36 Stars, 1864-67, Civil War Era
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36 Stars, 1864-67, Civil War Era
About the Item
36 star American national flag, of the Civil War era, with some great graphic qualities. These include its rather large stars that point in random directions on their vertical axis. Near the top, the stars are arranged in rows, but as they near the bottom, the linear formation deteriorates into a whimsical, random scatter that almost looks as if the bottom just fell out from underneath it and the stars were caught in a photograph, just before they all tumbled out into the stripes below.
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 flag-makers seldom heeded the official star count and would have begun adding a 36th star to their flags in 1864, sometimes even before the addition of the new state occurred. Lincoln pushed Nevada through just 8 days before the November election to increase his support. While the population of the state was quite small, its primary industry was silver mining and the political alignment was generally Republican. The 36 star flag was replaced by the 37 star flag in 1867, with the addition of Nebraska.
Construction: Made entirely of cotton, the flag is constructed with treadle sewing. The stars are double-appliquéd, meaning that they are applied to both sides of the canton, which has faded from blue to an almost khaki coloration that is actually quite beautiful. The stars are treadle-sewn, which is a very rare trait for a flag made in this period. The sewing machine had been mass-marketed by Singer in 1855 and by the outbreak of the Civil War, just 6 years later, was used in the piecing of most stripes on American flags. But seamstresses still found it easier to hand-sew stars, not yet having mastered the skill of turning the fabric to appliqué them to the canton while pumping the treadle mechanism. Appliqué work is a far more skilled task than piece work for any seamstress. The level of difficulty was, at first, simply compounded by the attempt to use a sewing machine to complete it. In fact, machine-sewn stars are seldom seen on American flags until the 1890-1895 period. Flags exist with treadle-sewn stars in this earlier period, but their presence is most unusual, representing a skill that few people had yet mastered. The presence of such sewing in a Civil War flag occurs in fewer than 1% of surviving examples.
Mounting: The flag has not yet been mounted. Please inquire about conservation and framing options.
Condition: There is significant fading of the blue canton, which actually lends it a beautiful, early appearance. There is minor fading of the red stripes, accompanied by minor foxing, staining, and fraying throughout.
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1864-1867
- Condition:See Item Description.
- Seller Location:York County, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: 36j-8341stDibs: U1101108497324
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