LINCOLN: "FLORIDA" 31 STAR AMERICAN FLAG FROM THE 1860 REPUBLICAN CONVENTION.
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Winning Bid:
$25,370.00
(Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Tuesday, March 15, 2022 9:00:00 PM)
Item Description
11x14" glazed cotton flag on 26" long stick. Used during the 1860 Republican "Wigwam" Convention in Chicago which nominated Lincoln. Various states were represented by these flags at the convention, each w/this star pattern. Stars arranged in the canton to form one large star known as the Great Star pattern, considered the most desirable pattern for pre-civil war flags. Canton shows lighter printing along lower third. Black "Florida" text has trivial age remaining bold. Red stripes are strong and show no fading. White shows minimal aging. Fabric maintains its stability. VF. An impressive artifact of the historic convention.
Additional Information: This flag along with 10-15 examples featuring various states were discovered 30-35 years ago and quickly absorbed by hobbyists. At the time of their discovery the oral history accompanying them indicated that they were used at the 1860 Republican Wigwam convention in Chicago. That oral history has been passed down through the ensuing years by many of the country's most notable Americana dealers and examples of these flags have found their way into leading institutions including the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The present offering is the plate example found from Stuart Schneider's Collecting Lincoln published in 1997 and found on page 46.
Examples of this star pattern are found most frequently on 1860 Lincoln flags- Collins listed five flags with similar star patterns in Threads of History: a larger 1856 Fremont flag as plate 259 on p.145; a Douglas that was part of a banner as plate 298 on p.159 and three Lincoln flags as plates 294, 295 and 296 on p.157 and 158.
We have encountered similar flags emblazoned with California, Arkansas, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Georgia and Virginia. While most Southern states, including Florida, Arkansas and Georgia decided against sending delegations to the 1860 Republican convention, it is likely that convention organizers would have procured these well in advance of the event. This combined with the strength of the grass roots movement supporting Lincoln and the reality that the Republicans were much more prone to produce campaign material than their Democratic and Independent opponents point to the oral history of these flags being highly likely. Though ultimately, as is sometimes the case with pieces of early Americana, the ability to definitively prove this as reality is impossible for any specimen extant.
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