| ANTIQUE AMERICAN PARADE FLAG WITH “VIRGINIA" PAINTED AROSS THE STRIPED FIELD & 31 STARS ARRANGED IN A FORM OF THE “GREAT STAR” PATTERN; PART OF A GROUP REPRESENTING STATES & TERRITORIES, DISPLAYED AT THE 1860 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CHICAGO (A.K.A. THE WIGWAM COVENTION), WHERE ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS SELECTED FROM THE 3RD BALLOT TO BECOME THE PARTY’S FIRST SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE; FOUND IN MIDDLETOWN, NY AMONG THE EFFECTS OF WHIG / REPUBLICAN PARTY ORGANIZER HALSTEAD SWEET |
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| Web ID: | 31j-843 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | Approx. 22.5" x 25.5" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 11.25" x 14.25" |
| Description: | |
| 31 star American national parade flag, printed on glazed cotton, with the word "Virginia" painted across the striped field in bold, black letters. An extraordinary example, this particular flag is one of a group reported to have been used at the 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago. Held at the Wigwam building at the corner of Lake Street & Market (now Wacker Dr.), on property owned by the Garrett Theological Seminary, this is commonly referred to as the “Wigwam Convention.” It was here that Abraham Lincoln was famously selected from the 3rd ballot to run for President of the United States on the Republican Party’s anti-slavery platform. Made for the Virginia delegation, the flag is part of a series with the names of both states and territories, rendered in like fashion, that marked where delegates from each corresponding location were seated. The group surfaced when obtained by Antique Dealers Jan & Larry Malis of New Canaan, Connecticut, from an estate in Middletown, New York, as described by Larry in a June 21st, 1975 letter to a client who purchased the Kentucky example: “The estate was pure, having been unpicked with no additions at the time we got to it. There were 3 related families represented, all active in New York State and local politics for several generations. We obtained all of the political memorabilia with the exception of personal family documents and photos. The period covered was from 1840 through approx. 1890. The flag was from a group that was documented in family papers as having been from the Lincoln/Hamlin Republican Convention of 1860. The group consisted of identical flags (yours included); two had “Lincoln & Hamlin” printed in black on the face, and 37 identical flags each had the name of an individual state of the Union printed on the face in identical fashion. These 37 flags represented 37 of the 42 attending States and territories at the time. My memory is a little unsure on the following point, but, if memory serves these were originally owned by a gentleman of the name of Halstead Sweet or his direct descendant.” Halstead Sweet was a prominent Whig supporter who, due to his abolitionist position, became a stalwart Republican. He ran for numerous political offices and actively campaigned for himself, his party, and others.* 19 of the flags in the group were inventoried in a follow up letter from Larry Malis to the same buyer, dated the following year on June 22nd, 1976, the remainder obviously having been sold beforehand. In this he states: “Belatedly, here is the list of flags you requested from us… Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Minnesota, Ohio, California, Maine, Oregon, Connecticut, North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa, Delaware, Alabama, Georgia. Price on each of the above is $30 plus postage and Ins., offered subject to prior sale. Hope all is well with you and have a good summer. The bicentennial is building up real steam around here. We just did the big Americana ’76 on 52nd street in New York. The wildest and wooliest thing you ever saw.” The "Florida" example is documented in a book by Stuart Schneider called "Collecting Lincoln" (1997, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, PA), on page 46, accompanied by the Wigwam story. Others I know to exist today, lettered in the same manner, include Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, both of which I was privileged to acquire (among some of the others listed above), plus New York and Louisiana. The latter two were acquired by early collectors Boleslaw and Marie D'Otrange Mastai. The Mastai examples, each with 33 stars, though otherwise in the same exact pattern, size, and style, were recorded with the numbers “211” and “212” hand-inscribed on each flag in the usual Mastai fashion, accompanied by a red-inked “Mastai Collection” stamp. On this particular, Virginia delegates’ flag, 31 stars are arranged in a rendition of what is known as the “Great Star” pattern, a star made out of stars. Because there was no official star design for the American national flag until 1912, the pattern was left to the liberties of the maker. Among known star configurations, the Great Star is one of the most coveted geometric designs in flag collecting. Note how the center of this particular variant is comprised of a pentagon of stars, surrounding a single, center star. This is encircled by a wreath of 10 stars, arranged in 5 groups of 2, from which the points of the Great Star formation extend. Unlike some Great Star patterns, note how this style is characterized by a perimeter of semi-circular, concave valleys that terminate in especially pointy arms. Also note how there is an additional star between each arm, outside the basic pattern. California became the 31st state in 1850, ushered in on the heels of the 1849 Gold Rush. The 31 star flag became official on July 4th, 1851, and remained so until July 3rd, 1858. 