Thirty-Six Star American Flag.

Item Number: 124557

Rare thirty-six star printed American parade flag commemorating the statehood of Nevada. The first flag to appear after the end of the Civil War, the thirty-six star flag was in use for two years between July 4, 1865 when Nevada was admitted into the Union and July 3, 1867 when Nebraska was admitted. Printed in blue and red ink on cotton, the flag measures 27.5 inches by 19 inches. Matted and framed, the entire piece measures 35.5 inches by 27 inches. In very good condition. A handsome presentation of a desirable Civil War era flag.

"Although Nevada became a state while the Civil War was in progress, its membership in the Union was not officially recognized by Congress until July 4, 1865, several months after the war was over" (Druckman & Kohn, 56). Although not considered a Civil War flag, this flag nevertheless contains elements of Civil War flags: "The preference of Civil War flagmakers was clearly for horizontal and vertical alignment of stars: that is, complete parallelism of rows... The collective visual effect of Civil War flags is, therefore, one of hypnotic rhythm - the embattled stars, drawn up in military order in defense of the threatened Union, stride on relentlessly. Star patterns of this sort, denser now and necessarily smaller, may be described as 'phalanx' or 'battalion' arrangements" (Mastai & Mastai, 123). "The thirty-six star flag... typically contained five rows of stars. The first, third, and fifth rows hel eight stars each; the second and fourth rows had six each" (Lepson, 94). The present flag has the phalanx pattern in an unusual configuration of six rows of six five-pointed stars each. "While Civil War flags escaped much of the mortal rigidity of mechanical mass production, their artistic merit was more particularly due to the delicate design relationship of the elements and to numerous subtle details - such as the directions of the arms of the stars, which we never entirely regimented, as they are on modern flags. And truly no modern replica can either do justice to the artistic character, or render the 'patina' of one of these antique flags" (Mastai & Mastai, 124).