A rare large 20-Star American flag, circa 1818

Lot 272

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Rare Books, Autographs & Maps

By Doyle

Nov 25, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-11-25 10:00:00 2025-11-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Rare Books, Autographs & Maps https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/doyle/rare-books-autographs-maps-21321 Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 10am Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Collection Doyle info@doyle.com

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Lot Description

[FLAG] A 20-Star American flag commemorating Mississippi statehood. Circa 1817-1818. Hand-sewn flag with double-appliqued cotton muslin stars arranged in 4 rows of 5 in a rich, blue cotton canton; the canton sits on a red "war" or "blood" stripe. The cotton stripes are hand-sewn; there is a cotton sleeve with 4 whip-sewn grommets that appear to have later machine-stitched reinforcing. The fly end was originally hand-stitched, but now also has machine-stitched reinforcing. Mounted and framed. Flag measures 38 1/2 x 53 inches (98 x 135 cm); in frame 47 x 62 inches (119 x 157 cm). Stars toned and with some stains, stripes creased throughout, staining (mostly visible along the white stripes), one very minor loss on fifth red stripe, restitched patch to the sixth red stripe, fraying to top left extremity. Please note that in the original Sotheby's catalogue, this flag is shown facing correctly; it is unknown why this was mounted in reverse. A reproduction of the photograph from that catalogue is added here, but is not part of the lot. Mississippi was admitted to the Union as a slave state on December 10, 1817, under President James Monroe, and the 20-star Mississippi flag was authorized on July 4th, 1818. On April 4th, 1818, the Flag Act was a crucial piece of legislation in the United States that standardized the design of the American flag and established a clear guideline for incorporating new states into the Union. This act replaced the previous Flag Act of 1794, which had increased the number of stars and stripes to reflect the number of states. The 1818 Act, however, recognized that adding stripes for each new state would become impractical as the nation continued to grow. It stipulated that the flag would maintain 13 alternating stripes representing the original colonies, and that a star would be added for each new state while retaining the 13-stripe design. This solution allowed for the representation of new states without overcrowding the flag with stripes. The Mississippi flag was replaced by the 21-star flag on July 4, 1819, when Illinois was admitted to the Union. Provenance: Sotheby's New York, Important Americana, including Silver, Flags, Folk Art & Furniture, 23 May 2002, lot 106.

Condition

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