43 Star Flag

[joseph manno]

I own a 43 Star Garrison Flag, (purchased in Woodbury CT in 1996). The Flag has been authenticated and appraised. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to verifywhether the Flag, was in fact flown over the Connecticut State Capital. I am also interested in determining the person/persons who made the Flag. The Stars are hand sewn and sewn on each side of the blue field. The Stars are arranged in rows of: 9-9-7-9-9. I would appreciate receiving relevant information about this very rare Flag and if there are other 43 Star Flags in existence. Thank you. J. Manno

[NAVA1974]

I own a 43 Star Garrison Flag, (purchased in Woodbury CT in 1996). The Flag has been authenticated and appraised. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to verify whether the Flag, was in fact flown over the Connecticut State Capital.

Congratulations on finding an authentic 43. They are, indeed, rare. Unless there is a period label attached to the flag, a name/location stamped on the heading, or you have paperwork that dates back to the 1890s that came with the flag, there is little to no chance you can determine where the flag was used.

I am also interested in determining the person/persons who made the Flag.

Again, without info that is part of the flag itself, connecting the flag to any of the numerous NYC and New England flagmakers is difficult.

The Stars are hand sewn and sewn on each side of the blue field. The Stars are arranged in rows of: 9-9-7-9-9. I would appreciate receiving relevant information about this very rare Flag and if there are other 43 Star Flags in existence. Thank you. J. Manno

My 43 has a pattern of 8-7-7-7-7-7 that looks like a 48 star flag with the first row of 8 complete, the second row is missing the last star, the 3rd row is missing the first star, the 4th row is missing the last star, etc., etc. It measures about 8x12 feet. I have seen very few small 43 star flags, so it is very unlikely that sizes that were mass-produced (like printed ones) got made before the 44th state (Wyoming) was added on July 10, 1891. Obviously there were orders for large flags in place on July 5-9 in 1891 and since the stars were added by hand, your flag and my flag were made and sold, but very few others survived.

A couple of years ago a 43 star flag appeared on eBay. I blew the whistle on the flag because the seller of that flag had just won a 45-star flag on eBay, and his 43 star flag WAS THE SAME FLAG WITH TWO STARS REMOVED.

Nick

[DoubleA]

I have discovered a 43 star flag at my mother's place. I understand they are very rare, does anyone know the approx. value of one? TX

[csaanv]

Welcome to the American Flag Forum DoubleA!
I hope we can help you. You are correct the 43 star flag is one of the rarest of US flags only in existence for one year, (1890-1891) with the admission of the state of Idaho. Is it possible for you to give us more details about your flag? That way we can give you an accurate assessment. We would need the dimensions (size), the material it is made from (cotton or wool bunting), whether it is sewn together or printed, and if there is any markings on the header such as the flag company or if it is a government issued flag. A photo of the flag would be extremely helpful in giving us an idea of its condition. I can assist you with that if you like and can "prep" it for posting. Email me any photographs at emmalpass(at)Yahoo(dot)com and I can scale them for our forum. Hope to hear back from you.
Cheers!