13 Star Jack With a Superellipse Variant of a Diamond Configuration

35 STARS IN A MEDALLION CONFIGURATION WITH A LARGE, HALOED CENTER STAR, CIVIL WAR PERIOD, WEST VIRGINIA STATEHOOD, 1863-65 35 star American national parade flag, printed on cotto...

42 stars on an antique American flag with a wave configuration of lineal columns, an unofficial star count that reflects the addition of washington state, montana, and the dakotas, c...

38 Star antique American flag with a notched configuration, made by the U.S. bunting company in Lowell, Massachusetts, signed "Throckmorton," reflects the era of Colorado statehood, circa 1876-1889: Frame size (H x L): approx. 50" x 78" Flag size (H x L): 37.75" x 66" 38 Star American national flag, press-dyed on wool bunting. The stars are configured in what is known as a "notched" pattern, in which two spaces were left open in anticipation that more Western Territories would soon be added. Colorado became the 38th state on August 1st, 1876. This was the year of our nation’s 100-year anniversary of independence. Per the Third Flag Act of 1818, stars were not officially added until the 4th of July following a state's addition. For this reason, 37 was the official star count for the American flag in 1876. Flag-making was a competitive venture, however, and few flag-makers would have been continuing to produce 37 star flags when their competitors were making 38’s. It is for this reason that 38 and 13 stars (to represent the original 13 colonies) are more often seen at the Centennial International Exposition, the six-month long World’s Fair held in Philadelphia in honor of the event. Some flag-makers would have been adding a star for the 38th state even before it entered the Union, in the early part of 1876 or even prior. In fact, many makers of parade flags were actually producing 39 star flags, in hopeful anticipation of the addition of two more Western Territories instead of one. But the 39th state would not join the Union for another 13 years, when the Dakota Territory entered as two states (numbers 39 and 40) on the same day, November 2nd, 1889. The flag is made of three panels of fabric that have been pieced and joined with hand-stitching. The fly end was bound by hand, and there is a twill cotton binding along the hoist, in the form of an open sleeve, also applied by hand-stitching. Near the top, on the obverse, the following text is stenciled in black: “AMERICAN ENSIGN. 5 - FT." “Ensign” is merely a term for a flag used aboard a ship. The flag was made by the U.S. Bunting Co., in Lowell, Massachusetts and was likely intended for nautical use. Versions of this stencil are seen on other known U.S. Bunting Co. examples, some of which include a April 26th, 1870 patent date. This protected owner, John...

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...

13 hand sewn stars in a circular version of what is known as the 3rd Maryland pattern, with an especially large center star, a flag with especially tiny scale among those with pieced-and-sewn construction, exceptionally rare, made circa 1890: 13 star flags have been flown throughout our nation’s history for a variety of purposes. They were hoisted at patriotic events, including Lafayette’s visit in 1824-25, the celebration of the centennial of American independence in 1876, and the sesquicentennial in 1926. They were displayed during the Civil War, to reference past struggles for American liberty and victory over oppression, and were used by 19th century politicians while campaigning for the same reason. As the number of stars grew with the addition of new states, it became more and more difficult to fit their full complement on a small flag. The stars would, by necessity, have to become smaller, which made it more and more difficult to view them from a distance as individual objects. The fear was that too many of them close together would become as one white mass and distort the ability to identify American ships on the open seas. Keeping the count low allowed for better visibility. For this reason the U.S. Navy flew 13 star flags on small boats. Some private ship owners mirrored this practice and flew 13 star flags during the same period as the Navy. Flag experts disagree about the precisely when the Navy began to revert to 13 stars and other low counts. Some feel that the use of 13 star flags never stopped, which seems to be supported by depictions of ships in period artwork. This was, of course, the original number of stars on the first American national flag, by way of the First Flag Act of 1777, and equal to the number of original colonies that became states. Any American flag that has previously been official remains so according to the flag acts, so it remains perfectly acceptable to fly 13 star flags today by way of congressional law. Since there was no official star configuration until the 20th century (1912 specifically, beginning with the 48 star count), the stars on 13 star flags may appear in any one of a host of configurations. Some of these are more rare and desirable than others. The stars of this particular flag are arranged in what has come to be known as the "3rd Maryland Pattern." This configuration, whether oval or circular, is appreciated both for its visual appeal and the scarcity of its use. a circular wreath of 12 with a single star in the center. The name comes from a flag that resides at the Maryland State Capitol in Annapolis, long thought to have been present with General Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens in 1781. According to legend, the flag was supposed to have been carried by Color Sergeant William Batchelor of the 3rd Maryland Light Infantry and was donated to the State of Maryland by Batchelor's descendants. The story was disproved in the 1970's, however, following an examination by the late flag expert Grace Rogers Cooper of the Smithsonian, who discovered that the Cowpens flag was, at the earliest, of Mexican War...

Antique American flag with 13 hand-sewn stars in an extremely rare lineal configuration of 5-3-5, probably made with the intent of use by local militia or private outfitting of a vol...

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...

Presented is an original patriotic sash from the early 20th century, featuring 13 stars against a bright blue field. This sash features appliqued silver stars on a blue canton, red a...

Utah statehood flag printed on cotton with 45 stars celebrating the admission of Utah as a state. Official flag for 12 years (1896 - 1908). 8-7-8-7-8-7 configuration. Printed on glaz...

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...

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...