13-star medallion pattern flag - help in dating, pls!

[seletts]

This flag has been in my family for generations and was found in a trunk with other military items belonging to family members. It appears to be hand-woven, hand-sewn (don't know what type cloth), 13-stars in a medallion pattern with a large central star. The flag is on the small side, measuring about 18 inches tall by 33 wide. It hung over my grandmother's mantel for decades. Here is a link to photos: Pictures by seletts - Photobucket

[csaanv]

Awesome flag! Quite a famly treasure.

[NAVA1974]

Awesome flag! Quite a famly treasure.

I will second that. That wool appears to be of pre Civil War vintage. The hand stitching appears very fine and tight. The flag overall was well made.

Please have that flag assessed by a professional flag textile conservator to get an estimate of the date and some advice on how to preserve it. Having it framed in glass and exposed to light will just allow further deterioration. It needs at a minimum conservation framing with UV resistant plexiglass.

Thanks for the good photos!

Nick A
Columbia MD

[seletts]

Members - thank you for the encouragement and advice! I will definitely take it! Do either of you - or anyone else on this forum for that matter - know when "medallion pattern" flags first showed up? I had read that they were common around the Centennial but I could not find anything indicating when the pattern first became common - was it a Navy pattern (I saw some that had anchors in the center)? I'm excited to do further research and any advice you can give on people who do the kind of restoration and identification (dating) would be appreciated. If you have website links to send me to, or names, that you cannot put on the forum, please feel free to email me: seletts@yahoo.com

[csaanv]

Hi seletts,
Thank you for sharing your flag photos. Here is a site that could be helpful for you:

Rare Flags - Antique American Flags, Historic American Flags


RareFlags_IAS_00086.jpg

[AmericaHurrah]

This is a Centennial era flag. Typical of the period. Very nice. I suggest you check out this site:

Jeff Bridgman American Antiques and Antique American Flags

[AmericaHurrah]

How is it the the photo changed on this flag? I viewed it before and saw a different flag with writing on the sleeve, that is now in Anthony Iasso's collection.

The photo I am viewing now is either Civil War period or pre-war, but I'd guess war-period. Why? Because, to answer your question, the medallion pattern with a star in each corner really isn't seen before the war. I am not saying that it could not appear, but it is generally not seen with a star in each corner pre-war.

Also, the wool bunting looks war-period to me from the photos. War-period 13 star flags are usually hand-sewn and they hardly ever have grommets--instead they have hand-sewn, whip-stitched ones, like this flag, or a sewn-in rope hoist.

[AmericaHurrah]

Ahhh, I see one of the members posted a photo of Anthony's flag. Mystery solved. My previous response was about his flag.