Thirteen Star Centennial American Parade Flag.

Item Number: 138273

Rare thirteen star American Parade Flag produced during the first Centennial Celebration of American Independence. Printed on glazed cotton, the flag bears thirteen stars arranged in a circular pattern with one large star at center, surrounded by a wreath of 8 stars, and with one star in each of the 4 corners of the canton. In very good condition. The flag measures 7.25 inches by 4.75 inches. Double matted and framed. The entire piece measures 16 inches by 13.75 inches. A rare example showing the variety and originality with which Centennial flags were designed prior to the establishment of federal regulations governing the proportions and star arrangement of of United States flags.

One of the nation’s most widely recognized symbols, the flag of the United States of America has been officially modified a total of 26 times since its first appearance in 1777. The flag’s initial design, bearing thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, has been credited to several historic figures including naval flag designer Francis Hopkinson, Elizabeth “Betsy” Ross, and flagmaker Rebecca Young. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” "Popular interpretation of the Stars and Stripes undoubtedly reached its apogee of variety and originality in the time of the First Centennial. Since no trammets of any kind were yet placed on flagmaker's imagination... it is no surprise that, on the ocassion of the Centennial, creativeness in flag design was not the exception but the rule" (Boleslaw and Mastai).