| EXTRAORDINARY CONFEDERATE BIBLE FLAG IN THE FIRST NATIONAL FORMAT, MADE OF SILK RIBBON, WITH 14 EMBROIDERED STARS ARRANGED IN THE FORM OF A CANTED CHRISTIAN CROSS; ONE OF JUST THREE KNOWN EXAMPLES WITH A VARIANT OF THIS MAGNIFICENT STAR FORMATION |
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| Web ID: | fcj-947 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 11" x 14.75" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 4.5" x 8.25" |
| Description: | |
| Bible flags were made for a soldier by a loved one, to be presented as a token of patriotism and/or affection when he went away to war. They were little, homemade flags, sewn by a mother, daughter, wife, or sweetheart, often constructed of ladies’ dress silk or ribbon. A woman might use new or leftover fabric, but if the maker was a girlfriend, fiancée, or wife, she might clip fabric from a favorite dress as a way to romanticize the gift. The term “Bible flag” comes from the fact that they were often carried in a Bible, both because this was the safest place that a soldier might keep a flat, treasured object of this sort safe, with limited places to do so, and because they sometimes doubled as a bookmark. Some incorporated corded tassels expressly for this purpose, as well as decorative fringes. Many were small enough to fit in a pocket Bible, though some would necessitate folding; and although others may have never actually been carried, the term has come to encapsulate all small, hand-made flags of this nature, in variants of Confederate designs, measuring approximately a foot or less on the fly (with an occasional outlier). In the North there were professionally-made parade flags (a.k.a., hand-wavers), printed on cotton, or silk, or sometimes on wool, designed to be waved at parades and political events. In the South there were no printed flags of this sort in the Confederate national patterns, at least until the reunion era, which didn’t begin until the latter 1880’s. Even then this did not result in a good deal of production prior to 1900, which is why practically all printed Confederate flags extant today are of 20th century origin. The important part to take away here is that if anything comparable to the printed flags of the North was going to be waved at a parade in the South, during the Civil War, in a national design, it had to be homemade. While Union variants of the Bible flag concept exist, they were primarily a phenomenon of the South. Very few Union examples survive, by comparison, in the strictest sense of the term. From a collector's standpoint, several things are great about Bible flags. One is that they are as different—perhaps even more-so—than one person is from another. They appear not only in a surprising array of star counts, but in a myriad of interpretations of various flag designs, and with a plethora of fabrics, colors, materials, and means of construction. Stars might be embroidered, sewn, gilt-painted, rendered in needlework, or applied using paper, foil, or sequins. Stripes (bars) are often pink instead of red, reflecting the availability of ladies’ fabrics in a household. Sometimes there was fringe. Always there was personality. Most Bible flags that survive are in the First National Confederate flag design, a.k.a. the “Stars & Bars,” which closely resembles the Stars & Stripes, and which most people do not automatically identify as Southern. This is good for collectors in modern times, because they can easily be displayed without a mistaken message. Having set up almost 2,000 exhibitions in both the North and the South over more than 20 years, I can definitively say that nearly none of the attendees ever have any idea what the Confederate 1st National flag is, unless I explain it to them, or they are a serious flag collector, or a Civil War historian. The fact that the design is very much like that of the Stars & Stripes was bad on the battlefield, as it caused great confusion as a signal, but good for present-day Civil War collectors that want to tell both sides of the story without inciting controversy, oddly enough, for very similar reasons. Because they are so personally endearing in nature, Bible flags qualify as a class of their own. Because they are so small, they can easily become a collection unto themselves within a larger collection of more types of flags, fitting neatly into bookshelves and not necessarily even consuming wall space, though they look spectacular when properly hung in small groups and clusters. This extraordinary Confederate Bible flag, in the first national format (a.k.a., Stars & Bars), is one of the best known to exist. Made entirely of silk ribbon and hand-sewn throughout, its stars are arranged in the form of a Christian cross. An exceptionally rare star pattern, known on just two other flags within this intriguing subcategory, the star count of 14 is unique to this example among them. Unusual in its own right, the use of 14 stars reflects the 11 states that officially seceded from the Union, plus 3 additional border states that, while they did not officially secede, generally supported the Southern cause. Two of these, Missouri and Kentucky, were accepted into the Confederate States of American by Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Legislature, in spite of the split views of their respective populous, and were thus represented on most Confederate flags made in or after 1862 (with some exceptions). Though there were 3 additional Border States war’s end, two of these, Maryland and Delaware, represented the remaining two Slave States. Seldom represented on Confederate flags, one of these is very likely to have been the origin of a flag with this peculiar count. Though it general supported the Southern cause, West Virginia, which was annexed from Virginia in June of 1863 to become a Free State, was very unlikely to have been reflected by a 14th star. At approx. 4.5” x 8.25”, the size of the flag falls among the larger examples of flags in this category, which translates to greater visual impact. The orientation of the cross is likewise of notable interest. Canted at an angle, the image draws a parallel between Christ’s burden in the scripture, carrying the cross upon his back on the way to crucifixion, and the burden of the soldier, through his separation from loved ones at home, or simply by way of his wartime duty in general, and the horrors that so often accompanied battle. One of the other two surviving examples displays an 11 star cross in like fashion, while the other presents an upright cross of 13 stars. All of the fabric employed by the maker of the flag is of silk ribbon. The variety used in the blue canton displays two rows of ropelike selvage inside a decorative, picot edge, oriented vertically to punctuate the hoist. The red includes both grosgrain sections and plain woven portions, separated by woven stripes. All of the stitching was done by hand. The stars of the flag are hand-embroidered and six-pointed, each comprised of 3 intersecting lines that present like rowels of a spur. This was a common method of star construction on Bible flags of the Civil war period. The overall presentation, with the strong colors, the decorative nature of the silk ribbon fabrics, the angled cross of embroidered stars on a canton that is taller than it is wide, and the extremely rarity of their configuration, results in one of the most coveted examples a collector can acquire. 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 American, ripple profile molding dates to the period between 1830 and 1850 and retains its original gilded, piecrust liner. This is a pressure mount between 100% hemp fabric, ivory in color, and U.V. protective, crystal clear, Museum acrylic (Plexiglas). Condition: There is minor to modest soiling in the bars. There is a small, L-shaped tear in the lower red bar and extremely tiny spots where the fabric is weak or split, but the flag is extremely stable on the whole and overall exceptional for the period, especially given its use and rarity. |
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| Collector Level: | Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
| Flag Type: | Sewn flag |
| Star Count: | 14 |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1861 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1865 |
| State/Affiliation: | The Confederacy |
| War Association: | 1861-1865 Civil War |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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