21 Star Flag-Hand Sewn Entirely Made of Silk

Extremely rare 21 Star American National Flag displaying a Great Star pattern (1818-1819).

The 21st State, Illinois, entered the Union on December 3rd, 1818 and became official on July 4th of the following year, 1819, then was replaced by the 23 star flag on July 4th, 1820.

One of the most sought after of all designs in American flag collecting is the Great Star pattern, also known as the "Grand Luminary." This pattern was proposed by Captain Samuel Reid, circa 1815-1820, as a way to arrange the stars so the pattern would be easier to identify at sea, and that same design could be easily increased as more states entered the union. Reid's proposal was then rejected by President Monroe, however despite the pattern not being officially adopted, the continuing practice of making flags with the Great Star pattern is displayed on flags as early as 1818 as shown in this example.

Almost all the 21 star flags that were made before the addition of the 22nd state, on December 14th, 1819, were more likely home made and not manufactured by a private company. There are other examples of the 21 Star flag that have been made to represent the Confederacy prior, during the Civil War and are called Exclusionary and Succession Flags. These flags are also very rare and beautiful.

With only five or six known period examples of a 21 Star Flag displaying the Great Star pattern still in existence to date, two are known to have been made entirely of silk and only one is designed in the Great Star pattern. That would make this example, entirely made of silk, the most rare of all the 21 stars flags. The other known example also is entirely made of silk in a snowflake pattern and was owned by Jeff Bridgman American Antiques.

The silk hand sewn stars are double applique and that means the stars are displayed on both sides. However in this example instead of creating another star to display on the other side one would cut out the material (canton) in order to display the same star on the reverse side, hence a peek-a-boo star design. This was a common practice of early American Flags primarily due to the lack of available material at that time. We feel as though in this particular 21 Star Flag because it was constructed entirely of silk it could have been the choice of the creator to use the peek-a-boo star design.

According to the previous owner this flag was discovered in a barn in Ohio after a fire that had engulfed the family home and then continued to barn where it eventually was contained and extinguished. Unfortunately the 21 star flag was folded in a way that the heat from the fire burnt the folded edges on one side. The wonderful thing is obvious the flag still maintains a spectacular and almost complete look in-spite of the fire.

Condition:
Great condition considering it's age along with some material loss due to the fire and use. The stripes display minor stains, but maintain their wonderful crisp color. The canton has a deep rich blue color containing 21 stars in a Great Star pattern, some of the silk is missing and minor fracturing. Overall the 21 Star Flag is a rare and historical piece of American history.

 

 

To the left is the 21 Star Silk Flag as it would have looked prior to the fire. A spectacular piece of American History