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  EXTREMELY RARE SILK PARADE FLAG, MADE FOR THE 1844 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF HENRY CLAY, WITH THE WHIG PARTY'S RACCOON MASCOT AND A CLEVER SLOGAN, THE PLATE EXAMPLE FROM THE BOOK "THREADS OF HISTORY"

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Description....:
EXTREMELY RARE SILK PARADE FLAG, MADE FOR THE 1844 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF HENRY CLAY, WITH THE WHIG PARTY'S RACCOON MASCOT AND A CLEVER SLOGAN, THE PLATE EXAMPLE FROM THE BOOK "THREADS OF HISTORY":

13 star American parade flag, printed on silk, made for the 1844 presidential campaign of Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen. The raccoon was the symbol of the Whig party, just as the Donkey and Elephant are symbols of the Republican and Democratic parties. In the open center panel of the stripe field, a cartoon illustration of the Whig mascot is posed on a fence rail, in front of a whimsical moon, with his thumb to his nose and the following slogan below:

The moon was shining silver bright, The stars with glory crowned the night, High on a rail "that same old coon" Was singing to himself this tune.

Clare de kitchen--
Hurrah! hurrah!
For Henry Clay!
This very rare and important flag is the actual plate example from the book "Threads of History" by Herbert Ridgeway Collins, Smithsonian Press, 1978, which serves as the "Bible" of political flag collecting.

Clay's campaign focused on the creation of a national currency, promotion of agriculture, and protection of American industry through such devices as protective tariffs. The gear in the canton represents the importance of the advancement of America into the industrial age and less reliance on foreign goods. As it turned out, this issue was not as important to Americans as westward expansion, which was the platform of the successful presidential candidate, James Polk.

It is interesting to note that the 1844 election was the first in which an incumbent president, John Tyler, sought nomination and didn't get it, which made Polk the Democrat's dark horse nominee. It is also interesting that Joseph Smith, who founded the Mormon Church in 1847, was the third candidate. No flags or textiles are known to exist from the Smith campaign.

Biographical Information on Clay and Frelinghuysen:

Henry Clay was born in Virginia on April 12th, 1777, about 2 months before the Stars & Stripes was adopted as the American national flag (June 14th). He studied law at Richmond and moved to Kentucky to practice. In 1806, Clay became a U.S. Senator, even though he was actually younger than 30 years old, the minimum age by constitutional law. This was the beginning of a nearly uninterrupted 46-year term in the House and Senate, where he served as both Speaker and Chairman, respectively. He also served as Secretary of State for John Quincy Adams. Clay ran unsuccessfully for the presidency three times. He ran as a Democratic Republican in 1824, then as a National Republican in 1832, and as a Whig in 1844. He afterwards returned to the Senate, which he served until his death in 1852.

Theodore Frelinghuysen was born in Franklin, NJ in 1787. Before he ran for vice president, he was an attorney, then a U.S. Senator serving New Jersey, then Mayor of Newark, then Chancellor of New York University. In 1850 he became President of Rutgers College, and remained in that position until his death in 1862. His grandson was Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.

Mounting: The flag has not yet been mounted.

Condition: There is minor to moderate loss around the outer edge and in limited areas within the body of the flag. There is moderate dye transfer from where other flags of the same type rested against the stripes of the flag, probably following whatever rally in which they were used.
Collector Level: Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings
Flag Type: Parade flag
Star Count: 13
Earliest Date of Origin: 1844
Latest Date of Origin: 1844
State/Affiliation: 13 Original Colonies
War Association: 1777-1860 Pre-Civil War
Price: SOLD
 

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