34 Star U.S. Parade Flag, 1861 - 1864 - Peale Museum
This small hand-stitched silk 34 star flag dates to 1861-1863, and was likely intended for patriotic use, perhaps as a parade flag. It is unusual in that the stripes are sewn while the canton in printed. At first glance the canton seems haphazard, but eventually a pattern emerges. The center star in the canton is larger than the rest and is set in a a diamond of eight stars, which are in turn are accented by seven stars bracketing the diamond, four on the hoist and three on the fly. This in turn is surrounded by a picture frame of 18 stars for a total of 34. The accession documents that accompany this flags donation to the Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum (SSBFH) indicate that it was gifted in the "Interest of the Peale Museum."

The nation's second Peale Museum, "Peale's Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts" was established in Baltimore, MD by Rembrandt Peal in 1814. It was inspired by a similar institution established in 1783 by his father, Charles Wilson Peale, in Philadelphia, PA. It was also called the Peal Museum. The Baltimore museum was envisioned as an arts and science museum and combined paintings, many by the Peale family, with artifacts and fossils.
The Peal Museum of Baltimore was constructed at 225 North Holliday Street and was the first public building in nation to use gas lighting. It functioned there until 1831 when the building was sold and became the Baltimore City Hall; the Peale collection exhibits were relocated. In 1875 the Baltimore municipal government moved into new quarters and in 1876 the building y became the Primary School no. 1 for Colored Children. From 1887 to 1915 it housed the City Water Board. After 1915 it was rented to various private businesses and in 1931, after being saved from demolition and a renovation, the museum reopened as the Municipal Museum of Baltimore. It was refurbished between 1978 and 1981 and reopened as The Peale Museum. In 1997 it was closed and the Peal Collections were subsumed into the Maryland Historical Society.
It is not known if this 34 star flag was used by Peale Museum, or if it was an artifact in the museum, or perhaps a flag donated to them, that was in turn gifted to the SSFBH. The connection of the donors to either the Peale Museum or the SSBFH is likewise unknown. What is known however, is that this star patter, although printed, is extremely rare among surviving 34 star parade flags from the era of the American Civil War, and while 34 flags not uncommon this is the only known flag from the 1861-1863 period with an association to one of America's oldest museums with unique starfield.

Provenance:
* Municipal Museum of Baltimore, (The Peale Museum), Baltimore, MD.
* Acquired by the Stevenson sisters, Baltimore, MD, until 1961.
* Gifted to the Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum, until 1996.
* Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD. in 1996.

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