35 Stars in a Double Wreath Pattern on a Civil War Veteran's Flag

OHIO STATE FLAG WITH CIVIL WAR VETERANS' OVERPRINT FROM THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC POST IN COLUMBUS, MADE IN MOURNING OF THE 1925 PASSING OF NATIONAL G.A.R. COMMANDER IN CHIEF DANIEL M. HALL, WHO ALSO SERVED AS COMMANDER OF THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF THE G.A.R., AS WELL AS THE LOCAL CHAPTER Flag of the State of Ohio, printed on oilcloth-like cotton, affixed to its original wooden staff. Made for Civil War veteran's use, the flag bears a stamped overprint in the striped field that consists of an open wreath of laurel branches, inside which is the following text: “GAR [Grand Army of the Republic] Post, Dan Hall, Columbus, OH”. Born on October 20th, 1842, Daniel M. Hall enlisted with the Union Army as a Private at the age of 18 on August 25th, 1861. On October 8th of that year he mustered into the Co. H of the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. Discharged for disability on June 28th, 1862, he reenlisted approximately 17 months later, on November 11th, 1863, and mustered into Co. F of the 12th Ohio Cavalry at Camp Cleveland. He was at some point promoted to the rank of Sergeant, and, on February 21st, 1864, to the rank of Corporal. He mustered out at Nashville on November 14th, 1865. Hall mustered into the Hamlin Post of the Ohio G.A.R. on May 23rd, 1883. He would go on to serve not only as Commander of the Dept. of Ohio for the organization, but as National Commander of the entire Grand Army of the Republic. The Grand Army of the Republic was the primary veterans association for Union Civil War soldiers. Founded in 1866, its members dressed up in Civil War uniforms, attended parades and reunions, and the organization was somewhat more fraternal in nature than today’s VFW or American Foreign Legion. Flags overprinted for the purpose of advertising are a specialized form in American flag collecting. A flag with a basic G.A.R. overprint is the most common type. This might be accompanied by a post number and a date. More elaborate the overprints are more highly desired, such as this one, which is the only variation I know of that honors a particular person who was not the namesake of the chapter itself. It is of interest to note that a sister variety of 48 star parade flag is known, printed on the same fabric, that bears the same overprint, accompanied by the words: “We Mourn Our Comrade." From the additional text on the 48 star variety, one can extrapolate that the flags were made to mourn the passing of this important leader of Civil War veterans on October 19th, 1925, just one day before his 83rd birthday. The State Flag of Ohio was designed in 1901 by Cleveland architect John Eisenmann, who designed the Ohio building for the state's exhibition at the Pan American Exposition World's Fair in Buffalo, New York. It was officially adopted by the Ohio legislature on May 19th, 1902. It's elements are centered on a red disc, set against a circular white ground that forms a letter "O." This simultaneously represents a buckeye, the fruit of the state tree and an iconic Ohio symbol. The flag's 5 stripes are said to represent the state's waterways and roads, while the triangular shape of the union is said to illustrate hills and valleys. The presentation of 13 stars along the hoist end, arranged in a semi-circular medallion with two off-set stars above and below, reflects the original 13 colonies. The diamond of stars, towards the fly end. bring the overall count to 17 to reflect Ohio's admission. When the design was adopted by the state legislature, the position of these stars was changed slightly, moving them further around the circle to form a wreath. Flag expert Whitney Smith, who coined the term Vexillology in the late 1950's (the accepted term for the study of flags), pointed out that the format of the flag itself was reminiscent of Civil War cavalry guidons, carried by Ohio regiments throughout the state. These were of swallowtail form, though with 13 stripes, all horizontal and 90 degrees to the hoist. Most often these had circular star patterns around an open center, which makes them even more similar to the Ohio flag...

38 STAR ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG WITH A DOUBLE-WREATH CONFIGURATION THAT FEATURES AN ENORMOUS CENTER STAR, REFLECTS THE PERIOD OF COLORADO STATEHOOD, 1876-1889: 38 star American national flag, made entirely of plain weave cotton. The stars are arranged in a medallion configuration. This features an enormous center star, surrounded by two wreaths of much smaller stars, with a flanking star in each corner of the blue canton. The sort of disparity here, present in the scale of the large star, versus those around it, is both exceptionally unusual and graphically dynamic. Colorado became the 38th state on August 1st, 1876. This was the year of our nation’s centennial. 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 remained the official star count for the American flag until part way through the following year. Flag-making was a competitive venture, however, and few flag-makers would have continued to produce 37 star flags when their competitors were making 38’s. Many flag-makers added a 38th star before Colorado entered the Union, in the early part of 1876, or possibly even prior. In fact, many makers of printed flags, called parade flags or hand-wavers, were actually producing flags in the 39 star count, in hopeful anticipation of the addition of two more Western Territories instead of one. It is for these reasons that 38, 39, and 13 stars, to representing the original 13 colonies, are most often seen on flags displayed at the Centennial International Exhibition. Hosted in Philadelphia, this enormous event was our nation’s first World’s Fair, lasted for a duration of six months, and served as the nucleus of celebrations held to honor America’s 100-year anniversary of independence. The 38 star flag became official on July 4th, 1877 and was generally used until the 39th state was added in November of 1889. This is probably a homemade flag, though sewn by a very skilled hand, or possibly, by two different individuals. The stripes are pieced and sewn entirely by hand, with remarkable care and precision. The canton is constructed of two lengths of blue fabric, that have been joined with treadle stitching. This was joined to the striped field by hand. The stars are double-appliquéd (applied to both sides) with treadle stitching. There is a treadle-sewn, cotton binding along the hoist, with five, hand-sewn grommets. It is extremely unusual to encounter this combination of sewing methods. Soon after the sewing machine was mass-marketed, in the mid-1850’s, flag-makers both public and private made good use of treadle machines, to join stripes, when constructing American flags. During the Civil War (1861-65), most stripes were treadle-sewn. Stars were another matter. Until the advent of electric machines...

