Flag Monographs and Charts

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Flag Monographs and Charts
ZFC2821 “A Collection of the Principal Flags of the Nations of the World”. This monograph illustrates 238 different flags on 16 hand colored plates. Among the illustrations is an image of the 15 stripe United States Flag with only 12 six pointed stars. From the Best Authorities, Bungay (Suffolk), Published by Brightly and Childs Brightly & Childs, 1813. Read more
ZFC0227 “Flags of the Principle Nations of the World,” Published by S.S. Mitchell (Philadelphia, 1837). This hand-colored print is typical of charts used by sea captains and officers to identify the nationality of ships encountered at sea. The inclusion of the ‘Republic of Texas’ as an independent nation is of special interest. Read more ZFC2242 “Chart of National Flags”. New York, Published by Henry Bill, 1858. This lithographed chart was intended for the American market, and prominently displays a 33 star United States Grand Luminary flag in the top center. There are 96 other flags displayed. The illustration of the "American Customs" flag in the upper left is interesting in that it has only 13 vertical stripes instead of the official 16. This misrepresentation reinforces the theory that prior to the American Civil War, many of the U.S. Customs and Revenue Marine flags had only 13 vertical stripes. Read more
ZFC3471 “Johnson’s New Chart of National Emblems”, Published by Johnson and Ward (New York, 1863). This color lithograph depicts several interesting flags; among them the 35 star United States, Russian American Company, “Confederate States of America (so-called)”. The 1863 wartime printing was one of the few, which illustrated the flag of the Confederate States. Publishing sympathetic writings or pictures could have been seen as treasonous, thus a warning that this government was “so called” is added to the description. Perhaps this phrase saved the publisher from a charge of sedition, but it also demonstrates that Confederate warships and especially raiders were on the minds of the Northern public. (See ZFC2590 for an ensign from the Confederate raider CSS Alabama). Read more ZFC3472 “Johnson’s New Chart of National Emblems”, New York, Published by Johnson and Ward, 1863. This color lithograph is similar to the 1863 edition except that the United States then had 37 stars, and the place Confederate colors had been replaced by Society Islands (Tahiti). The American Broad Pennant depicted is the striped variant that was legitimate between 1869 and 1876. (See ZFC3543 for an example.) Read more
ZFC3428 “Blacks General Atlas”, Published by A. & C. Black (Edinburgh, 1873). This lithographed frontispiece depicts 50 flags of the major nations of the world. The United States flag shown has only 30 stars instead of the 37 stars of the official flag of the time. Read more
ZFC3432 “Cram’s Unrivaled Family Atlas of the World”, George F. Cram, Published by Henry S. Stebbins (Chicago, 1883). This is page 6 of Cram’s Atlas, and is very similar to the frontispiece of Black’s 1873 atlas. Shown here (as in ZFC3428) is a 30 star United States flag instead of the official 38 star flag current in 1883. Read more ZFC3473 “Colton's National & Commercial Flags of All Nations,”, Published by G. W & C. B. Colton & Co. (New York, 1886). This color-lithographed chart is very similar to Johnson’s except that it also includes Marryat’s code of commercial signals, the British Admiralty code of commercial signals and Roger’s code of commercial signals. The chart, however, depicts the discontinued, striped U.S. Commodore’s Broad Pennant instead of the version with the single white star introduced in 1876. Read more
ZFC3147 “The Atlas to Accompany The Official Records of The Union and Confederate Armies”, Flag Plate, U.S. Government, Published by Julius Bien & Co. Lithographers (Washington, DC, 1895). This is an original plate from the atlas, published separately. This lithograph depicts the major corps flags of the Union Army and is representative of the flags of the combat units. The flag of the Confederate States are depicted as well. Read more
ZFC3474 “Flags of American Liberty: Evolution of the American Flag From 1000 A.D. To The Present Day”, Published by P.F. Collier & son Corporation - Publishers of the New Junior Classics, Printed by C.S. Hammond & Co., Inc. (New York, 1940). This chart traces flag usage, real and imagined, in North America and represents the state of vexillological scholarship in 1940. Many of the flags on this chart are suppositious, reflecting myth and legend rather than those flags actually used. These charts were widely displayed in school classrooms of the day. Read more ZFC0466 “State Flags”, Greensboro, Frank Schaffer Products, undated. This flag chart was printed as a classroom activity poster sometime after the change to the Montana state flag in 1981, but before the changes to Nevada in 1991. The reverse has reproducible student worksheets for students for use in a lesson on state flags. Read more