While 48 star flags are
actually quite common and can be found regularly in
antique stores and on auction and sale sites, there are
always great rarities within any star count, and among
48 star flags this is one of them. The flag is the
only that I am aware of marked with the date of
Armistice Day, later to become our national holiday,
Veterans Day. The formal end of hostilities for World
War I ended in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month of 1918. The day, originally known as
Armistice Day, was marked by President Woodrow Wilson as
a day to honor the heroism of those who died in the war.
Armistice Day became a recurring holiday in 1938 and
later in 1954 under President Eisenhower, the holiday
was legally changed to Veterans Day, a day to celebrate the sacrifices
and heroism of all veterans from all wars.
The flag is marked on
the hoist, in pencil, with the name A. W. Huffman,
and although the family history behind the flag is lost,
it's clear from the construction techniques and
materials that the flag is a homemade example. The
stars are hand sewn and the hoist consists of smaller
hoist lengths, possibly from commercially purchased
flags, stitched together to make one large hoist.
The brass grommets are hardware store purchased and
crudely clamped into the flag and the maker's lack of
experience in affixing grommets is evident. The
flag is made entirely of cotton, and the use of cotton
and the purplish blue color of the canton is unusual
also indicative of a homemade flag. Finally and
most strikingly, the finely embroidered date, Nov. 11
1918. on the lower white stripe shows evidence of
careful design, with shadowed pencil markings where the
seamstress planned her letters before executing the
beautiful final embroidery.
 |
