LOT #43010 |
Sold on Nov 13, 2023 for: Not Sold
35 Star U.S. Flag from Erie Rail Road Depot, Jersey City, N.J. ...
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Description
Largest Surviving Civil War Era Flag
35 Star U.S. Flag from Erie Rail Road Depot, Jersey City,
N.J. This huge (30' x 43') wool flag flew over the Erie
Railroad's central depot in Jersey City, New Jersey, during the
Civil War, which was a central departure point for thousands of
troops. It is thought to be the largest surviving Civil War flag
extant. Dating from 1863 to 1865 this flag is also thought to be
the same flag illustrated flying at half-staff in one of the plates
from the Obsequies of Abraham Lincoln in the City of New York by
David T. Valentine, and published in New York 1866, as an account
of the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln in April of 1865.At 30' x 43' it is larger than the more famous "Star Spangled Banner" at the Smithsonian Institute. Because of its large size this flag is rarely displayed. Mammoth flags of this stature that date from the Civil War are quite rare. One reason is that large flags like this were often cannibalized to make smaller flags in the post war era. Another is that unscrupulous dealers cut up period flags for the wool bunting to make ersatz "Confederate", out of period bunting flags to sell to the unsuspecting public.
This flag was formerly #78 in the acclaimed flag collection of noted antique dealer Mr. Boleslaw Mastai and his wife Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai, formerly of New York City, and later Amagansett, Long Island. Their collection was the result of fifty years of collection, research and study by the late husband-wife team. Mastai, started collecting in the mid 20th century and amassed the greatest private flag collection known in the United States; which he detailed in his groundbreaking book "The Stars and The Stripes; The American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present", published by Alfred Knopf, New York 1973; which was hailed as a revolutionary depiction of the American Flag both as art and social history.
Condition: Flag has been stabilized in fragile areas. Thread wear in field.
Publication History
Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the republic to the Present, Knopf, New York, 1973. Pp. 146-147.
Provenance:
Erie Rail Road Depot, Jersey City, N.J, 1863/65.
Acquired by Mr. & Mrs. Boleslaw & Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai, New York City, and Amagansett, NY, The Mastai Collection, until 2002.
Sold via Sotheby's Auction in New York City to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 2002. From the Zaricor Flag Collection.
View all of [The Zaricor Flag Collection ]
Auction Info
2023 November 13 - 14 Americana & Political Signature Auction Signature® Auction #6276 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
November, 2023
13th-14th
Monday-Tuesday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 0
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 470
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.
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