1862 Civil War playing cards with stars, flags, shields, & eagles, and face cards illustrating civil war officers and lady, Columbia, ca 1862, Benjamin Hitchcock, New York 1862 Civil War playing cards with suits represented by stars, flags, shields, & eagles, in lieu of the traditional French suits of hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. The face cards feature Union Army officers and Lady Columbia [a.k.a. Lady Liberty, Goddess of Liberty]. Entitled “Union Playing Cards,” two versions of this deck were produced in New York by Benjamin W. Hitchcock’s “American Card Company.” This is the earlier of the two. The other was released in 1863. There are 52 cards in total with the ace of spades doubling as the title card, as was often the case during the 19th century. The telescoping box...

34 STARS IN AN OUTSTANDING OVAL MEDALLION CONFIGURATION, ON A NARROW CANTON THAT RESTS ON THE 6TH STRIPE, ON A HOMEMADE, ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG OF THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD, ENTIRELY HAND-...

36 Stars In The "Great Star" Or "Great Luminary" Pattern On A Civil War Era Flag With A Dusty Blue Canton And A Section Of One Stripe Souvenired, 1864-67, Nevada Statehood 36 star American national flag of the Civil War era, entirely hand-sewn and with some rare and beautiful features. The stars are arranged in a rendition of what is known as the Great Star or Great Luminary configuration, a large star made out of smaller stars. With no official star pattern before 1912, their design was left up to the artistic liberties of the flag-maker. Strikingly visual, the Great Star is both scarce and coveted by collectors. 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 makers of printed flags would have begun adding a 36th star to their flags in 1864, even before the addition of the new state occurred. Lincoln pushed Nevada through just 8 days before the November election. Nevada’s wealth in silver was attractive to a nation struggling with the debts of war and increased support for the Republican ticket. The 36 star flag was replaced by the 37 star flag in 1867, with the addition of Nebraska. Adding to the flag's appeal is its small scale across those with of piece-and-sewn construction. During the 19th century, sewn flags (as opposed to those that were printed on cloth) were typically eight feet long and larger. This is because they were important in their function as signals, meaning that they needed to be seen and recognized from great distance. A flag that was six feet in length was considered small and production of flags smaller than this was extremely limited. Even infantry battle flags were approximately six by six and-one-half feet, about the size of an average quilt of the same period. As time passed, circumstances changed and sewn flags began to find more of a decorative purpose. Smaller flags are more scarce and far easier to frame and display. The Great Star configuration appears to have come about shortly after the War of 1812, when Congressman Peter Wendover of New York requested that Captain Samuel Reid, a War of 1812 naval hero, create a new design that would become the third official format of the Stars & Stripes. A recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Reid became harbor master of New York following the war. During his lifetime, he created many innovations in signal use, including a system that could actually send messages from New York to New Orleans by sea in just two hours. Use as a Naval signal had been the primary reason for the initial creation of an American national flag in 1777, but since there was no official star design, the appearance of our flag varied greatly. Reid’s primary concern centered on both consistency and ease of recognition. His hope was as more and more states joined the Union and more and more stars were added to the flag, that it would remain easily identified on the open seas. In 1818, Reid suggested to Congress that the number of stripes permanently return to 13 (reduced from 15) and that the stars be grouped into the shape of one large star. Reid’s proposal would have kept the star constellation in roughly the same format, in a pattern that could be quickly identified through a spyglass as the number of states grew. His concept for the stripes was ultimately accepted, but his advice on the star pattern was rejected by President James Monroe, due to the increased cost of arranging the stars in what would become known as the “Great Star”, “Great Flower”, or “Great Luminary” pattern. Monroe probably didn’t wish to impose this cost on either the government or civilians, so he suggested a simple pattern of justified rows. Never-the-less, the Great Star was produced by anyone willing to make it and its rarity today, along with its beauty, has driven the desirability of American flags with this configuration. The canton and stripes of the flag are made of fine merino wool. Note how the canton has faded to a dusty seafoam blue, which is endearingly attractive. The stars of the flag are hand-sewn and single-appliquéd. This means that they were applied to one side of the canton, then the blue fabric was cut from behind each star, folded over, and under-hemmed, so that one star could be viewed on both sides of the flag. I always find single-appliquéd stars more interesting, not only because they are evidence of a more difficult level of seam-work and stitching, but also because they are more visually intriguing. The two visible rows of hand-stitching emphasize their hand-sewn construction, which is one reason why flags with single-appliquéd stars often appeal to connoisseurs of early American textiles...

41 STARS IN A LINEAL PATTERN WITH OFFSET STARS THAT CREATE A CROSSHATCH IN THE CORNERS AND CENTER, ONE OF THE RAREST STAR COUNTS AMONG SURVIVING FLAGS OF THE 19TH CENTURY, REFLECTS MONTANA STATEHOOD IN NOVEMBER, 1889, ACCURATE FOR JUST 3 DAYS: Numerous flags appeared with unofficial star counts in early America, produced by flag-makers in anticipation of the addition of more states. The 41 star flag...

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...

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 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 an original 46-star American parade flag, printed on silk. Each star represents a state in the Union at the time. The official flag design would update every July 4th, to inc...

The Second World War by Winston Churchill from Houghton-Mifflin Company, Boston. A vintage edition of Winston Churchill's six-volume memoir, The Second World War, for which he was a...

King Edward VII coronation, June 1902 framed scarf / flag. This scarf is an original antique piece of British history and patriotic memorabilia. ...