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ZFC0633

U.S. 13 Star Navy Boat Flag No.14.

Sub-collection: Mastai - Early American Flags

13 Star United States Navy Boat Flag No.14.
This small, wool flag is machine sewn and resist dyed. It dates to right after the American Civil War in the late 1860's, or early 1870's. During the American Civil War, the United States Navy mushroomed in size. The demand for flags exceeded the Navy's ability to furnish flags through the various U.S. Naval Yards along the Atlantic. Historians have speculated that the Navy Yards turned to civilian contractors to make up the deficit.

While the flags made in the Navy Yards were sewn with the stars arranged in 3 horizontal rows of 4-5-4, those that were supplied by the contractors were arranged in 5 staggered horizontal rows, 3-2-3-2-3, as in this example. U.S. Navy Boat Flags were used on small boats. These small boats were used to ferry personnel, goods, and cargo from ship to shore.

Sewing the individual stars to each side of the canton was tedious work, and led one of the contracting firms to use press block, or resist dying to print the stars after the Civil War. These techniques were improved and patented by John Holt. Before the flag was sewn, the canton was pressed in a block that prevented the blue indigo dye from penetrating the areas that were to be seen as white stars. The same technique was used to create the 13 red and white stripes. This created an inexpensive flag for the Navy to purchase large amounts of.

Marked U.S. Navy boat flags are prized by collectors as they are often more readily identified.

Exhibition History:
The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict
Offices Club, Presidio of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

First & Second Presidio Exhibits, 2003

Publication History:
Druckman, Nancy, Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn, American Flags: Designs for a Young Nation, New York, Harry N Abrams Inc., 2003, p.27

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

Sources:



Druckman, Nancy, Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn, American Flags : Designs for a Young Nation, New York, Harry N Abrams Inc., 2003.
Flag Sizes, Naval History & Heritage Command, 19 June 2013, from: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq129-1.htm

History of the BNY, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, 19 June 2013, from: http://www.brooklynnavyyard.org/history.html

US Navy "Boat" Flag, 19 June 2013, from:
http://www.vexman.net/smalboat.htm ,

Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC) Archives, 2013.

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection



Hoist & Fly

Width of Hoist 30
Length of Fly 53.75

Union/Canton

Width of Union/Canton 16.5
Length of Union/Canton 24.75

Stars

Size of Stars 3.25

Frame

Is it framed? yes
Frame Height 36.5
Frame Length 66

Stars

Number of Stars 13
How are the stars embeded? Printed
Are there stars on obverse? yes
Are there stars on reverse? yes

Stripes

Number of Stripes 13
Has a Blood Stripe? no

Nationality

Nation Represented United States

Fabric

Fabric Wool
Comments on Fabric Bunting

Stitching

Stitching Machine

Weave

Type of Weave Plain

Applica

Applique Sides Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation

Public Copy & Signs



Condition

Condition Good
Damage used
Displayable yes

Date

Date 1867

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy Exhibition History
First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0633)
THIRTEEN-STAR, UNITED STATES NAVY BOAT FLAG, NO. 14
Date: 1868-1870
Media: Wool bunting, with red and blue elements press dyed; hand-sewn sections
Comment: During the American Civil War, the United States Navy mushroomed in size, and the demand for flags exceeded the Navys ability to furnish flags through the various U.S. Naval Yards at key ports along the Atlantic. Historians have speculated that the Navy Yards turned to civilian contractors to make up the deficit. While the Navy Yard boat flags were sewn with the stars arranged in three horizontal rows, 4-5-4, it appears that those supplied by the contractors followed a different Navy tradition and arranged them in five staggered horizontal rows, 3-2-3-2-3. Sewing of the stars to each side of the canton was a tedious work, and one of the contracting firms after the Civil War produced the pattern with a press block or resist dying technique that had been patented with improvements made by John Holt. The separate canton section of the field was placed in a block that prevented the areas that were to show as white stars from receiving the blue indigo dye. The same technique of blocking out sections of the striped field, so that only alternate strips of red would accept the dye, created two sections of the thirteen stripes. All three elements would then be sewn together by hand to make an inexpensive flag.
Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0633) in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection of New York City through auction at Sothebys.