EXTREMELY RARE ABRAHAM LINCOLN MOURNING FLAG
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EXTREMELY RARE ABRAHAM LINCOLN MOURNING FLAG
About the Item
A series of 34 star paper parade flags like this one was made in mourning of Lincoln's death, following his assassination in 1865. These were purchased or handed out as services were held in memoriam and the funeral train made its procession back to Illinois.
Printed in the stripes in black ink is the following text: “We Mourn! Our Chief Has Fallen.”
Like the other examples, the stars of this particular example are set against a black canton instead of blue. Although I have typically found these flags loose, I have on rare occasion found them folded over a wire staff or affixed to a wooden staff like a common cloth parade flag. This particular one has additional white paper along the hoist and was probably on a staff, at least for a short time.
A maker’s mark appears in the bottom right corner and reads “Lybrand”. Though I have searched extensively, I have never found information on an artist or company by that name that fits with the production of these important Lincoln flags, which are among my favorites of anything that exists made in the mourning of his death.
Most paper flags of the 19th century have not survived to the present day, but those that do often have unusual star configurations, like this one, which has four somewhat haphazard rows of six stars, followed by a row of seven, and ending in a widely spaced row of three. There are four known varieties of paper Lincoln mourning flags, like this one. All of these plus another related variety are pictured in “The Stars & Stripes: Fabric of American Spirit” (J. Richard Pierce, LLC, 2005), p. 34. Richard is nation’s leading collector of American parade flags and author of one of the best books on flag collecting.
These paper Lincoln mourning flags are so seldom encountered that beyond Pierce and myself, I am aware of only one other collector who posses the entire series.
Mounting: The gilded molding dates to the period between 1840 and 1870. This is a sandwich mount between 100% cotton and U.V. protective acrylic. The black fabric was washed to reduce excess dye. An acid-free agent was added to the wash to further set the dye, which was then heat-treated for the same purpose.
Condition: There is some fading of the red stripes, accompanied by foxing and staining throughout and a crease in the upper fly-end corner, but the flag presents beautifully. Rarity is such an issue here that condition is a mute point unless the presentation is significantly compromised.
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1865
- Condition:see description.
- Seller Location:York County, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: 34j-9061stDibs: U1008258497275
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