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  46 STAR ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG IN AN EXCEPTIONALLY SMALL AND EXTREMELY RARE SCALE AMONG ITS PIECED-AND-SEWN COUNTERPARTS, REFLECTS THE PERIOD WHEN OKLAHOMA WAS THE MOST RECENT STATE TO JOIN THE UNION, circa 1907-1912

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 40.25" x 59"
Flag Size (H x L): 29" x 47.5"
Description....:
46 star American national flag in a tiny and very rare scale among its counterparts of the period with pieced-and-sewn construction. The 46th state, Oklahoma, joined the Union on November 16th, 1907, during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency. Roosevelt had many friends in the Oklahoma Territory from his Rough Rider days, and pushed it through to statehood. The 46 star flag became official on July 4th, 1908 and remained so until July 3rd, 1912. Many 46 star flags were made earlier, however, in great anticipation of the future addition of the state, which had previously been appointed to Native Americans.

The canton and stripes of the flag are made of wool bunting that has been pieced with hemmed with machine stitching. This gauze-like, open weave fabric, which sheds water. was only employed in the production of flags and banners. Unsuitable for clothing or other utilitarian goods, it was the fabric of choice for all long-term, outdoor use flags between the 18th century and WWII.

The stars of the flag are made of cotton and are double-appliquéd (sewn to both sides) with a zigzag machine stitch. These are configured in staggered rows of 8-7-8-7-8-8, with all of the rows staggered, which is highly unusual for this star count. Typically the rows of lineal patterns of 46 stars have staggered rows of stars in these numbers, but the two rows of 8 that appear next to one-another in line, at the top, in the center, or at the bottom, are justified.

There is a sailcloth canvas binding along the hoist with two white metal grommets. Along this, on the reverse, near the top, “4 x 2 ½” was inscribed, in pencil, to indicate size in feet.

For all practical purposes, prior to the 1890’s commercial flag-makers simply didn't produce wool bunting flags with pieced-and-sewn construction, that were 3 to 4 feet in length. There are exceptions to this rule, but until this time, the smallest sewn flags were generally 6 feet on the fly. This is because the primary use had long been more utilitarian than decorative, and flags needed to be large to be effective as signals. Even those sewn flags made for decorative use tended to be very large by modern standards. Private use grew with the passage of time, however, which led to the need for long-term use flags of more manageable scale.

Beginning around 1890, commercial flag-makers began to produce small flags for the first time in large quantities, namely with dimensions of 2 x 3 feet and 2.5 x 4 feet, like this example. When they did, instead of incorporating the full star count, as-is the case here, they instead almost universally made 13 star flags, applying the same logic long used by the U.S. Navy, which flew 13 star flags on small craft, in order that the stars be more easily viewed from a distance as individual objects. Wool bunting flags with fewer than 48 stars, with sewn construction, that display the full star count for the respective period in which they were made, do exist in the catalogs of flag makers. Because surviving examples are near-to-non-existent, it seems likely that they were only produced on demand, by special order. Because the same scarcity exists in homemade, sewn flags of the period, in these lengths, this 46 star example, at approx. 29” on the hoist by 47.5” on the fly, represents an extraordinarily unusual find.

Mounting: The flag was mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and have framed thousands of examples.

The background is 100% cotton twill, black in color. The black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed molding is Italian. The glazing is U.V. protective plexiglass. Feel free to contact us for more details.

Condition: There is minor soiling along the hoist and in the stars. There is minor mothing throughout, accompanied by two areas of modest mothing, one near the bottom, fly end corner of the canton and one at the hoist end of the 5th red stripe.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 46
Earliest Date of Origin: 1907
Latest Date of Origin: 1912
State/Affiliation: Oklahoma
War Association:
Price: SOLD
 

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