Obverse
Obverse

Obverse

Obverse

Obverse

Obverse Canton

Obverse Canton

Book Photo

Book Photo

ZFC1155

U.S. 33 Star Grand Luminary Flag.

Sub-collection: U.S. 33 Star Flags

33 Star U.S. Grand Luminary Flag, 1859 - 1861, former Harry Oswald Collection.
As with the 31-star flag, the stars of the 33-star flag did not allow for an orderly arrangement of rows. The alternative Grand Luminary star arrangement had been advocated four decades earlier as a civilian star pattern for U.S. flags, but it still enjoyed great popularity at the beginning of the Civil War, as this home-made flag demonstrates. While it has been suggested that this may have been an earlier U.S. flag with 31 or 26 stars the slightly smaller stars that fall outside the perimeter of the great star are, in fact, made from the same material as the other stars. This suggests that they were all applied at the same time.

In November of 1860, four parties presented candidates for the presidency. Although Lincoln did not receive the majority of the popular vote and was not even on the ballot in nine southern states, he was elected president with a majority of the electoral votes. This flag possibly served during both the James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln administrations.
This 33 star flag has no hoist reinforcement.

Exhibition History:
First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC1155)
33-Star Grand Luminary United States Flag

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 GALLERY III
(ZFC1155)
33-Star Grand Luminary 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. 60.

Provenance:
• Acquired by purchase by Mr. Oswald from unnamed New York militaria dealer in Washington, D.C., 1980s-1990s.
• Gifted to father, Mr. Harry Oswald, Portland, OR, until 1997.
• Purchased by Zaricor Flag collection, 1997.



ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:



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

Samuel Chester Reid, Wikipedia, 24 October 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chester_Reid

Great Star Flags (U.S.), Flags of the World, 25 October 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-gstar.html

Martucci, David, Great Star Flags, US Flags: Part 5, 25 October 2011, from: http://www.midcoast.com/~martucci/flags/us-hist6.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
Harry Oswald, Portland, OR.



Hoist & Fly

Width of Hoist 68
Length of Fly 131

Union/Canton

Width of Union/Canton 35
Length of Union/Canton 43

Stars

Size of Stars 3.75

Stripes

Width of 1st Stripe 5.25
Width of 3rd Stripe 5.25
Width of 8th Stripe 5.25
Width of Last Stripe 5.25

Frame

Is it framed? yes
Frame Height 75
Frame Length 147.25

Stars

Number of Stars 33
How are the stars embeded? Sewn
Are there stars on obverse? yes
Are there stars on reverse? no
Comments on Stars While it has been suggested that this may have been an earlier U.S. flag with 31 stars, the slightly smaller stars that fall outside the perimeter of the great star and that seem to have been added later in fact are made from the same material as the other stars. This suggests that they were all applied at the same time.

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 Cotton

Stitching

Stitching Machine
Comments on Stitching Machine-stitched with hand-sewn stars

Thread

Thread Material Cotton

Weave

Type of Weave Tricot

Attachment

Comments on Method of Attachmen Rope through header.
Method of Attachment Roped-header

Applica

Applique Sides Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation

Documents
All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings
All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Research Documents
All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Public Copy & Signs
All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition

Condition Good
Damage Unstitched in some places
Displayable yes

Date

Date 1859-1861

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy Exhibition History
First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC1155)
33-STAR "GRAND LUMINARY" UNITED STATES FLAG
Date: 1859-1861
Medium: Cotton; machine stitched with hand-sewn stars
Comment: As with the 31-star flag, the stars of the 33-star flag did not allow for an orderly arrangement of rows. The alternative Grand Luminary star arrangement had been advocated four decades earlier as a "civilian" star pattern for U.S. flags, but it still enjoyed great popularity at the beginning of the Civil War, as this home-made flag demonstrates. While it has been suggested that this may have been an earlier U.S. flag with 31 stars, the slightly smaller stars that fall outside the perimeter of the "great star" and that seem to have been added later in fact are made from the same material as the other stars. This suggests that they were all applied at the same time.
Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC1155) in 1997 from Harry Oswald of Portland, OR.


Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 – GALLERY III
(ZFC1155)
33-Star "Grand Luminary" United States Flag

Date: 1859–1861 33 Stars: July 4, 1859-July 3, 1861 (Oregon statehood February 14, 1859)
Medium: Cotton; machine stitched with hand-sewn stars
Comment: As with the 31-star flag, the stars of the 33-star flag did not allow for an orderly arrangement of rows. The alternative "Grand Luminary" star arrangement had been advocated four decades earlier as a "civilian" star pattern for U.S. flags, but it still enjoyed great popularity at the beginning of the Civil War, as this homemade flag demonstrates. While it has been suggested that this may have been an earlier U.S. flag with 31 stars, the slightly smaller stars that fall outside the perimeter of the "great star" and that seem to have been added later in fact are made from the same material as the other stars. This suggests that they were all applied at the same time.

Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC1155) in 1997 from Harry Oswald of Portland, OR.

Publications

Publication Copy Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 60.

"33-Star "Grand Luminary" United States Flag

As with the 31-star flag, the stars of the 33-star flag did not allow for an orderly arrangement of rows. The alternative "Grand Luminary" star arrangement had been advocated four decades earlier as a star pattern for "civil" U.S. flags, but it still enjoyed great popularity at the beginning of the Civil War, as this homemade flag demonstrates. While it has been suggested that this may have been an earlier U.S. flag with 31 stars, the slightly smaller stars that fall outside the perimeter of the "great star" and that seem to have been added later in fact are made from the same material as the other stars. This suggests that they were all applied at the same time. In November of 1860, four parties presented candidates for the presidency. Although he did not receive the majority of the popular vote-and was not even on the ballot in nine southern states-Abraham Lincoln was elected president with a majority of the electoral votes. This flag possibly served during both the James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln administrations.