Advice on ancestral 34-star union flag

[merrygold21044]

Hi,

I have a 34 star flag attributed to my GG Grandmother from Pottsville, PA. She was an expert seamstress who sewed Union uniforms; at some point the agent helped her to become an early adopter of Singer sewing machines, but this was made by hand. Her sweetheart and future husband served the Union army from 1861 to 1864. A hand-lettered sign which accompanies the flag states "This flag was hand made in 1861, It waved victory in 1861-1865, 1898 and 1919."

The family is not sure what to do with the flag. There is discussion of giving it or loaning it to an appropriate historic society or museum. I may want to keep it myself for the time being. What I do believe is that it shouldn't sit, as it has, in a trunk for the next 90 years, and I also don't think it's reasonable to ask an historic society to pay the cost of preparing it for some sort of display. I see this as something that we might want to take reasonable, but not extreme, measures to preserve and display.

To the details: The flag measures 50" by 85", so a little larger than 4' by 7'. It is more faded than appears in the photo. The blue field is fairly undamaged, but the red and white stripes are quite fragile and have been repaired in the past as well as having additional unrepaired tears.

I am looking for any feedback with regard to steps I might take to preserve the flag, who might be a good source to do the work, whether anyone believes that an historic society might be interested and what they might do with such a flag, etc. I will post a couple of photos and have more if that would help.

Thanks in advance!
Ellen
Odenton, Maryland

[flagcollector]

Hi Ellen,

Thanks for posting the photo of your flag and its history. A little more about your flag, is that it's made of cotton, which explains why the stripes are a bit fragile. Flags made of wool fabric from the period of the Civil War tend to stand up a bit more to the test of time than cotton fabric. Still, your flag is in exceptionally good condition for a flag over 150 years old, and it's clear that your family has well preserved it through the generations. The flag could cost several thousand dollars to be properly conservation mounted, but it is a family heirloom and also has great historic value; the addage "they just don't make them like they used to" certainly applies. So the value of these kinds of flags will only increase as time passes and new generations of Americans discover them. Many historical societies have flags that have been donated to them at various times over the years. Since conserving flags can be a bit costly, most of them tend to keep their flags boxed and in storage (hopefully well preserved). You do see articles, every few months or so, about a special or permanent display in some historical societies where they display an occasional historic flag that has made its way into to their holdings. Since your flag has historical local ties, keeping the flag close is a nice thing. The person with the most experience preserving and framing historic American Flags is Jeff Bridgman (Jeff Bridgman American Antiques and Antique American Flags). He employs full time conservators on his staff and their primary focus is on framing historic flags such as yours. They would know how to handle the type of material, and they only use the highest quality framing materials. The process can be costly buy it will be done right, so I would explore that option if you're seriously considering having your flag framed. Since the flag is large, you could always explore the possibility of having it framed and then loaning it to your local historic society for them to display. That would allow people to enjoy seeing the flag rather than it remaining in that trunk for another 90 years. I hope this helps, congratulations on your family flag, it's a great heirloom and a real treasure.

Best,

Anthony

Anthony Iasso
Rare Flags - Antique American Flags, Historic American Flags