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  33 Star American Flag - Whimsical Stars - Whitney Smith Collection

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 49" x 79.5"
Flag Size (H x L): 46.5" x 77"
Description....:
Whitney Smith Collection Period 33 Star American National Flag with several interesting folk qualities. Made of hand-sewn wool bunting, with hand-sewn, single appliqued stars, a cotton sleeve, and 2 brass grommets. The stripes have the burnt orange coloration sometimes seen in flags made prior to the Civil War. Note that the whimsical stars have exceptionally narrow arms and look more like thin starfish or spurs. This is often a byproduct of the sewing of single-applique stars, but it is exaggerated in this instance due to the maker?s novice skill with applying stars in this manner. Little did he/she know that one day their lack of skill would elevate their flag?s desirability. Despite this fact, the maker?s hand work is excellent throughout the flag, noting in particular the 3 rows of stitching at the fly end. Another trait that gives the flag a more interesting look is its ?squarish? shape. The canton is approximately half as high and half as long as the entire flag. This squat design is preferred by collectors, as are flags with exaggerated length. Flags made prior to the Civil War are extremely rare, comprising less than one percent of 19th century flags that exist in the 21st century. This is partly because, prior to the Centennial, our flag was simply not used for most of the same purposes we employ it in today. Private individuals did not typically display the flag in their yards and on their porches. Parade flags did not fly from carriages and horses. Places of business rarely hung flags in their windows. Some of these uses for started to take place during the patriotism that surrounded the Civil War, but civilian use of the flag was not wide spread until 1876. Even the military did not use the flag in a manner that most people might think. The primary purpose before the Civil War was to mark ships on the open seas. While the flag was used to mark some garrisons, the flags of ground troops were often limited to the flag of their own regiment and a Federal standard. Most people would be surprised to learn that the infantry wasn?t authorized to carry the Stars & Stripes until 1837, and even then did not often exercise the right because it was neither required nor customary. It was not until the Civil War took place that most U.S. ground forces carried the National Flag. Dr. Whitney Smith is one of the world's leading authorities on flags. This is part of his personal collection, which were recently privileged to take on consignment. Watch for many more flags from this collection, soon to be posted. The 33rd state, Oregon, entered the Union on February 14th, 1859. The 33 star flag was official from 1859-1861, and was thus still the official flag when Ft. Sumter was fired upon on April 12th of that year. This event marked the beginning of the Civil War, and a 33 star flag was flying at Ft. Sumter during the attack. Because the 34th state, Kansas, had already acquired statehood on January 29th, 1861, flag makers knew that the 34 star flag would soon become official. For this reason, 33 star flags were not produced in great quantity for the war, which would last until 1865, and the 33 can be considered to be more of a pre-Civil war flag than a war-period flag. 33?s are particularly more rare than 34 and 35 star examples. Mounting: The flag has been stitched to 100% cotton , and placed over acid free materials in a u.v. protective plexiglas museum box.. Condition : I would rate this flag?s condition as a 9.8 on a scale of 1-10. The condition is remarkable when considering the pre-civil war date, and the flag was obviously little-used, if at all. There is minor, scattered mothing.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 33
Earliest Date of Origin: 1859
Latest Date of Origin: 1861
State/Affiliation: Oregon
War Association: 1777-1860 Pre-Civil War
Price: No
 

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