"Humanity Flag - Auxilio Dei" 1917-1918

"Humanity Flag -48 Star Franco-Anglo-American Alliance Flag, 1917 - 1918 WWI..
The Humanity Flag, a special variant novelty 48 Star Version of the United States flag was patented (#51812) by Albert Hewitt of Mount Vernon, NY, on February 26th, 1918. In his alliance flag, Hewitt substituted rows of the British jack for the red stripes of the Stars & Stripes. The canton, instead of being all blue, was divided vertically into the French tri-color-blue, white, and red; and the forty-eight stars upon that canton are shown in colors opposite of the tri-colors bars.

It was his belief that this flag, which was marketed as a painting, a lithograph and an actual cloth flag, was a graphic representation of Woodrow Wilson's famous casus belli, for the U.S. entering World War I, to make the world safe for democracy. Delivered on April 2, 1917, in a speech before a joint session of Congress, Wilson clearly detailed that the intentions of the United States was not to defeat Imperial Germany.

Accompanying these flags were labels that read: The Humanity Flag "Auxilio Dei" This Flag will make the World safe for Democracy and Humanity Manufactured exclusively by The Commercial Decalcomania Co. Inc. Sole Distributor: Muirheid-Winter Co. Inc. 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City.



Oil painting of the 48 Star Franco-Anglo-American Alliance "Humanity Flag". ZFC0642

"It is a noble consummation that at the conclusion of a hundred years of unbroken peace among the United States, Great Britain and France, These three once - warring powers should be firmly united in an alliance for waging the world's latest and greatest conflict, for what we may hope will be the final vindication of the great principles which first brought them together, in so different circumstances, at Yorktown. It is an appropriate commemoration of their century of peace"*

*Quote taken from The North American Review, July, 1918. Ambassador Jusserand's speech, "The Three Yorktown Nations."

Patented Feb. 26th, 1918 Serial No. 51812
This flag was formerly part of the acclaimed collection of noted antique dealer Mr. Boleslaw Mastai and his wife Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai, formerly of New York City, and later Amagansett, Long Island. Their collection was the result of fifty years of collecting, research and study by the late husband-wife team. Mastai, started collecting in the mid 20th century and amassed the greatest private flag collection in the United States which he detailed in his ground-breaking book 'The Stars and The Stripes; The American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present', published by Alfred Knopf, New York 1973, and has been hailed as establishing the American Flag both as art and social history.

Exhibition History:
First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0641 and ZFC0642)
Franco-Anglo-American Alliance 48-Star Flag And Illustration: The Humanity Flag

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - GALLERY VI
(ZFC0641 and ZFC0642)
48-Star Flag and Illustration Franco-Anglo-American Alliance Humanity Flag

Provenance:
• Acquired by Mr. & Mrs. Boleslaw & Marie-Louise D'Otrange Mastai, New York City, and Amagansett, NY, The Mastai Collection, until 2002.
• Sold via Sotheby's Auction in New York City to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 2002.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Souces:

---

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.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson

Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Jules_Jusserand

Casus belli, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casus_belli

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	12
Length of Fly	18

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	17.5
Frame Length	22.5

Stars
Number of Stars	48
Are there stars on obverse?	no
Are there stars on reverse?	no

Stripes
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

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
Displayable	yes

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

Exhibition History First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0641 and ZFC0642) Franco-Anglo-American Alliance 48-Star Flag And Illustration: The Humanity Flag Date: 1918 Media: Printed on cotton; illustration printed on paper Comment: In 1917, the United States entered World War I on the side of the beleaguered Allied Powers: the failing Russian regime, England, and France. To reflect the alliance between the United States, England, and France on the Western Front, Albert Hewitt of Mount Vernon, NY., patented this special variation of the United States Stars & Stripes on February 26th, 1918. In his alliance flag, Hewitt substituted rows of the British jack for the red stripes of the Stars & Stripes. The canton, instead of being all blue, he divided vertically into the French tri-color-blue, white, and red. And the forty-eight stars upon that canton are shown in colors opposite of the tri-colors bars. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0641 and ZFC0642) in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection of New York City through auction at South Bay Auction of New York City. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - GALLERY VI (ZFC0641 and ZFC0642) 48-Star Flag and Illustration Franco-Anglo-American Alliance Humanity Flag Date: 1918 Media: Printed cotton flag; printed illustration on paper Comment: In 1917 the United States entered World War I on the side of the beleaguered Allied Powersa failing Russian regime, Britain, and France. To reflect the new alliance between the Americans, British, and French on the Western Front, Albert Hewitt of Mount Vernon, New York, patented this special variation of the United States Stars and Stripes on February 26, 1918. In his alliance flag, Hewitt substituted rows of the British Union Jacks for the red stripes of the American flag. The canton, instead of being all blue, was divided vertically into the French Tricolor of blue, white, and red. The 48 stars on that canton are shown in colors contrasting to the Tricolors bars. Hewitt dubbed his design the Humanity Flag because, as he explained, This flag will make the world safe for Democracy and Humanity.

Publications
Publication Copy	Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 120. 48-Star Flag Franco-Anglo-American Alliance Humanity Flag In 1917 the United States entered World War I on the side of the beleaguered Allied Powers a failing Russian regime, Britain, and France. To reflect the new alliance between the Americans, British, and French on the Western Front, Albert Hewitt of Mount Vernon, New York, patented this special variation of the United States Stars & Stripes on February 26, 1918. In his alliance flag, Hewitt substituted rows of British Union flags for the red stripes of the American flag. The canton, instead of being all blue, was divided vertically into the French Tricolor of blue, white, and red. The 48 stars on that canton are shown in colors contrasting to the Tricolors bars. Hewitt dubbed his design the Humanity Flag because, as he explained, this flag will make the world safe for Democracy and Humanity.
Flag Books	The Stars and The Stripes - Mastai