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  47 STARS, VERY RARE, NEW MEXICO STATEHOOD, A HOMEMADE EXAMPLE WITH A LIGHT BLUE CANTON AND EXTRAORDINARY FOLK QUALITIES, 1912

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 55.25" x 82.25"
Flag Size (H x L): 42.5" x 71"
Description....:
47 STARS, VERY RARE, NEW MEXICO STATEHOOD, A HOMEMADE EXAMPLE WITH A LIGHT BLUE CANTON AND EXTRAORDINARY FOLK QUALITIES, 1912:

47 star American National flag, an extremely rare star count and especially so on homemade examples, like this one, which has both beautiful color and extraordinary folk qualities. Note in particular the fat, starfish-like stars that vary in size and point in all directions on their vertical axis. The light blue canton is an exceptional backdrop for the whimsical collage.

This is one of the four rare star counts from the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Flags with 40, 41, 43, and 47 stars are rare because they were only accurate for a matter of days. New Mexico became the 47th state on January 6th, 1912, followed by Arizona on February 14th, just 38 days later.

The official New Year for the American flag was Independence Day, at which time a star would be added for each new state that entered the Union over the preceding flag year. Stars were thus added for the 47th and 48th states on July 4th, 1912, and 48 became the new official star count.

Some commercial flag-makers did produce 47 star flags, however, either under special order or as novelties, or possibly in anticipation of the addition of the 47th state. During the second half of the 19th century, flag-makers generally cared far less about what was official and considerably more about what would sell. Unless they were producing flags under government contract, flag-makers would add a star as soon as the state was added, or even sometime beforehand, in hopeful anticipation of the change and the corresponding jump in demand for new flags.

But this is a homemade flag and homemade examples even more variation because they were completely subject to the whims of the maker. And while one might assume that it would be more likely to find homemade examples of flags with unofficial stars counts, especially in this late period, the fact of the matter is that homemade 47 star flags are far scarcer than their commercially-made counterparts.

Construction: The flag is made entirely of cotton, pieced with a treadle machine. The stars are single-appliqued. This means that they were applied to one side of the canton, then the blue calico fabric was cut from behind each star, folded over, and under-hemmed, so that one appliqued star could be visible on both sides of the flag. I always find single-appliqued stars more interesting, sometimes because they are more visually intriguing and always because, when executed properly, they are firm evidence of an even more difficult level of seam-work and stitching. The visual expectation is certainly the case here.

Mounting: Don't be fooled by the seemingly backwards orientation. It wasn't until the period between roughly 1890 and 1900 that the flag ethics we have today began to emerge and they didn't fully blossom until WWII. This is a 2-sided flag, but the appearance of this side is visually superior to the other. The flag has been stitched to 100% silk organza on every seam and throughout the star field for support. Then flag was then hand-sewn to background of 100% cotton twill, black in color, which was washed to reduce excess dye. An acid-free agent was added to the wash to further set the dye and the fabric was heat-treated for the same purpose. The flag was then placed in a black-painted and hand-gilded, contemporary Italian molding. The front is u.v. protective acrylic.

Condition: There are very minor tears, accompanied by minor foxing and staining throughout. There has also been some loss at fly end from wind shear. No binding stitches remain. The flag presents beautifully, however, and many of my clients actually prefer early flags to show their age and history of use.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 47
Earliest Date of Origin: 1912
Latest Date of Origin: 1912
State/Affiliation: New Mexico
War Association:
Price: SOLD
 

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