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. Use of parade flags prior to the Civil War seems to have been largely limited to political campaigning. There was very little private use of flags pre-war, for general patriotic purpose not associated with government or military affairs. Because most of the pre-Civil War parade flags that exist have the names of presidential candidates printed directly on them, it is logical to suggest that even those that do not share this feature were produced for political campaigns in some fashion. Although there were 33 states in 1860, and the flag officially bore 33 stars until June 3rd, 1861, flags used by politicians during the 19th century often had a star count that lagged behind that whatever was official at the time. One explanation for this might be that the star count wasn’t important to the person ordering these small, printed flags. Perhaps a discount was given for slightly outdated stock, or because rallies may have been held on short notice, outdated star counts were the only thing that typically may have been on a flag-maker's shelves, with most orders produced on demand with greater lead time. Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 against three other significant candidates, including Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, also of Lincoln’s home state of Illinois, Southern Democrat John Breckinridge of Kentucky, and independent John Bell, of Tennessee, who ran on the Constitutional Union Party ticket. In addition to the information provided by the Malis’s, regarding the flags with “Lincoln & Hamlin” campaign advertising that were found among the Halstead Sweet family effects, alongside the state and territorial-designated, Wigwam Convention flags, it is important to note that other Lincoln & Hamlin flags are known, in both the 31 and 33 star counts, with the basic star configurations and in this same size. The same maker--as of yet, unidentified--is also known to have produced flags for the 1860 campaign of Northern Democrat Steven Douglas, with 31 stars configured in the same manner. A like example also survives from the 1856 presidential campaign of Republican John Frémont. While it is feasible that flags in this style were produced for the 1856 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, the first for the newly-formed party, this style of flag is extremely unusual among known political campaign flags in that year. All are rare. Most exist as one-of-one – that is, the only known example in any given style. Further, while the count of 31 stars does not exclude the 1852 Whig convention in Baltimore, campaign flags from that year are practically unknown. Just one flag and a tiny handful of kerchiefs have been identified, all of which were made in support of Whig candidate Winfield Scott. While the 31 star count does not exclude the 1852 Democrat Party convention in Baltimore, the 1856 Democrat Party convention in Cincinnati, or the 1856 American Party (Know Nothings) convention in Philadelphia, Democrats appear to have made very little use of flags, perhaps because they were slower to adapt to the pursuit of campaign advertising in general, and Know-Nothing material is equally rare. Campaigning for public office was generally considered to be unbecoming of a gentleman until 1840, when Whig candidate William Henry Harrison became the first to actively pursue the venture. The first campaign flags were produced for his ticket. Democrats were slow to respond. None exist for Harrison’s Democrat opponent, Martin Van Buren. Since most political objects were produced for a profit by independent businessmen, as opposed to being commissioned by political parties or candidates, the fact that there were far fewer Democrat rallies probably contributes to the significantly lower number of surviving Democrat examples from mid-19th century elections. This disparity persists until the late 19th century. It is of interest to note that at least one other parade flag survives that bears 30 stars, arranged in a different version of the Great Star pattern, across which the word "Verginia" (misspelled) is formally printed, as opposed to being hand-painted like the 1860 Wigwam examples. Using similar-sized characters, that flag was likely produced by E.C. Williams of Rochester, NY, whose name accompanies the overprinted text. If the flag made by Williams was part of a similar series, used to designate seating areas for 1848 or perhaps 1852 convention delegates, then it would be logical to presume that the concept for the series of 31 star flags was carried forward from an earlier series of similar flags. In summary, this is an extraordinary, pre-Civil War flag, with a Rolls Royce level star configuration among its counterparts of the 19th century, with beautiful graphics and with the name of a rather wealthy and populous state boldly emblazoned across it, for which examples of the Stars & Stripes, in any form, are so exceptionally rare that practically nothing exists. Beyond all of these persuasive features is the fact that the flag was used in the campaign of an American president of extraordinary popularity, second to that of only Washington himself. Flags relating to Lincoln’s two campaigns for the White House, the first of these representing the first ever Republican achievement of our nation’s highest office, are among the most coveted of all early American flags. * Brief Biography of Halstead Sweet (Apr. 19th, 1806 – Nov. 