U.S. 38 Star Grand Luminary Flag - Colorado.

38 Star Grand Luminary U.S. Flag - Colorado's admission into the Union, 1876.
38 Stars: July 4, 1877 July 3, 1890 (Colorado statehood August 1, 1876)
One of the last examples of the "Great Star Pattern" that was used on the American flag; due to a higher number of states/stars which made the design aesthetically impossible. During this period, the movement toward the horizontal star pattern is quite evident; there are numerous examples of the horizontal pattern and only rare appearances of a non-horizontal pattern, such as the "Great Star Pattern."

Although the circular or concentric ring pattern would survive another decade, the centennial era essentially brought an end to Reids insightful and handsome proposal. The arrangement of the stars in rows had been standard for Navy flags since its rebirth in 1798 and the Army had gradually been won over to the same concept during the Civil War. Nevertheless, it would not be until 1912 that all agencies of the federal government would come to follow a common pattern of star arrangement. There is no law that requires the citizens of the country to follow the same pattern. The 38-star Stars & Stripes flew during the presidencies of Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison.

The wool/bunting field is composed of 13 horizontal alternating red and white stripes each about 3.75 inches wide. The top-most stripe is red and the bottom-most stripe is red. Inset into the field, and extending through seven stripes from the top, is a dark blue canton (union) 28.75 inches wide on the fly x 27.5 inches, with 38 stars, 2.5 inches across, with a star pattern printed on the obverse and reverse sides in the form of one grand luminary (great star), emblematic of the national motto, "E Pluribus Unum" from many, one. The flag is machine stitched and is attached with grommets.

Exhibition History:

First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC1423)
38-Star "Grand Luminary" United States Flag.

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery V
(ZFC1423)
38-Star "Grand Luminary" United States Flag.

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr. Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 98.

Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 1994 during a trip to Arkansas and Missouri.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:

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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.

Samuel Chester Reid, Wikipedia, 24 October 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chester_Reid

Great Star Flags (U.S.), Flags of the World, 25 October 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-gstar.html

Martucci, David, Great Star Flags, US Flags: Part 5, 25 October 2011, from: http://www.midcoast.com/~martucci/flags/us-hist6.html

The Many Constellations of Old Glory, Historical Flags of Our Ancestors!, 25 October 2011, from: http://www.loeser.us/flags/us_flags.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	92
Length of Fly	52

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	28.75
Length of Union/Canton	27.5

Stars
Comments on Star Measurements	Grabd LuminaryStar pattern
Size of Stars	2.5

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	3.75
Width of 3rd Stripe	3.75
Width of 8th Stripe	3.75
Width of Last Stripe	4
Size of Hoist	2.25

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	60
Frame Length	96

Stars
Number of Stars	38
How are the stars embeded?	Printed
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes

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

Crest/Emblem
Description of Crest/Emblem	Grand Luminary or Great Star

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Wool
Comments on Fabric	Bunting

Stitching
Stitching	Machine

Attachment
Method of Attachment	Grommets

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.

Condition
Condition	Excellent
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	Approx 1876 – 1888

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC1423) 38-STAR "GRAND LUMINARY" UNITED STATES FLAG Date: About 1876-1888 Medium: Wool with printed stars; machine stitched Comment: The thirty-eight star flag is the last commercially manufactured flag wherein the stars were arranged in the form of the "grand luminary" or "great star" that had been proposed by Captain S. C. Reid sixty years earlier as the form that would best express the concept of "E Pluribus Unum", the national motto. Although the circular pattern or concentric ring pattern would survive another decade, the centennial era rang the death knell to Reid's insightful proposal. The arrangement of the stars in rows had been standard for navy flags since its rebirth in 1798, and the army gradually was won over to the same concept during the Civil War. Still it would be 1912 before all agencies of the government would follow a common pattern of star arrangement. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC1423) in 1994 from Arkansas. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - GALLERY V (ZFC1423) 38-Star "Grand Luminary" United States Flag Date: About 1876–1888 38 Stars: July 4, 1877/July 3, 1890 (Colorado statehood August 1, 1876) Medium: Wool; machine-stitched with printed stars Comment: The 38-star flag was the last commercially-manufactured flag in which the stars were arranged in the form of one great star, the "Grand Luminary" that had originally been proposed by Captain S. C. Reid almost 60 years earlier. He held that it was the form that could best express graphically the concept "E Pluribus Unum" (Out of Many, One), the national motto. Although the circular or concentric ring pattern would survive another decade, the centennial era essentially brought an end to Reid's insightful and handsome proposal. The arrangement of the stars in rows had been standard for Navy flags since its rebirth in 1798 and the Army had gradually been won over to the same concept during the Civil War. Nevertheless it would not be until 1912 that all agencies of the federal government would come to follow a common pattern of star arrangement. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC1423) in 1994 from Arkansas.

Publications

Publication Copy

Madaus, Howard M., Dr. Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 98. "38-Star "Grand Luminary" United States Flag The 38-star flag was the last commercially-manufactured flag in which the stars were arranged in the form of one great star, the "Grand Luminary" that had originally been proposed by Captain S. C. Reid almost 60 years earlier. He held that it was the form that could best express graphically the concept "E Pluribus Unum" (Out of Many, One), the national motto. Although the circular or concentric ring pattern would survive another decade, the centennial era essentially brought an end to Reid's insightful and handsome proposal. The arrangement of the stars in rows had been standard for Navy flags since its rebirth in 1798 and the Army had gradually been won over to the same concept during the Civil War. Nevertheless it would not be until 1912 that all agencies of the federal government would come to follow a common pattern of star arrangement. There is no law that requires the citizens of the country to follow the same pattern. The 38-star Stars & Stripes flew during the presidencies of Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison.