| 48 STAR AMERICAN NATIONAL FLAG WITH ITS CANTON RESTING ON THE WAR STRIPE, POSSIBLY MADE IN FRANCE DURING WWII TO WELCOME U.S. TROOPS IN THE WAKE OF LIBERATION FROM THE NAZIS, WITH VERBAL HISTORY TO NORMANDY |
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| Web ID: | 48j-883 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 47.75" x 63.75" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 37.5" x 53" |
| Description: | |
| 48 star American national flag, probably of the WWII era, displaying some of the general characteristics of the sort encountered in Europe, made to welcome U.S. troops in 1944, following liberation from the Germans. Long ago acquired by myself and another antiques dealer, with the accompanying verbal story of Normandy origin, I have never offered the flag for sale with that description. Today, around 25 years later, I have owned and handled enough liberation flags to feel comfortable with that attribution. Though I do not recall the source, the flag bears all of the hallmarks of flags made to greet G.I.’s as they paraded through the streets on the French countryside, eventually reaching Paris, all along receiving fanfare and attention fit for a king. Either homemade, or perhaps produced by someone with sewing machine access and ample skill, say a seamstress or upholsterer, the flag that is the subject of this narrative is a beautiful one, more carefully and expertly constructed than most. Mostly these were made from whatever French citizens could salvage or recycle from draperies, bed clothes, and leftover fabric. By WWII, video cameras were often present in the aforementioned villages and cities to record the processions. What’s always amazed me is the quantity of commercially-made American flags, waved by onlookers and decorating structures, in places one would never think vaguely possible in the wake of nazi occupation. These accompanied locally made flags, like this example, with all manner of features not commonly encountered in their American-made counterparts. Often the star counts are incorrect and sometimes the stripes. It stands to reason that the French were unfamiliar with the required numbers. Still, I would approximate that at least half are surprisingly accurate in either one or both of these features, though the fabrics, construction, and eccentricities give them away. Here the most obvious deviation is the placement of the canton. Note how this rests on a red stripe as opposed to the usual white. Some flag historians refer to this rare trait as the “blood stripe” or the “war stripe”, suggesting the flag was sometimes constructed in this manner when the nation was at war. Sometimes the placement (made official for the first time in 1912) was sure to have been unknown by the maker, without an image near at hand. It can also be logically guessed that the French were unfamiliar with such subtle design intricacies of the Stars & Stripes. Whatever the case may be, the war stripe feature is present on very few flags, results in an interesting visual difference, and has developed a mystical aura in the collector community that has makes it very desirable, no matter what the circumstance. The flag is made entirely of cotton. The stripes were made with a plain weave fabric and joined by machine. The stars were hand-clipped, and though all were oriented with one point directed upward (the official format following an Executive order of president William Howard Taft in 1912), exhibit wide variation from one to the next. These were double-appliqued (applied to both sides), and were machine-sewn in such a way that the lines of stitching run from point-to-point, back and forth across the their centers. The edges of the stars were not folded under and have thus experienced some wear, which results in more profound eccentricities than may otherwise be present. The flag’s indigo blue canton, slightly faded from long-term exposure, is made of a single length of twill-woven fabric. This is machine-hemmed along the top edge. There is a wide, plain weave cotton binding along the hoist, in the form of an open sleeve, through which a length of braided hemp or jute rope as passed, looped at the top, and securely hand-stitched into position along the outermost edge. The binding was applied by machine and hemmed in the same fashion along the top and bottom. Most of the liberation flags I have written up and sold as such came from sources through which I had greater knowledge of the flag’s origin and therefore greater confidence. Though I feel the need to pass along the flag’s verbal story, the homemade and unusual features of which bear witness to its association with other flags of the suggested origin, the merits of the flag, in my offering of it, are more-so based upon the attractive presentation of these homemade characteristics and rare, war stripe feature, and less upon its unconfirmed story, regardless of its likelihood. The 48 star flag became official in 1912 following the addition of New Mexico and Arizona. It remained the official flag throughout WWI (U.S. involvement 1917-18), WWII (U.S. involvement 1941-45), and the Korean War (1950-53), until Alaska gained statehood in 1959 and the 49th star was added. Provenance: The flag is presently being exhibited in Washington, DC in the office of United States Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as part of a large, ongoing loan exhibition by Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc. to the Department of Health & Human Services at the Herbert J. Humphrey Building. Many years prior, from approximately 2010 to 1013, it was displayed in a similar lend exhibition by Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc. at the Kennedy home in Mt. Kisco, New York, known as the Kennedy Green House, which showcased green technologies and materials. Mounting: For 25 years we have maintained a specialized department for this purpose. Our lead conservator holds a master's degree in textile conservation from one of the nation’s top university programs. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples. The black-painted, hand-gilded, and distressed molding is Italian. The background is 100% cotton twill, black in color, that was washed and treated for colorfastness. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas). Condition: In addition to the aforementioned fading there is some soiling along the hoist. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age. The flag presents exceptionally well. |
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| Video: | |
| Collector Level: | Intermediate-Level Collectors and Special Gifts |
| Flag Type: | Sewn flag |
| Star Count: | 48 |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1941 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1945 |
| State/Affiliation: | Arizona |
| War Association: | WW 2 |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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