31-Star Printed American Flag, Celebrating California Statehood, Circa 1850

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...

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...

26 STAR ANTIQUE AMERICAN PARADE FLAG WITH 11 STRIPES AND IT’S CANTON RESTING ON THE “WAR STRIPE.” THE EARLIEST KNOWN STAR COUNT FOR PRINTED EXAMPLES, 1837-1846, MICHIGAN STATEHOOD 2...

38 STAR ANTIQUE AMERICAN PARADE FLAG WITH JUSTIFIED ROWS OF 7-6-6-6-6-7 AND SCATTERED STAR ORIENTATION, MADE DURING THE PERIOD WHEN COLORADO WAS THE MOST RECENT STATE TO JOIN THE UNION, 1876-1889 38 star American national parade flag, printed on coarse cotton, possibly with flax content. One of the flag’s most interesting features is the wild sweep of the grain of the fabric, the warp and weft of which are anything but perpendicular. The stars are arranged in justified rows of 7-6-6-6-6-7. This results in a secondary pattern that I commonly call a “box-in-a-box-in-a-box”, because of the way in which the seemingly haphazard arrangement creates three consecutive squares. Note how the stars point in various directions on their vertical axis, which adds a nice element of folk quality to the overall design. Most parade flags in this star count have red stripes that lean heavily toward orange, with a vibrant, chromatic luster. This was common across printed flags produced between the 1850's and the 38 star period, phasing out in the last decade of the 19th century. Also note how the wear and patina contribute to an endearing presentation that displays its long-term use gracefully. 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. In the latter 19th century, it became common to add stars before the respective state(s) had even entered the Union. No one cared what was official, not even the military, where the matter of practicality with regard to flags always seems to have outweighed regulations. In the private sector, commercial flag-making was a competitive venture. Few flag-makers continued to produce 37 star flags when their competitors had jumped the star count to 38. 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, that served as the nucleus of the national celebration. Some makers of printed parade flags actually began to produce 39 star flags in 1876, in hopeful anticipation of the addition of two more Western Territories instead of one. The 39th state would not join the Union for another 13 years, however, when the Dakota Territory—thought to be coming as a single state—entered as two separate states on November 2nd, 1889. The 38 star flag generally fell out of production at that time, though it technically remained official until July 3rd, 1890. President Ulysses S. Grant was in office when the first 38 star flags would have appeared. The list of presidents that served during the period when the 38 star flag was official include Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield...