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Although this flag of 45 stars is in a relatively common star count, the flag is visually striking and uncommonly beautiful for a homemade flag of the period.  The flag is entirely hand stitched and made of cotton.  The each of the 90 stars, 45 on a side, are hand embroidered of a luminous silk which gives the stars a silvery sheen that is striking against the dark blue canton.  Although the stars vary in their spacing from one another, the maker of the flag was meticulous when aligning the stars by canting them to the 11 o'clock position, adding folky charm and another visually interesting element to the flag.  Beneath each star there is evidence of cut cardboard which served as a base or form for the embroidery.  Several of the stripes of the flag are pieced from more than one length of white fabric.  This is a trait sometimes seen in homemade flags owing to frugality or scarcity of materials.  At a time when it was simpler to cut and sew cotton stars onto homemade flags, this seamstress opted instead for a more time consuming construction technique that even today, more than 100 years later, elevates it among its other surviving peers.
 


 

Learn more about methods of creating stars. Star Count:  45

Dates:  1896-1908

War Era:  Spanish American War

Statehood:  Utah

Construction:  Cotton with Embroidered Stars

Catalog Number:  IAS-00207

   
   

Next:
12 Six-Pointed Stars
A Rare World War II Liberation Flag


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