Exhibits


Title information is available upon specific request. Additional information available upon request to researchers, writers and others demonstrating special circumstances. In some situations, information may not be available.
Exhibition Copy First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0585)
31-STAR, 14-STRIPE UNITED STATES FLAG

Date: 1851-1857

Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand-sewn

Comment: California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state on 9 September 1850 based on the "Compromise of 1850." Its star officially entered the union or canton of the United States flag on July 4th, 1851. Since 31 stars are not readily ordered into neat rows, it is not surprising that flag-makers favored a number of alternate arrangements. In this flag, the stars are formed into a "Grand Luminary," recalling Captain Samuel C. Reid's 1817 suggestion that non-governmental flags display the stars arranged to form one large star. This is not unique a pattern, however. One commentator, viewing the ships in New York Harbor in 1857, noted that the Grand Luminary design predominated among flags displayed by merchant ships and on the flags flown to advertise the major hotels in the vicinity. While utilization of the Grand Luminary is unsurprising, the total of 14 stripes is a puzzle. Ever since the Flag Act of 1818, the number of stripes in the United States flag has officially remained unchanged at 13, one for each of the original 13 colonies. For reasons not currently known, the maker of this particular flag added an extra white stripe, giving equal numbers of red and white stripes. This flag is believed to have been constructed in California.
Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0585) in 2002 from the Judge John T. Ball Collection of San Jose, CA.


Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 – GALLERY III
(ZFC0585)
31-Star, 14-Stripe United States Flag

Date: 1851–1857 31 Stars: July 4, 1851-July 3, 1858 (California statehood September 9, 1850)
Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; hand-sewn
Comment: California was admitted to the Union as the 16th free state according to the terms of the Compromise of 1850 which, instead of pairing each new free state with a new slave state, gave the South certain political concessions. Since 31 stars are not readily ordered into neat rows, it is not surprising that flag-makers favored a number of alternate arrangements. In this flag, the stars are formed into a "Grand Luminary," recalling Captain Samuel C. Reid's 1817 suggestion that non-governmental flags display the stars arranged to form one large star. The pattern was not unique to this flag or to flags made in California, however. One commentator, viewing the ships in New York Harbor in 1857, noted that the Grand Luminary design predominated among ensigns displayed by merchant vessels and on flags flown to advertise the major hotels in the vicinity.
While utilization of the Grand Luminary is unsurprising, the total of 14 stripes is a puzzle. Ever since the Flag Act of 1818, the number of stripes in the United States flag had officially remained unchanged at 13-one for each of the original 13 colonies. For reasons not currently known, the maker of this particular flag added an extra white stripe, thus giving an equal number of red and of white stripes. This flag is believed to have been constructed in California.
Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0585) in 2002 from the Judge John T. Ball Collection of San Jose, CA.

Publications


Title information is available upon specific request. Additional information available upon request to researchers, writers and others demonstrating special circumstances. In some situations, information may not be available.
Publication Copy Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 54.

31-Star, 14-Stripe United States Flag California was admitted to the Union as a free state according to the terms of the Compromise of 1850 which, instead of pairing each new free state with a new slave state, gave the South political concessions. Since 31 stars were not readily ordered into neat rows, flag-makers experimented with a number of alternate arrangements. In this flag, the stars are formed into a "Grand Luminary." The pattern was not unique to this flag or to flags made in California, however. One commentator, viewing the ships in New York Harbor in 1857, noted that the Grand Luminary design predominated among ensigns displayed by merchant vessels and on flags flown to advertise the major hotels in the vicinity. While utilization of the Grand Luminary is unsurprising,
the total of 14 stripes is a puzzle. Ever since the Flag Act of 1818, the number of stripes in the United States flag had officially remained unchanged at 13-one for each of the original 13 colonies. For reasons not currently known, the maker of this particular flag added an extra white stripe, thus giving an equal number of red and of white stripes. This flag flew during the presidency of Millard Fillmore.
Date: 1851 – 1857
Size: 42.5" hoist x 74" fly
31 Stars: July 4, 1851 – July 3, 1858 (California statehood September 9, 1850)
Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; hand-sewn
Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2002 from the
Judge John T. Ball Collection of San Jose, CA. ZFC0585"

Title information is available upon specific request. Additional information available upon request to researchers, writers and others demonstrating special circumstances. In some situations, information may not be available.