U.S 35 Star Flag - Hidden Grand Luminary Star.

35 Star U.S. Flag - Grand Luminary "Hidden Star", 1865.
This 35 star, hand-sewn, double appliqué, cotton Grand Luminary flag's history is unknown. Its large central star inside the lager "Great Star" formed by twenty smaller stars is camouflaged by the accent stars in the apparent haphazard arrangement surrounding it. Upon closer examination one can see that the outlying stars are arranged in chevrons of three stars in between each of the hidden stars arms in all except those at the top of the flag which bear only two stars. It is unknown to what use this Civil War era flag was put because it bears no similarity to any known size flag issued to US troops. This flag is additionally interesting because of the sky-blue fringe on the fly edge, which some scholars have attributed to militia infantry use; sky-blue being the color associated with the infantry during the Civil War and since.

This Grand Luminary flag with 35 stars was hand-sewn in a double appliqué on cotton fabric. The pattern of the stars on this flag is unique; a "Great Star" created by twenty smaller stars surrounds a large central star. While many surrounding stars camouflage the detail of the Great Star, upon closer examination one can see that these outlying stars are arranged in chevrons of three stars, clustered within the arms of the Great Star except in the topmost point of the star, in which only two stars complete the cluster. The use of this Civil War era flag is unknown, particularly because it bears no resemblance to any equally sized flag issued to US troops at this time. However, one interesting feature of this flag is the sky-blue fringe located on the fly, which has led some scholars to posit that the flag must have been used by militia infantry because sky-blue is the color that has been the branch color of US infantry since the 1857.

In addition to being a Grand Luminary flag this flag may also be a Conversion Flag. A Conversion Flag originally had a lower star count but was updated after the admission of new states into the Union. It is likely that this was a Camp Flag for use by an unknown Union militia unit.

This Grand Luminary flag was formerly flag # 7 of the acclaimed collection of noted New York City antique dealer Mr. Boleslaw Mastai and his wife Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai. Their collection was the result of fifty years of collection, research, and study. Mastai started his collection in the 1940s, and amassed the greatest private flag collection in the United States, which he personally detailed in his book The Stars and the Stripes; the American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present. With its publication in 1973 the book drew attention to the American Flag as a symbol of not only history, but art as well.

Publication History:
Mastai, Boleslaw & Marie Louise, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present, Alfred Knopf, New York, 1973, p. 110-111.

ZFC Significant Flag

Sources:

---

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

Woodhead, Henry, ed., Flags, Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of The Union, New York, Time Life Books, 1998,Pp. 240-295.

Infantry, The Institute of Heraldry, 5 October 2011, from: http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/UniformedServices/Branches/infantry.aspx

CAMP FLAG, Dictionary of Vexillology, Flags of the World, 5 October 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/vxt-dv-c.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

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.

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	42
Length of Fly	58

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	22.25
Length of Union/Canton	24

Stars
Comments on Star Measurements	Hidden Great Star of 20, two points up, with three extra stars between points except for the two upper most points which contains two extra stars.
Size of Stars	2.75

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	3.75
Width of 3rd Stripe	3.75
Width of 8th Stripe	3.5
Width of Last Stripe	3.5
Size of Hoist	2

Frame
Is it framed?	no

Stars
Number of Stars	35
How are the stars embeded?	Applique
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

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Wool-silk
Comments on Fabric	Canton is wool/silk, stripes are cotton. Wool & Silk Weave Blend

Stitching
Stitching	Hand

Weave
Type of Weave	Plain

Attachment
Comments on Method of Attachmen	heading has five grommets, some whipped stitched.
Method of Attachment	Headings & 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.
Research Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Public Copy & Signs	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Condition	Fair
Damage	used, holes in canton, soiled, some rust on reinforcing rings on hoist. Trending to good.
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1863-1865

Publications
Publication Copy	Mastai, Boleslaw & Marie Louise, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present, Alfred Knopf, New York 1973, p. 110-111. "A camouflaged "Great Star" (opposite page). The severely geometric star shape is hidden within the apparently haphazard constellation of thirty-five start in the canton. An uninhibited original variation, dating from 1863, it has indisputable kinetic elements."
Flag Books	The Stars and The Stripes - Mastai