U.S. 29 Star Flag - Iowa's Admission to the Union.

29 Star U.S. Flag - Political Parade Flag, 1846 - 1848.
July 4, 1847 - July 3, 1848 (Iowa statehood December 28, 1846)
This flag was likely made for the 1848 presidential election, when James K. Polk was replaced by Zachary Taylor.

Parade and Political Campaign flags such as this had their origins during the Whig versus Democratic Party political campaigns in the fourth decade of the nineteenth century. The national election of 1840 pitted the Whig, William Henry Harrison, against the Democratic incumbent, Martin Van Buren. As the issues of the campaign were lackluster, the Whigs brought personalities into the campaign as surrogates, taunting W.H. Harrison ("Old Tippecanoe"), the self-supposed candidate of the common people.

This campaign featured the first "media blitz", with banners and flags replete with slogans, pictures, and even replicas of the log cabin Harrison had allegedly been born in. The technique of printing on silk and cotton had, by 1840, been perfected so that inexpensive campaign and parade flags could be obtained economically by crowds of supporters to wave at political rallies and parades. This practice continued during the 1844 and 1848 presidential campaigns and remains a fixture in American politics to this day. This flag had likely been made for the 1848 presidential election before Wisconsin's accession in May of 1848 made the flag officially obsolete.

Exhibition History:
First and second Presidio Exhibits, 2003
29-star U.S. parade flag

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M. and Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 48.

Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2002 from
the Mastai Flag Collection through auction at Sotheby's of New York City. ZFC0628

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:

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Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the republic to the Present, Knopf, New York, 1973.

Collins, Herbert Ridgeway, Threads of History, Americana Recorded on Cloth 1775 to the Present, City of Washington, Smithsonian Press, 1979.

Cooper, Grace Rogers, Thirteen-Star Flags: Keys to Identification, Smithsonian Institution Press, City of Washington, 1973.

Madaus, Howard M.- Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, 2006.

Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the republic to the Present, Knopf, New York, 1973.

29 Star Flag - (1847-1848) (U.S.), Flags of the World, 11 November 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-1847.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	8
Length of Fly	10

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	12
Frame Length	15.5

Stars
Number of Stars	29
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	no

Stripes
Number of Stripes	13
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Cotton

Applica
Applique Sides	Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation
Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Research Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	Used, soiled, stained, faded
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1846

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0628) TWENTY-NINE-STAR UNITED STATES "PARADE" FLAG Date: 1847-1848 Medium: Printed on cotton Comment: Parade and Political Campaign flags had their origins during the Whig versus Democrat Party political campaigns in the fourth decade of the nineteenth century. The national election of 1840 pitted the Whig William Henry Harrison against the Democratic incumbent, Martin Van Buren. As the issues of the campaign were lackluster, the Whigs brought "personalities" into the campaign as a surrogate, taunting "Old Tippecanoe" (W.H. Harrison) as "candidate from the common people" (which was far from the case). The campaign was the first "media blitz", with banners and flags replead with slogans and pictures. The technique of printing on silk and cotton had, by 1840, been perfected so that cheap "campaign" and "parade" flags could be obtained a very modest prices for waving at political ralleys and parades. These devices continued in use in the 1844 presidential and 1848 presidential campaigns and remain a fixture in American politics. This flag was likely made for the 1848 presidential election before Wisconsin's admission in May of 1848 made the flag technically obsolete. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0628) in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection of New York City through auction at Sotheby's. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery II (ZFC0628) 29-Star United States "Parade Flag" Date: 1847-1848 29 Stars: July 4, 1847-July 3, 1848 (Iowa statehood December 28, 1846) Medium: Printed cotton Comment: Parade and political campaign flags had their origins during the presidential election activities in the fourth decade of the 19th century which pitted Whigs against Democrats. The national election of 1840 saw William Henry Harrison running against the Democratic incumbent, Martin Van Buren. As the issues at stake were lackluster, the Whigs brought personalities into the campaign, vaunting "Old Tippecanoe" (W.H. Harrison) as "the candidate of the common people"-although that was far from the case. The campaign turned into the first media blitz with parades featuring banners and flags replete with slogans and pictures and accompanied by replicas of the log cabin Harrison supposedly had been born in. By 1840 techniques of printing on silk and cotton had been developed such that campaign and parade flags could be obtained very modest prices. This made them ideal for waving at political rallies and parades in great numbers to attract voters and create excitement. They continued in use in later presidential campaigns and even today constitute a standard fixture in American politics. This specific flag was likely made for the 1848 presidential election, although recognition of Wisconsin's admission to the Union and the new star added to the U.S. flag on Independence Day 1848 made it obsolete. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0628) in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection through auction at Sotheby's of New York City.

Publications

Publication Copy

Publication History: Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 48. "29-Star United States "Economy Flag" "Economy" and political campaign flags had their origins during the presidential election activities in the fourth decade of the 19th century which pitted Whigs against Democrats. The national election of 1840 saw William Henry Harrison running against the Democratic incumbent, Martin Van Buren. As the issues at stake were lackluster, the Whigs brought personalities into the campaign, vaunting "Old Tippecanoe" (W.H. Harrison) as "the candidate of the common people"-although that was far from the case. The campaign turned into the first media blitz with parades featuring banners and flags replete with slogans and pictures and accompanied by replicas of the log cabin Harrison supposedly had been born in. By 1840 techniques of printing on silk and cotton had been developed such that campaign and small flags could be obtained a very modest prices. This made them ideal for waving at political rallies and parades in great numbers to attract voters and create excitement. They continued in use in later presidential campaigns and even today constitute a standard fixture in American politics. This specific flag was likely made for the 1848 presidential election, when James K. Polk was replaced by Zachary Taylor. Date: 1847 - 1848 Size: 12" hoist x 15.5" fly 29 Stars: July 4, 1847 - July 3, 1848 (Iowa statehood December 28, 1846) Medium: Printed cotton Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection through auction at Sotheby's of New York City. ZFC0628