| HAND-PAINTED PATRIOTIC BANNER WITH THE SEAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE AND GREAT FOLK QUALITIES, , PROBABLY MADE FOR THE 1868 DEMOCRAT NATIONAL CONVENTION IN NEW YORK CITY |
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| Web ID: | pat-248 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 74" x 52.5" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 65" x 34" |
| Description: | |
| Swallowtail format, patriotic, vertical banner, made in the period between roughly 1861 and the 1876 centennial of American Independence. Entirely hand-painted on fine cotton canvas, the textile is tacked to its original wooden staff, capped at either end with acorn finials. A length of red wool tape was employed to reinforce the points at which the tacks were affixed. Note the bold and interesting imagery that includes a folded streamer with modernistic qualities, canted across the top register, set against a cornflower blue ground with 23 visible stars. Below this is a field of 11 red and white stripes. Although their number is unexpected for an American object—the typical count being 13 to reflect the original 13 colonies and mirror the symbolism present in the American national flag, it is of interest to note that their order follows a basic rule of heraldry for vertical bars/stripes, called “pales” (the formal term when vertical), so that they begin and end in white. Superimposed on both registers is a gold medallion of floriated scrollwork, inside which is an interpretation of seal of the state of Delaware. Executed in a style that exhibits great folk qualities, there is an endearing primitive nature in the faces of what is supposed to represent a farmer and a minuteman. Artists painting state seals in early America took great liberty in their work. Note how the ‘farmer’ holds a spade but is clearly clothed as a sailor, with a billowing frock, tied at the neck with a bandanna, and a flat-topped, jack tar hat. His left hand upholds a three-masted tall ship, thus portrayed as if in miniature above the top center of the central shield—a very interesting feature not typically present. Note how the hat of the minuteman is likewise that of a seaman, so that both figures emphasize the importance of the sea to the state. The arched stripe in the center of the shield is supposed to be rendered in blue, and symbolically reflect the Delaware River. Here it is instead illustrated in red, perhaps to symbolize the blood of war, or simply by accident, the artist failing to recognize its importance or perhaps working from a black and white image, or else a written description that failed to specify color. Due to the combination of artist’s license and the challenges of disseminating detailed artistic information in early America, tons of variation occurred in the illustration of state seals, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. Banners of this type were often hoisted on single vertical staffs that held the rope aloft in the center. This basic style was both carried in parades and affixed to indoor mounts. Similar state banners and related decorations with state imagery can be seen along the walls at early political conventions, or hoisted among the benches, to denote where the respective delegates sat. Others in the same form are known for Illinois, Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Massachusetts, as well as New York City. The latest state among these is Kansas, which gained statehood in the opening year of the Civil War (1861). The presence of the New York City example strongly suggests that the event where they were used occurred in New York. From 1793 until 1847 the figures of the farmer and minuteman were eliminated from Delaware’s coat of arms and in 1847, the motto "Liberty and Independence" was added on a ribbon underneath the shield, so the design post-dates that year. The manner of construction, including the fabric and the painted surface, as well as the collection of seal designs, as a group, and the collective style of the overall imagery, suggest that the banners date to the third quarter of the 19th century. The only political convention held in New York, for either party, at any time between 1861 and 1900, took pace in 1868, when the Democrat National Convention was held at Manhattan’s Tammany Hall. A colorful illustration, printed for Joseph Shannon’s “Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York,” shows the interior of the building masterfully festooned with patriotic banners, medallions, and buntings of similar nature. Only the front and the central interior are pictured, but two full sets of state-identifying decorations are shown. Though neither happens to match this particular style, the particular banners may have been the set carried in the parade that accompanied the event. These may have afterwards been simply rolled up or hung elsewhere on the premises. The amount of wealth at Tammany Hall at the time, and the artistic resources available to produce the banners, were more easily accessed in New York than anywhere else in the nation, save perhaps Philadelphia. An alternative, though less likely possibility, is that the banners were used in festivities pertaining to the 100-year anniversary of American independence in 1876, either in New York or at an event such as the Centennial International Exhibition, our nation’s first World’s Fair, held in Philadelphia in that year. In addition to each individual state, New York City may have maintained a pavilion at the Centennial Expo. I would consider this far more likely if a banner representing the City of Philadelphia was known. Whatever the case may be, the particular banner is a bold, graphic, and colorful survivor of the latter 19th century, and the only privately held example of this sort that I am aware to exist with the device of of Delaware. A banner from the same series, featuring Kentucky, is illustrated in “Stars & The Stripes: Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art” by Deborah Harding, (2002, Rizzoli International Publications, New York,) p. 52-53. 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 programs. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples. The banner has been hand-stitched to a background 100% cotton, black in color, that was washed and treated for colorfastness. The mount was then placed in a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed Italian molding. A shadowbox was created to accommodate the staff. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic. Condition: There is minor soiling. There was minor to paint loss throughout, accompanied by moderate to significant loss in the lower portion of the striped field. Professional restoration was undertaken in the latter region. Great care was taken to tread lightly and preserve the early appearance of the presentation. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age and history of use. |
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| Collector Level: | Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
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| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1861 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1876 |
| State/Affiliation: | Delaware |
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| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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