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  45 RATHER POINTY STARS IN LINEAR ROWS WITH "DANCING" OR "TUMBLING" ORIENTATION, 1896-1907, UTAH STATEHOOD

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 27.75" x 38.5"
Flag Size (H x L): 18.5" x 29.25"
Description....:
45 RATHER POINTY STARS IN LINEAR ROWS WITH "DANCING" OR "TUMBLING" ORIENTATION, 1896-1907, UTAH STATEHOOD:

45 star American national parade flag, printed on cotton sateen. The stars are arranged in linear fashion, but are consecutively point-up, point down, creating what I call "tumbling" or "dancing" orientation. The stars have arms that are more narrow and pointy than most examples, and the overall length of the flag is slightly exaggerated. Both of these attributes add an additional degree of visual impact to the design.

Utah became the 45th state in 1896. It had been attempting to gain statehood for many years, but remained a territory, primarily due to the fact that the Mormon Church and Utah authorities continued to be openly tolerant of polygamy. In 1890, Mormon Church President Wilford Woodruff published a manifesto that denounced the contract of "any marriages forbidden by the law of the land". This gave way to Utah's 1896 acceptance. The 45 star flag was generally used from that year until 1907, when Oklahoma joined the Union. Due to the Spanish-American War (1898) and Teddy Roosevelt's famous world tour of the "White Fleet" (launched in 1907), this was an extremely patriotic period.

Notes on Sateen: Sateen has a dense and silky texture. It was developed in 1878 as a means of creating a satin-like fabric using cotton instead of silk, which was more costly. It was perhaps influenced by the development of velveteen, which was a cotton version of velvet, also developed in the 1870's. Velvet can be made of various fabrics, but was traditionally silk. In any event, parade flags were not traditionally made of sateen in any period. Another variety of this same 45-star flag design was produced with a gauze-weave cotton, resembling cheesecloth. The latter is seen in other parade flags of the period and even sometimes prior, but sateen is unique in my experience to this one variety of large scale, 45-star parade flags with dancing stars.

Mounting: The flag has been hand-stitched to 100% cotton, black in color, which was washed to reduce excess dye. An acid-free agent was added to the wash to further set the dye, which was heat-treated for the same purpose. The mount was then placed in a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed Italian molding. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic.

Condition: There is very minor staining and there are holes along the hoist area where the flag was affixed to a staff, but there are no serious condition issues. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age and history of use.
Collector Level: Beginners and Holiday Gift Giving
Flag Type: Parade flag
Star Count: 45
Earliest Date of Origin: 1896
Latest Date of Origin: 1908
State/Affiliation: Utah
War Association: 1898 Spanish American War
Price: SOLD
 

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