13-Star “4-5-4” American Flag, ZZ Machine-Stitched Stars, circa 1890-1910

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...

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...

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...

This is a 39-star unofficial American flag, celebrating North Dakota statehood. The printed flag dates to 1889 and showcases a “whimsical” star pattern in the canton. The flag's cant...

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...

32 STARS IN A VERY UNUSUAL NOTCHED VERSION OF THE “GREAT STAR” PATTERN, WITH TWO STARS ABSENT AT THE EXTREME POINTS OF EACH ARM, MADE IN THE PERIOD WHEN MINNESOTA JOINED THE UNION AS...

13 STARS WITH SHORT, CONICAL ARMS ON A SMALL SCALE, ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG MADE DURING THE LAST DECADE F THE 19TH CENTURY; POSSIBLY OF PHILADELPHIA ORIGIN; FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION ...

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...