This U.S. 15 Star / 15 Stripe printed flag is mounted on a 23.5" wooden staff fitted with a small wooden 2.5" finial and dates from the events of the Centennial of the Star-Spangled Banner (1912 - 1914) held in Baltimore, Md. The period 1785 to 1818 was the only time that the United States government authorized additional stripes for each new state. There were numerous (though very few survive) unofficial variations of 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19 star flags with corresponding number of stripes.
By 1818 there would be 20 states in the Union, and The Flag Act of 1818, The Second Flag Act, standardized the stripes to 13 for the original 13 states that created the Union but the stars were subject to count change with each subsequent new state. The problem with adding a new stripe it was discovered was a very practical consideration. Each new successive stripe made all the stripes narrower making identification from a distance difficult. It also artistically changed the impact of the visual with each new stripe therefore changing the character of the flag.
The cotton field is composed of 15 horizontal alternating red and white stripes each about 0.5 inches wide, top stripe is red, bottom stripe is red, all printed. Also printed upon the field, and extending through eight stripes from the top, is a dark blue canton (union) 4 inches wide on the fly x 4.5 inches, with 15 stars, each 0.75 inches across, printed on the obverse and reverse sides. The flag is machine stitched (zigzag) with cotton thread. It is fastened to the staff and reinforced with tape.
Observation of the flag and placement of the tape suggest that the method of attachment of the flag to the stick relies on the tape as reinforcement. The tape itself suggests an early production method of an unknown adhesive affixed to cloth. The tape was likely added by the flag maker, the vendor or the end user to facilitate its use during the many events of the centennial in Baltimore 1912 - 1914.
Since the tape is likely to have been affixed during this period it is recommended that it be tested to determine if there are reactive qualities in the tape to prevent degradation over the next hundred years. To date there is no evidence that there is or has been degradation to the artifact. Since the tape is part of the history of the flag and stick it tells part of the story plus it represents an everyday item of the period the tape should be preserved in some way with the flag and stick.
The flag and its four similar companion pieces bear an early accession date (1927.6.1) and it is speculated that all five of these stick flags were donated to the SSBFH in 1927 making them some of the first pieces gifted to the museum. The accession record is sparse. The exact donor remains unknown, but it possible that these came from the City of Baltimore other official body as small stick flags were commonly used to annually decorate graves of Baltimore's War of 1812 Old Defenders. It is most likely that these were such flags, reinforced with tape to stand the rigors of perennial display.
Extremely rare to see 15 star this old on parade stick. A Centennial piece from 1912 - 1914 period
An important flag from the Star Spangled Banner Flag House Collection.
ZFC Important Flag
Item is Framed
