U.S. 33 Star Flag - Oregon.
Although both the Navy and the Army regulations in force at the end of the 1850s specified that the canton in the Stars and Stripes was to extend down through the seventh stripe (counting from the top of the flag), nothing in any of the flag enactments of the era specifically indicated the relative proportions of the union to the overall flag. Not surprisingly, therefore, a number of flag makers interpreted the lack of specificity as a license to follow their own whims regarding the size and proportions of the canton.

In this flag the canton extends through the top six stripes only, rather than the traditional seven. A claim made in 1880 indicated that ships ensigns manufactured in the Gosport Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, during the second quarter of the 19th century were all made with cantons that were only six stripes deep. However, the earliest specifications concerning U.S. Navy flags and ensigns clearly state that the canton was to extend through seven stripes (i.e. to be 7/13ths the width of the flag) and later Navy Regulations further specified that the length of the canton was to be 4/10ths the overall length of the flag. To explain the six-stripe canton depth, a hypothesis evolved that any flag made with the canton resting on a red stripe indicated its manufacture during a period of war. Neither documentary nor inductive evidence supports this myth.

Exhibition History:

First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0610)
33-Star United States Flag

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 GALLERY III
(ZFC0610)
33-Star United States Flag

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.



ZFC Important Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:



33 Star Flag - (1859-1861) (U.S.), Flags of the World, 27 May 2012, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-1859.html

Pierce, J. Richard, The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit, J. Richard Pierce, LLC., Whitehouse Station, 2005.

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection