A rare 39/40-Star American National Flag commemorating North and South Dakota statehood circa 1889

With a double cotton canton hand-sewn with an irregular double medallion of 38 four-pointed stars enclosing a single larger five-pointed star on one side, and an irregular double medallion of 39 four-pointed cotton stars enclosing a single larger five-pointed star on the other side, ten machine-sewn cotton stripes, the fly-end of last stripe embroidered "1876," machine-sewn linen heading retains hemp rope.

(71 in. x 112 in.)

Provenance

Sotheby's, Collection of Thomas S. Connelly, May 23, 2002, lot 145
Collection of Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn, MD.

Footnote:

Literature

Nancy Druckman, Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn, American Flags- Designs for a Young Nation (2003) p. 72, illustrated with commentary, "This rare and possibly unique flag commemorates the fact that on November 2, 1889, the Dakota Terriotry was admitted to the Union as two states- North and South Dakota- the 39th and 40th States. 39-star flags were produced under the assumption that the Dakota Territory would be admitted to the Union as a single state. This unusual Flag exhibits not only a hand-sewn double four-sided canton, but extremely rare four-sided stars. It is also unusual in that the top stripe is white."