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  31 STAR ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG WITH A RARE VARIATION OF THE “GREAT STAR” PATTERN AND "FLORIDA" PAINTED IN THE STRIPED FIELD, PART OF A GROUP OF EXAMPLES REPRESENTING BOTH STATES & TERRITORIES, MADE TO MARK THE SEATS WHERE THE RESPECTIVE DELEGATES SAT AT THE 1860 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL “WIGWAM” CONVENTION IN CHICAGO, WHERE LINCOLN WAS SELECTED FROM THE 3RD BALLOT TO BECOME THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’S FIRST EVER SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE; FOUND IN MIDDLETOWN, NY AMONG THE EFFECTS OF WHIG

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 23" x 27.25"
Flag Size (H x L): 11.25" x 14.5"
Description....:
31 star American national parade flag, printed on glazed cotton, with the word "Florida" 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, and the only one of the group documented in a text on the subject of early American flags and/or political objects. Held at the Wigwam building at the corner of Lake Street & Market (now Waker 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 Florida Delegates, 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.”

Others I know to exist today, lettered in the same manner, include Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, which I was privileged to acquire (among some of the others already named), plus New York and Louisiana, which 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 by them numbers “211” and “212,” hand-inscribed on each flag in their usual fashion, accompanied by a red-inked “Mastai Collection” stamp.

Sometime after June of 1976, the Florida example was evidently acquired by the late Howard Hazelcorn, identified to him, with an accompanying photograph, documented on page 46 of the book "Collecting Lincoln," by Stuart Schneider (1997, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, PA). Schneider states in the caption that the flag had been “found with a group, from several states,” noting the Wigwam attribution.

The flag’s 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.

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.

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.

While the purchaser may have sometimes been a campaign manager, at other times it was probably the result of local supporters who wished to make a favorable impression on the politician and/or the participating attendees. In either case, a festive star pattern may have typically been preferred, regardless of the star count, as the stars couldn't be easily counted at a mere glance. As previously noted, other flags that likely came from this grouping displayed 33 stars.

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 this basic star configuration 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, with a Great Star pattern that bears a star between each arm. An example in this style 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 of which are rare and most of which exist as the only known example in any given style. And 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 them representing Whig candidate Winfield Scott.

While the 31 star count does not exclude Democrat Party conventions in 1852 (Baltimore) or 1856 (Cincinnati), or the American Convention (Know Nothing Party) in 1856 (Philadelphia), Democrats appear to have made little use of flags, perhaps because they were slower to adapt to the pursuit of campaign advertising in general, and Know-Nothing material is off-the-charts rare, with no known campaign parade flags. 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, on the other hand, 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, candidates, or their representatives, the fact that there were far fewer Democrat rallies probably contributes significantly lower number of Democrat examples that survive today that represent 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.

One of the reasons why this particular flag is so important is because early flags of any sort relating to Florida are exceedingly rare. American national flags with 27 stars, for example, made at the time when Florida gained statehood, are among the rarest of all 19th century examples of the Stars & Stripes. Very few period examples exist and most major collections of early flags that have been assembled over the years have not included one. One of the reasons why 27 star flags are so rare is that the star count was official for only one year. Florida became the 27th state on March 3rd, 1845. After the Third Flag Act (1818), stars were officially added to the national flag on the 4th of July following a state's addition. This meant that the 27th star would theoretically have been added on July 4th, 1845. Because the makers of flags, both private and public, seem to have cared little for the acts of Congress, however, or were perhaps completely ignorant of the pertinent legislation, the 27th star would have been added by most makers at the time of the addition of the state. Sometimes it would have even occurred beforehand, in hopeful anticipation. The practice of adding stars in an anticipatory fashion became quite popular in the mid-late 19th century, accurately capturing the spirit of a nation in eager pursuit of Manifest Destiny. In the 1840's, nowhere is this more profoundly illustrated than in a rare type of printed cotton flag, produced for the 1844 political campaign of James Polk, which bears an expected count of 26 white stars, arranged in a double-wreath style medallion within the blue canton, plus a 27th blue star just outside it, in the first white stripe, to promote Polk's support of the addition of Texas. At the time of their manufacture, it was apparently unknown that Florida would arrive first.

Texas entered the Union as the 28th state on December 29th, 1845, approximately 9.5 months after the addition of Florida. While the 28th star was not officially added until July 4th, 1846, most flag-makers would have once again added it on or before Texas' addition. For this reason, production of 27 star flags had a realistic window of approximately just 9-10 months, which meant that it would be one of the shortest lasting star counts in American history.

Another reason why 27 star flags are so scarce is that they were produced at a time before the Stars & Stripes was in widespread use. Flags made prior to the Civil War are rare, comprising less than one percent of 19th century flags that exist in the 21st century. There was very little private use of the American prior to the Civil War (1861-1865) for general, patriotic purpose. Most flag use was on ships both public and private, as well as for government or military affairs. What little use there was of parade flags pre-war seems to have been largely limited to political campaigning, and even within that function, surviving examples are extremely scarce. Because most 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 probably shared the same function, having been produced for political use in some capacity.

Even the military did not use the national flag in a manner that most people might think. Most people are surprised to learn that the infantry wasn't authorized to carry the Stars & Stripes until well into the 19th century. The foremost purpose before the Civil War (1861-65) was to identify ships on the open seas. While the flag was used to mark garrisons and government buildings, the flags of ground forces were limited to the those of their own regiment and a perhaps a federal standard (a blue or buff yellow flag bearing the arms of the United States). Artillery units were the first to be afforded the privilege in 1834. Infantry followed in 1841, but cavalry not until 1862. The first actual war in which the Stars & Stripes was officially carried was thus the Mexican War (1846-48). In more than 20 years of aggressive buying and research, I have encountered almost no American national flags produced in an obvious military style that are of the Mexican War period.

The scarcity of Florida material persisted because the population of the state was so miniscule and remained, relative to other Eastern States especially, throughout the 19th century. At the time of statehood, Florida’s population of 66,381 had just surpassed the 60,000 total necessary for a region in the Northwest Territory to become a state, as specified in the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, though that legislation required 60,000 free adults, while more than half of Florida’s population was comprised of slaves. Florida was not, however, located in the Northwest Territory, and compromise was necessary to maintain the terms of the Missouri Compromise, which required an equal balance of Free and Slave States. Growth occurred but was slow. By 1860, the population had grown to 140,000. There were several skirmishes in Florida during the Civil War, though just one major battle, and since so little occurred there, and so few units were raised there or even crossed its border, either Southern or Northern, very few Civil War flags would even have a change of bearing any sort of relationship to the state. Further, since significant Florida participation in World’s Fairs didn’t occur until the 1890’s, flags or banners produced for such function, or for any other patriotic representation of the state, are as rare as any and all others that survive with any manner of Florida relation whatsoever.

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. The time of the flag’s manufacture is very close to that of Florida statehood, from which nearly nothing survives, and 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 and perhaps in a near tie with Jefferson. 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.

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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: 1858
State/Affiliation: Florida
War Association: 1777-1860 Pre-Civil War
Price: SOLD
 

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