white stripes, each stripe representing one of the original thirteen colonies. The land that comprises Oklahoma today was added to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Throughout the 19th century, the U.S. government relocated Indian tribes from the southeastern United States to the area, and by 1900, over 30 Indian tribes had been moved to what was originally called the Indian Territories. At the same time, ranchers in Texas began to move into the area in search of new pasture lands. Although stipulations in the Indian Relocation Act agreed that the land would forever be Indian Territory, the promise of fertile farmland trumped the government’s promise of sovereignty. On April 22, 1889, they opened the land to settlement by homesteaders, creating a land run in which settlers, called “Boomers,” were allowed to cross the Texas or Arkansas border at a particular hour to claim homesteads. Settlers who illegally crossed the border earlier to stake prime land were called “sooners,” which eventually became the state’s nickname. Wagons and the Santa Fe railroad carried cartloads of men and women to blank town sites and building plots, creating ten thousand-people communities in a matter of days. The following year, the region was further divided into Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory...
    Category

    Vintage 1910s American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Silk

  • 38-Star Antique American Flag with Unique Canton, circa 1876-1890
    Located in Colorado Springs, CO
    This is a striking 38-star American flag. The flag dates to 1876-1890, when Colorado (represented by the large star in the center of the flag’s canton) joined the Union as the 38th s...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Muslin

  • 39-Star Antique American Flag with 'Whimsical' Star Pattern, 1889
    Located in Colorado Springs, CO
    This is a 39-star unofficial American flag, handmade and printed on cotton. The flag dates to 1889 and has a unique history, thanks to its rare star-count. The flag’s canton is prin...
    Category

    Antique 1880s American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Cotton

  • 45-Star American Printed Parade Flag, 1896-1907
    Located in Colorado Springs, CO
    This 45-star United States flag celebrates the statehood of Utah. 45-star flags served as the official American flag from 1896-1908. This particular flag was flown as a parade flag, ...
    Category

    Antique Early 1900s American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Fabric

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  • 38 Star Parade Flag with Whimsical 6-Pointed Stars, Colorado Statehood
    Located in York County, PA
    38 WHIMSICAL STARS, WITH 6-POINTED PROFILES, SIMILAR TO THE STAR OF DAVID, ON AN ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG OF THE CENTENNIAL ERA; A REMARKABLE SPECIMEN, ONE-OF-A-KIND AMONG KNOWN EXAMPLE...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

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    Cotton

  • 36 Star American Flag, Civil War Era, Nevada Statehood
    Located in York County, PA
    36 Stars In The "Great Star" Or "Great Luminary" Pattern On A Civil War Era Flag With A Dusty Blue Canton And A Section Of One Stripe Souvenired, 1864-67, Nevada Statehood 36 star American national flag of the Civil War era, entirely hand-sewn and with some rare and beautiful features. The stars are arranged in a rendition of what is known as the Great Star or Great Luminary configuration, a large star made out of smaller stars. With no official star pattern before 1912, their design was left up to the artistic liberties of the flag-maker. Strikingly visual, the Great Star is both scarce and coveted by collectors. The 36th state, Nevada, entered the Union during the Civil War on October 31st, 1864. The last Confederate general surrendered on May 26th, 1865. The 36 star flag became official on July 4th of that year, but makers of printed flags would have begun adding a 36th star to their flags in 1864, even before the addition of the new state occurred. Lincoln pushed Nevada through just 8 days before the November election. Nevada’s wealth in silver was attractive to a nation struggling with the debts of war and increased support for the Republican ticket. The 36 star flag was replaced by the 37 star flag in 1867, with the addition of Nebraska. Adding to the flag's appeal is its small scale across those with of piece-and-sewn construction. During the 19th century, sewn flags (as opposed to those that were printed on cloth) were typically eight feet long and larger. This is because they were important in their function as signals, meaning that they needed to be seen and recognized from great distance. A flag that was six feet in length was considered small and production of flags smaller than this was extremely limited. Even infantry battle flags were approximately six by six and-one-half feet, about the size of an average quilt of the same period. As time passed, circumstances changed and sewn flags began to find more of a decorative purpose. Smaller flags are more scarce and far easier to frame and display. The Great Star configuration appears to have come about shortly after the War of 1812, when Congressman Peter Wendover of New York requested that Captain Samuel Reid, a War of 1812 naval hero, create a new design that would become the third official format of the Stars & Stripes. A recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Reid became harbor master of New York following the war. During his lifetime, he created many innovations in signal use, including a system that could actually send messages from New York to New Orleans by sea in just two hours. Use as a Naval signal had been the primary reason for the initial creation of an American national flag in 1777, but since there was no official star design, the appearance of our flag varied greatly. Reid’s primary concern centered on both consistency and ease of recognition. His hope was as more and more states joined the Union and more and more stars were added to the flag, that it would remain easily identified on the open seas. In 1818, Reid suggested to Congress that the number of stripes permanently return to 13 (reduced from 15) and that the stars be grouped into the shape of one large star. Reid’s proposal would have kept the star constellation in roughly the same format, in a pattern that could be quickly identified through a spyglass as the number of states grew. His concept for the stripes was ultimately accepted, but his advice on the star pattern was rejected by President James Monroe, due to the increased cost of arranging the stars in what would become known as the “Great Star”, “Great Flower”, or “Great Luminary” pattern. Monroe probably didn’t wish to impose this cost on either the government or civilians, so he suggested a simple pattern of justified rows. Never-the-less, the Great Star was produced by anyone willing to make it and its rarity today, along with its beauty, has driven the desirability of American flags with this configuration. The canton and stripes of the flag are made of fine merino wool. Note how the canton has faded to a dusty seafoam blue, which is endearingly attractive. The stars of the flag are hand-sewn and single-appliquéd. This means that they were applied to one side of the canton, then the blue fabric was cut from behind each star, folded over, and under-hemmed, so that one star could be viewed on both sides of the flag. I always find single-appliquéd stars more interesting, not only because they are evidence of a more difficult level of seam-work and stitching, but also because they are more visually intriguing. The two visible rows of hand-stitching emphasize their hand-sewn construction, which is one reason why flags with single-appliquéd stars often appeal to connoisseurs of early American textiles...
    Category

