This majestic 13 star
ship's flag dates to the middle of the 19th century,
with accompanying history indicating that the flag was
flown in 1876 during the Centennial festivities in
Kennebunkport, Maine. Thus the flag dates to at
least this period, though dating the flag precisely is
somewhat challenging. The flag is in immaculate
condition. The wool bunting of the flag has
virtually no soiling, and looks just like the day it was
woven. In my experience, it's unusual to find a
flag in such immaculate condition, especially
considering that it clearly has seen use. There
are several repairs on the flag, including
double-reinforced patches which are a hallmark of
maritime flags, as well as areas of wool darning.
The entire flag is hand sewn, with large single-applique
stars. These construction techniques are uncommon
for a flag of the Centennial era, though there are known
examples, such as
IAS-00109,
which are of the same type of construction and which
positively date to the period circa 1870. The hoist of
the flag, which often provides additional clues to the
age of a flag, is missing, and the hoist end has been
turned back and carefully hand stitched. The flag
is somewhat large, nearly 11 feet wide, but it was not
uncommon for ship's flags from the 19th century to be
much larger, often more than 20 feet in length. In
fact, this flag is actually considered medium sized and
even on the small side for flags of the era. The
4-5-4 star pattern is highly coveted and rare. It
is one of the earlier patterns known to be used on a
American flags, with documented evidence of its use
dating to the late 1700s. At the time of the
Centennial festivities in Kennebunkport when the flag
was flown, the flag was correctly described as
"resembling a Naval flag used by the privateers of
1776." Until further research is done on the
material and thread used in the flag, narrowing the date
range for its origin is difficult. Without
question, though, the flag is as it was originally
described--it is in precisely of same style, materials,
form and construction of a original 13 star American
naval flag of period circa 1780-1790, and it is a gem
example of a 19th century American ship's flag in the
rare 5-4-5 pattern. |
