38 Star Flag

[csaanv]

Hello, My name is Stevan 10yrs. ago I acquired a 10', 38 star, 13 stripe flag.

Stevan, could you post some photographs of your flag? That would be helpful in identifying it. Even just close ups of the areas you have questions about. Thanks!

[Stevan]

Hello Nick, Thank you for your quick response. So, my flag sure looks like your 37 star - 3 piece and American Bunting Co. . What can you tell me about my star arrangement? All stars point straight up in 8 vertical rows, and ea. row is vertically straight. (4-5-5-5-5-5-5-4) I'm seeing numerous 38 star flags. non are arranged this way. Again, Thank you, Stevan

[NAVA1974]

Hello Nick, Thank you for your quick response. So, my flag sure looks like your 37 star - 3 piece and American Bunting Co. . What can you tell me about my star arrangement? All stars point straight up in 8 vertical rows, and ea. row is vertically straight. (4-5-5-5-5-5-5-4) I'm seeing numerous 38 star flags. non are arranged this way. Again, Thank you, Stevan

1) Your'e welcome. Glad to share info about flags.
2) I just pulled out my old hard-copy photo inventory and found my American Bunting 38-star flag I bought at the Gettysburg Civil War show in July of 1978. The pattern of columns is 4-6-6-6-6-6-4 or if you look at the rows they run 7-6-7-7-6-7. The flag measures 3 ft by 6 feet.

3) I also have a larger 38 star flag by the same company - 20 feet long.
IMG_3150small.jpg

This pic of the canton shows the pattern is different from either my 3x6 or your 10 foot long flag. The answer is obvious - they carved wooden star pattens for their various sized flags to suit themsleves. As you may know there was no official way to arrange the stars until 1912 so no flag has a star pattern any more or less "official" than any other.

For info on the American Bunting Company see Grace Rogers Coooper's book Thirteen Star Flags - Keys to Identification. The PDF is on line at the Smithsonian: http://www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancon.../SSHT-0021.pdf

Nick

[NAVA1974]

1) Your'e welcome.

Good grief. I meant "You're welcome."

Nick

ps I will be adding a couple of dozen more antique flag pics to my Flickr photostream over the weekend - mostly mini flags less than 6 inches long but there will be full size flags of 28 stars, 30 stars, 32 stars, and 45 stars. Keep checking Flickr: nicka21045's Photostream