4th 1886): Born in 1806 Halstead Sweet, son of Revolutionary War soldier Benoni Sweet of the 4th New York Rgt., was an extremely active Whig-turned Republican. He appears to have served as an officer in the 119th NY Infantry Rgt. of New York State Militia, with his rank of ensign terminated prior to 1858 (these were social clubs; likely he moved or became uninvolved). As early as 1841, while residing in the town of Mammakating, NY, Sullivan County, local Whigs nominated Sweet to run for state assembly. Moving to Wallkill, NY, Orange County (Middletown Post Office), around 1846, he once again received the Whig nomination, this time for the office of state senator, in 1851. Both of these bids were unsuccessful. Sweet was a hotel proprietor, owned a liquor store, and ran a very successful stagecoach line. He resided in Middletown during the Lincoln White House. His obituary in the New York Times (Friday, March 5th, 1886, p. 2) reads as follows: “Mr. Sweet was a prominent whig, and since the formation of the Republican Party had been a leader in its councils in Orange County. He was a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from 1856 to 1863, both years inclusive, and in 1876 was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket. Mr. Sweet was the candidate of his party once for Congress in the 14th district of this state [1876]. For many years up to 1870 he ran stage lines from Middletown to Monticello, Ellenville, Bloomingburg, and Wurtsboro. His old hotel at Middletown, the New-York and Erie Railroad House, has been the stopping place of many of the old time statesmen and other public men.” One of Halstead’s two daughters, Mary, married the 1861 Lincoln-appointed Postmaster of Middletown. In 1868, Sweet served as an alternate delegate from NY to the Republican National Convention. He also ran unsuccessfully for the NY State Assembly in 1869, where he appears on the same ticket as Republican heavyweight Horace Greeley (who likewise lost his run for office of state comptroller, shortly before turning tail on the Republican Party and, in 1872, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Republican President Ulysses S. Grant for the White House on what was called the “Liberal Democrat” ticket). In 1880, the Evening Post newspaper of Port Jervis, NY, reported that: “Halstead Sweet, the prominent Republican politician of this village who recently served his allegiance to that party, will, it is said, deliver 329 speeches in favor of the Greenback Party, giving as many reasons why General Weaver is a better man than General Garfield.” Brief History of the Great Star Design: The Great Star pattern is thought 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 configuration, the appearance of our flag varied greatly. Reid's primary concern centered on both consistency and ease of recognition. His hope was that as more and more states joined the Union, and more stars were subsequently added to the flag, that the design 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. The Great Star was nevertheless produced by anyone willing to make it and its rarity today, along with its beauty, has driven the desirability of American flags with variants of this beautiful design. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly backwards orientation. In the 19th century, the same flag ethics that exist today did not apply. In fact, display of the American national flag with the canton in the upper left did not enter the American consciousness, as the one correct manner of presentation, until the end of the 19th century, and was not formally dictated as such until the flag code was adopted in 1923. Prior to this time, it was just as common to see the flag displayed with the canton on the right. Mounting: For 25 years we have maintained our own textile conservation department, led by a master’s degree level graduate from one of the nation’s top university programs. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples. The exceptional, water gilded, American molding dates to the period between 1830 and 1860. To this a modern, rippled profile molding, black with gold highlights, was added as a cap. The background is 100% cotton twill, black in color, that has been washed and treated for colorfastness. Spacers keep the textile away from the glazing, which is U.V. protective glass. Feel free to contact us for more details. Condition: There is minor water staining and there are a couple of small dark stains, one in the bottom stripe near the fly end and one in the center of the white area along the hoist. There are tiny holes along the hoist end, where the flag was once tacked to its original wooden staff. There is moderate loss of pigment in the letter "V" and there is minor loss elsewhere in the lettering. There is modest pigment loss in the red stripes in the lower, fly-end quadrant. The absence of total coverage of pigment in the canton is a result of the original printing. The flag presents beautifully and is so rare that it would warrant practically any condition issues. Further, many of my clients prefer flags to show their age and history of use. |
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| Collector Level: | Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
| Flag Type: | Parade flag |
| Star Count: | 31 |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1850 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1860 |
| State/Affiliation: | Virginia |
| War Association: | 1777-1860 Pre-Civil War |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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