U.S. 20 Star Flag, 1818 - 3rd official U.S flag.

U.S. 20 stars and 13 stripes confirming Mississippi as the 20th state.
This period example was made to indicate the admission of Mississippi as the 20th state on December 10, 1817; and would remain accurate until the admission of Illinois on December 3, 1818, a period of only 358 days; correspondingly 20 star flags are quite rare.

Flags bearing 20 stars and 13 stripes were made the official flag of United States when President James Monroe signed the Flag Act of 1818 into law. On the 4th of April 1818, the United States Congress altered for the third time the design of the national flag of the United States. From this day forward, its field consisted of only thirteen alternating red and white stripes. The number of stars in the blue canton, however, would be twenty, with new states being recognized in the canton by the addition of a star on the 4th of July immediately after the states admission. Although a specific grand luminary star design had been proposed in the course of the legislation, no star pattern was delineated in the bills final form. On May 18th, 1818, The U.S. Navy commissioners proposed that the Navy ensigns bear the twenty stars then forming the Union in four staggered horizontal rows of five stars each. However, President James Monroe disliked that pattern, and on September 18th, the Navy ordered that all of the flags should have their stars arranged in four horizontal rows of five stars each, all five in vertical alignments with the top row. This flag conforms to that circular and its size is comparable to ensigns used on small boats by the US Navy, leading to the speculation that this in in all likely hood such a flag.

This 20 star flags history is unknown; but it was formerly part of the acclaimed collection of noted New York City antique dealer Mr. Boleslaw Mastai and his wife Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai. Their collection was the result of fifty (50) years of collection, research and study by the late husband-wife team. Mastai, started his collection in the early 20th century and amassed to greatest private flag collection in the United States which he personally detailed in his landmark book The Stars and The Stripes; The American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present, published by Alfred Knopf, New York 1973, and hailed as a revelation of the American Flag as art and as social history.

Exhibition History:
Baltimore Star Spangled Banner Flag House 3/2004
20-Star United States Flag

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 37.

Provenance:
• Acquired by Mr. & Mrs. Boleslaw & Marie-Louise D'Otrange Mastai, New York City, and Amagansett, NY, The Mastai Collection, as Mastai # 2, until 2002.
• Sold via Sotheby's Auction in New York City to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 2002.


ZFC Significant Flag

Sources:

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Cooper, Grace Rogers, Thirteen-Star Flags: Keys to Identification, Smithsonian Institution Press, City of Washington, 1973.

Diffily, John A., Number 2, Volume II, Oct. 18-Nov.25, Flag Issue, Newsletter from the Education Department, Amon Carter Museum, Ft. Worth, 1973.

Madaus, Howard M.- Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, 2006.

Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the republic to the Present, Knopf, New York, 1973.

Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, Our Unknown Flag: Almost 250 Flags and Artifacts from the famous Mastai Collection, New York, , Amagansett, Exhibited 14 June -28 July 1978, US Customhouse, Plaza Lever, 6 World Trade Center, Boleslaw Mastai, 1978.

20 Star Flag - (1818-1819) (U.S.), Flags of the World, 9 November 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-1818.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
Mastai Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	58
Length of Fly	106

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	51
Length of Union/Canton	31

Stars
Comments on Star Measurements	Star pattern 5-5-5-5.
Size of Stars	5

Stripes
Size of Hoist	1.25

Frame
Is it framed?	no
Comments on Frame	Sleeved for display

Stars
Number of Stars	20
How are the stars embeded?	Single Applique
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes
Comments on Stars	Obverse
Star Pattern	Star pattern 5-5-5-5.

Stripes
Number of Stripes	13
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Wool
Comments on Fabric	Stars are cotton. Bunting

Stitching
Stitching	Hand

Weave
Type of Weave	Plain

Attachment
Comments on Method of Attachmen	Eyelet or grommet through header
Method of Attachment	Whip-stitched

Applica
Applique Sides	Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Fair
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1818

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

Baltimore Star Spangled Banner Flag House 3/2004 (ZFC0625) 20-Star United States Flag Date: 1818 (Mississippi admitted to statehood on December 10, 1817) Media: Wool bunting field and canton with cotton stars, all hand sewn. Size: 58" on the hoist by 106" on the fly (5' by 9') Comment: On the 4th of April 1818, the United States Congress altered for the third time the design of the national flag of the United States. Henceforth, its field would consist of only thirteen alternating red and white stripes. The number of stars in the blue canton, however, would be twenty, with new states being recognized in the canton by the addition of a star on the 4th of July after the state's admission. Although a specific "grand luminary" star design had been proposed in the course of the legislation, no star pattern was delineated in the bill's final form. On May 18th, 1818, The U.S. Navy commissioners proposed that the Navy ensigns bear the twenty stars then forming the Union in four staggered horizontal rows of five stars each. However, President James Monroe disliked that pattern, and on September 18th, the Navy ordered that all of the flags should have their stars arranged in four horizontal rows of five stars each, all five in vertical alignments with the top row. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2002 from the Mastai Collection through auction at Sotheby's of New York, New York. (ZFC0625) American Maritime Flags of the 19th Century Ships and coastal installations (both governmental and private) require flags that can be identified from great distances. Recognition was achieved during the nineteenth century by providing these vessels and facilities with flags that were especially large. Exhibited here are several American flags related to such vessels or facilities from the period 1818 to 1893. They are all large bunting flags. Generally speaking, a "large" flag is one that is too unwieldy to be carried by one person if the flag is attached to a staff meant to be carried by single individual. Until 1854 in the British Army, and until 1895 in the American Army, military colors carried by units on foot were made of silk and measured no more than 6 feet on the staff by 6 feet 6 inches on the fly. Those dimensions-essentially a flag with an area encompassing slightly more than four square yards of cloth-were deemed the maximum size for transport by an individual on a staff. Most of the flags in this exhibit exceed those parameters. Due to their size, large flags such as these are difficult to display and are seldom sought by collectors. Museums often relegate them to perpetual storage. This exhibit is unusual, therefore, in that it displays so many of these flags in one place. This exhibit is sponsored by the Veninga-Zaricor family and Good Earth® Teas, Santa Cruz, CA; The Flag Center, Presidio of San Francisco, CA; and the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, Baltimore, MD.

Publications
Publication Copy	Publication History: Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 37. "20-Star United States Flag 1818 - Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection through auction at Sotheby's of New York City. ZFC0625"
Flag Books	The Stars and The Stripes - Mastai