Original U.S. Pre-WWI 46 Star Wool & Canvas National Flag with Halyard - 84" x 140"
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Original Item: Only One Available. Now these are hard to come by! On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma was officially admitted as the 46th State in the United States. Just over 4 years later, on January 6, 1912, New Mexico was admitted, followed quickly by Arizona, which gave us the 48-star flag used through WWI, WWII and the Korean War. It wasn't until 1949 that Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.
Only made for just over 4 years, these flags are quite rare, and this is the first example we have seen. This United States National Flag measures a nice large 84" x 140" in size, about 7 x 11.5 feet. There is a number 12 marked on the canvas header, so we believe that this was produced as a 7' x 12' flag, and may have shrunk or been repaired while in service.
The flag body is of multi-piece wool construction, with the stars separate cotton pieces sewn on, with a sturdy canvas header. There are no maker markings visible anymore on the header, and it still retains a nice halyard, with a loop on one end and a loose rope on the other. It feels to be made of hemp fibers.
The flag looks to have been in service for some time, as it has numerous repairs, and even some material grafted in. We unfortunately do not know anything about this flag's history, as it certainly must have been interesting! It has the usual age toning, so the white is now somewhat beige. A very nice example, ready to display!
The general rule of thumb is that cotton flags were issued during WWII and nylon flags were issued during the Korean War. Flags made prior to WWII were made of a wool blend.
NOTE: due to the flag's large size, we were not able to take a picture of the entire flag without having the edges folded over.
- This product is available for international shipping.
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