Exhibits Title information is available upon specific request. Additional information available upon request to researchers, writers and others demonstrating special circumstances. In some situations, information may not be available.

Exhibition Copy

First Predidio Exhibit (ZFC0610) 33-STAR UNITED STATES FLAG Date: 1859-1861 Media: Wool bunting and cotton stars; all hand-sewn Comment: Although both the Navy and the Army regulations in force at the end of the 1850s specified that the canton in the Stars and Stripes was to extend down through the seventh stripe (counting from the top of the flag), nothing in any of the flag enactments of the era specifically indicated the relative proportions of the union to the overall flag. Not surprisingly, therefore, a number of flag makers interpreted the lack of specificity as a license to follow their own whims regarding the size and proportions of the canton. In this flag the canton extends through the top six stripes only, rather than the traditional seven. A claim made in 1880 indicated that ships ensigns manufactured in the Gosport Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, during the second quarter of the 19th century were all made with cantons that were only six stripes deep. However, the earliest specifications concerning U.S. Navy flags and ensigns clearly state that the canton was to extend through seven stripes (i.e. to be 7/13ths the width of the flag) and later Navy Regulations further specified that the length of the canton was to be 4/10ths the overall length of the flag. To explain the six-stripe canton depth, a hypothesis evolved that any flag made with the canton resting on a red stripe indicated its manufacture during a period of war. Neither documentary nor inductive evidence supports this myth. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0610) in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection of New York City through auction at Sothebys. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 GALLERY III (ZFC0610) 33-Star United States Flag Date: 18591861 33 Stars: July 4, 1859-July 3, 1861 (Oregon statehood February 14, 1859) Media: Wool bunting and cotton stars; all hand-sewn Comment: Although both the Navy and the Army regulations in force at the end of the 1850s specified that the canton in the Stars and Stripes was to extend down through the seventh stripe (counting from the top of the flag), nothing in any of the flag enactments of the era specifically indicated the relative proportions of the union to the overall flag. Not surprisingly, therefore, a number of flag makers interpreted the lack of specificity as a license to follow their own whims regarding the size and proportions of the canton. In this flag the canton extends through the top six stripes only, rather than the traditional seven. A claim made in 1880 indicated that ships ensigns manufactured in the Gosport Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, during the second quarter of the 19th century were all made with cantons that were only six stripes deep. However, the earliest specifications concerning U.S. Navy flags and ensigns clearly state that the canton was to extend through seven stripes (i.e. to be 7/13ths the width of the flag) and later Navy regulations further specified that the length of the canton was to be 4/10ths the overall length of the flag. To explain the six-stripe canton depth, a hypothesis evolved that any flag made with the canton resting on a red stripe indicated its manufacture during a period of war. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0610) in 2002 from the Mastai Flag Collection through auction at Sothebys of New York City.

Publications Title information is available upon specific request. Additional information available upon request to researchers, writers and others demonstrating special circumstances. In some situations, information may not be available.
Publication Images	Cover Frontispeice Frontispeice detail Frontispeice detail 2 Page 128
Flag Books	The Stars and The Stripes - Mastai

Title information is available upon specific request. Additional information available upon request to researchers, writers and others demonstrating special circumstances. In some situations, information may not be available.