Although the 4-5-4
pattern of 13 star flags is one of the earliest
documented configurations of 13 stars used on an
American flag, its use in the years following the Civil
War was extremely limited and rare. 13 star flags
were widely used into the 20th century, most commonly
for maritime and naval vessels. The predominant pattern
found on those of the late 19th century is the Francis
Hopkinson pattern of 3-2-3-2-3. The pattern of
this flag, along with subtle characteristics such as the
freely rotating stars, are stylistically reminiscent of
earlier American flags.
The stars of the flag
are machine stitched with a lineal stitch, rather than a
zig-zag stitch. The zig-zag stitch became
predominant from the mid 1890's into the 20th century,
therefore an estimation of the date of this flag as
circa 1890 or perhaps earlier is reasonable. The
flag's deep blue canton, pleasing proportions, small
size, and rare star pattern combine to make this
wonderful flag visually striking, very scarce and
desirable.
|
