| MONUMENTAL, HAND-PAINTED & BLOCK-PRINTED BANNER, MADE FOR THE 1876 CENTENNIAL INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION IN PHILADELPHIA, WITH A SPREAD-WINGED EAGLE, CROSSED FLAGS, AND THE NAMES OF 37 STATES; EXTREMELY RARE; ARGUABLY THE MOST ELABORATE OF ALL KNOWN TEXTILES PRODUCED FOR THE EVENT |
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| Web ID: | pat-339 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 64" x 56.75" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 52.25" x 44.25" |
| Description: | |
| This extraordinary hand-painted and block-printed textile was made for display at the 1876 Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia. This was America’s first World’s Fair. 225 buildings were erected to host the event, which occurred over a span of 6th months. The largest of these was the biggest building in the world at the time, with an astounding footprint of 21 acres on the interior. Decorative splendor was simply over the top everywhere one might look, with thousands of flags, banners, bunting, and streamers commissioned to garnish art and architecture of the highest order. Likely made to be framed by molding in a paneled room, this style of banner-like object is arguably the most graphic of anything known to exist in textiles produced for the centennial celebration. Made in two identified versions, one black and the other white, this example of the black variant is one of five known copies. One of these resides in the collection of the Smithsonian. Documented in “Threads of History” by Herbert Ridgeway Collins, (Smithsonian Press, 1979), it appears as plate # 433 on page 205. Another is among the holdings of the New York State Museum at Albany. The remaining two are in private hands. The background is fine canvas or muslin. The combination of the black, polychrome paint, glazed with shellac or varnish, is exceptional, with extensive craquelure throughout. The lustrous appearance is akin to waxed cotton or oilcloth. For a collector of American folk art, the surface is about as exceptional as one could possibly get. Colorfully painted and printed in red, white, blue, golden yellow, green, and salmon, the graphics are dominated by the circular center medallion. Here there is a large, spread-winged eagle, encircled with laurel leaves and with the rays of the rising sun above, gripping crossed flags in its talons and a rippling streamer in its beak that reads: “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Neither the star nor stripe counts here reflect the period of the banner’s manufacture. All of the flags bear 36 stars [noting that one star, in the top row, of the flag held in the eagle’s proper left talon, is covered by a tasseled streamer]. The flags in the center each display 10 stripes, while those in the corners display 8. None of the above has any purpose other than the decorative display of patriotic artwork. Meanings aside, note how the cantons of all 10 flags rest on a red stripe instead of white. This feature, mythicized to represent a time when the nation was at war, is a notable trait among American flag enthusiasts and collectors, purposeful or not. 37 states are represented in the decorative border that surrounds the center medallion. At the topmost point of these is Pennsylvania, the location of the Expo. This count excludes Colorado, “the Centennial State,” that entered on August 1st, 1876. Colorado had almost certainly not yet been added at the time the banner was designed. Though Colorado came in after the expo was open, and a star was not officially added to the state until July 4th of the following year (1877), Colorado is typically included—presumptively, I expect—on most flags and patriotic textiles produced for celebrations of our nation’s 100th anniversary. Given the level of detail and sophistication present in this textile, it’s likely that the banners were ordered well in advance of the event, the planning of which began years beforehand. Although identified as a table cover in the Collins text, it is more likely these were displayed vertically, tacked to the wall and, no-doubt, elaborately framed by wooden molding, in a grand hall of some sort. The art museum, known as Memorial Hall—one of just two buildings from the Expo that still stands today in Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park—is definitely a conceivable place where these may have been originally installed. The presence of one in Albany suggests that use in the New York building was likewise plausible. Take particular note of the use of stipple painting that predominates the flags, the interior of the eagle’s feathers, the rays of the sun, the perimeter of the shield at the bottom center, with its 6 stars and “Anniversary of the Nation’s Birth” text, and the plumes of stacked floral medallions above the arched names of each state. This technique is present in the laurel leaves and vines, as well as the textile’s elaborate border of flora and fauna, fenced within lines of repeating geometric designs. All of this is hand-done, save for the text and perhaps some of the borders, which are both block-printed and hand-painted. Text in the border of the circular medallion reads as follows: “Declaration of Independence Adopted July 4th 1776.” [above], and “Centennial Celebration of Independence July 4th 1876.” [below], flanked to either side by floriated scrollwork. All in all, one of the most exceptional patriotic textiles that I know to exist. It is of interest to note that two others, both privately owned, have been identified in the white variant, rendered in red and blue. Sadly, one of these was lost in the California wild fires in 2025, while the other survived in deplorable condition. Mounting: This is a pressure mount between 100% hemp fabric, ivory in color, and U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas). The mount has been placed in a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed, Italian molding. Condition: There is general wear with associated loss around the perimeter and minor paint loss throughout, with fold lines and some tears. Many of my clients prefer early flags and banners to show their age and history of use. The textile presents beautifully and its extreme rarity well-warrants almost any state of preservation. |
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| Video: | |
| Collector Level: | Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
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| Earliest Date of Origin: | 52.25" x 44.25" |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 64" x 56.75" |
| State/Affiliation: | Pennsylvania |
| War Association: | |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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