36-Star United States Parade Flag, ca. 1866
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GUEST:
About 15 or 20 years ago, I was at one of my favorite resale shops in Chicago, Salvation Army. And I was in the back, where they usually have posters, because I collect antique posters, and there was nothing there. But the gentleman who works there was bringing out three things, and this was one of the things. It was sandwiched behind two ordinary prints. And I looked at it, and I was thinking, "Hm, "this looks old. I'm not sure if it's a print or an actual flag." I call my husband...
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
...who is more into this stuff, and he said, "Count the f, stars." And I said, "Okay, 36 stars." And there was silence at the other end of the phone.
APPRAISER:
(chuckles)
GUEST:
And then he, after he got back on the phone, he said, "Count them again, please." And I said, "Six times six is 36. That's it, there are 36 stars." He said, "Well, is it real?" I said, "I don't know!"
APPRAISER:
(chuckles)
GUEST:
I said, "But it's $13, I'm buying it. You'll figure it out!"
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And that's how we got it.
APPRAISER:
36-star flag. It is real.
GUEST:
Yes!
APPRAISER:
It is a printed flag. That is, the, the stripes and the blue canton are printed on this cotton fabric. In the day when it was made, it would have been a relatively inexpensive flag because of the process by which it was made, as opposed to it being a sewn flag. It's the sort of piece that typically were used in parades. Really, just sort of a temporary show flag. Nevada was the 36th state entered into the Union officially on October 31, 1864. However, it wouldn't be until July 4 of 1865 that the star would have appeared on the flag. And that's because of a law that was enacted in 1818 by President James Monroe that said that from that point forward, flags were to have an arrangement of 13 stripes and stars in the field, and that the star representing the most recent state admitted to the Union would be applied on the 4th of July following the date of the admission of that state. The last time that 36 stars appeared on the United States flag was July 3, 1867. So it's a flag that was only in use for two years, which makes it a fairly scarce flag. The condition is what's really great about this. A lot of them were made, but because they weren't high-quality flags, they don't often survive. And many of them that do survive are in pretty tough shape. There's a lot of fraying on them, a lot of holes, and especially a lot of fading. This flag has really strong red color in the stripes, really good dense color in the blue. There's some minor staining, a few little holes, which have, really, no significant impact on its value. In an auction situation, I would estimate this with a value of approximately $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And I think it has the potential to, to sell nearer the higher end of that range.
GUEST:
Not bad for $13.
APPRAISER:
Not bad for $13.
GUEST:
(laughs)
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