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 This fantastic yachting ensign has seen significant breakdown
of the stripe material, but the canton, which is doubled
over, remains in very good condition. The flag is
extraordinary because of its workmanship. It is the
finest constructed 13 star yachting ensign I have
encountered in many years of collecting. In
addition to being made of silk, the finest material used
for flag-making in the 19th century, the stars and the
fouled anchor in the center of the canton are entirely
hand-embroidered in silk thread with the finest and most
precise stitching I've seen on an embroidered flag. The
color of the silk fabric is rich and striking. The
yachting ensign was approved in 1848 for use on civilian
sailing vessels, and those flying the flag were not
stopped for the collection of tariff revenues.
 The
practice officially ended in the 1980's, but the flag is
still flown on pleasure boats and yachts today.
Based on the type of brass grommets used, as well as the
color and condition of the silk, and the fine handiwork
of the flag's construction, I'm comfortable dating the
flag to the early 1850's to mid-1860's era. When framed, the flag can be
backed with silks of the same color as the stripes, with
the resulting conserved flag appearing complete and
intact. In the mid-19th century, merchants began to
price silk fabric by weight rather than by size. As a
result, many sellers began to soak their silk in mineral
salts which were undetectable, but which made the silk
heavier. Such "weighted silk", however, proved to be
very fragile since the mineral salts caused the silk to
break down over time. Finding brittle silk flags from
the mid-19th century, especially from the Civil War
period, is common. Many Civil War battle flags are in
very poor condition because of this.
Below are images of the
Schooner Yacht America, New York, New York, 1851,
painted by James Bard, which provide a wonderful image
of how a flag such as this would have been seen and
flown. The painting is in the collection of the Abbey
Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Williamsburg,
Virginia. note the style and presentation of the
yachting ensign, to include the quirky elliptical star
pattern, which is comparable to this flag, and the style
of the pennant in the same form as
IAS-00440.
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