    Antique 1860s American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Wool

  • 38 Star Antique American Flag, Colorado Statehood, ca 1876-1889
    Located in York County, PA
    38 star antique American parade flag with scattered star orientation, made of silk, with generous scale and vivid colors, Colorado Statehood, 1876-1889 38 star American national p...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Silk

  • 1889 North Dakota 39 Star United States of America Statehood Flag
    Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID
    39 star silk statehood flag. 23 1/2" x 15". Was the unofficial North Dakota Flag. As South Dakota was also admitted as the 40th state on the same day this...
    Category

    Antique 1880s American Historical Memorabilia

    Materials

    Silk

  • 46 Star Antiques American Flag, Small Scale, Oklahoma Statehood, Ca 1907-1912
    Located in York County, PA
    46 star antique American flag in an exceptionally small scale among its pieced-and-sewn counterparts, reflects oklahoma statehood, circa 1907-1912: 46 star American national flag in a tiny and very rare scale among its counterparts of the period with pieced-and-sewn construction. The 46th state, Oklahoma, joined the Union on November 16th, 1907, during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency. Roosevelt had many friends in the Oklahoma Territory...
    Category

    Early 20th Century American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Wool

  • 13 Star American Parade Flag with Rare Design, Ca 1888 Ex Richard Pierce
    Located in York County, PA
    13 Star American parade flag in an extremely rare design, with “protection to home industries” slogan on a fanciful, scrolling streamer, made for the 1888 presidential campaign of Benjamin Harrison; formerly in the collection of Richard pierce. 1888 Benjamin Harrison campaign flag, printed on cotton, with 13 large stars in a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern, upon which a whimsical, scrolling streamer is superimposed that features the slogan: “Protection to Home Industries.” There are numerous styles of both documented and undocumented, red, white, and blue bandanas and handkerchiefs, made for Harrison’s campaign in this year, as well as from the subsequent one, in 1892. Most bear variations of text to support the “Protection for American Industries” platform of the Republican Party. America was in the midst of the industrial age and there was a great deal of public interest, both in protecting growth and discouraging both imported goods and immigration. The constant stream of immigrants posed great challenges for a working families, competing for scarce jobs, in work environments that were already often far from ideal. In post-Civil War America, many of the working men were Civil War veterans. Bandanas abound from Harrison’s Campaigns, but flags do not. This example, along with three others, were once part of an 1888 patriotic quilt that was disassembled by a dealer and sold piecemeal to collectors. I eventually acquired all four. Fifteen to twenty years ago, these were the only four known copies. A couple of others have since surfaced, but the total count known still stands closer to 5 than 10. The use of 13 stars is seen in the flags of various candidates in the 19th century. Among these are Abraham Lincoln (1860 campaign), Henry Clay (1844 campaign), John Fremont (1856), and Benjamin Harrison’s grandfather, William Henry Harrison...
    Category

    Antique 1880s American Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

    Materials

    Cotton

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