$2,000
Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500
A Grand Old Flag: The Stars and Stripes Collection of Dr. Peter J. Keim
Auction: November 24, 2019 1:00:00 PM EDT
The first item, hand-embroidered silk thread stars arranged in a wreath pattern on a silk canton, hand-sewn silk stripes, mounted and framed with typed note of provenance on verso; the second item, a printed cotton Flag, the hoist selvage printed, "Souvenir from the Betsy Ross House, Birthplace of Old Glory, Philadelphia," and stamped with the date, "Mar 22. 1910," mounted with a printed card showing "Birth of Our National Flag," framed; and the third item, a printed silk Flag in the same pattern on a gold colored stick pin attached to a card with the printed inscription, "Replica Betsy Ross Flag first Flag of the United States Adopted By Continental Congress, June 14th, 1777 / Betsy Ross House Colonial Village - Century of Progress / Chicago, 1934."
5 1/2 in. x 8 1/2 in., 7 in. x 4 in., 3 1/4 in. x 2 1/4 in.Provenance: Second and third items:
Thomas D. Schiera Collection of American Parade Flags, Cowan's Auctions, June 21, 2013, lot 174.
First item: Literature: Kevin Keim & Peter Keim, A Grand Old Flag: A History of the United States Through its Flags (2007), 48.
Note: The first item bears the typed note, "Given to the late Joseph A. Dague, a Clearfield lawyer, by Dorothy Scott of Frenchville. Handed down in the family of her late husband, Ralph Scott, whose family lived near Morristown, N.J. Mrs. Scott said that Betsy Ross's grand-daughter made this flag, as well as others, which she gave as gifts. That granddaughter had married one of Mr. Scott's ancestors. These facts are confirmed by an article in Yankee Magazine, dated Feb. 1971... Joseph A. Dague, Jr." Beginning in the 1890s, Rachel W. Albright, Betsy Ross' granddaughter and later, Sarah M. Wilson, Ross' great granddaughter, produced and sold souvenir Flags in the East Wing of Independence Hall to raise funds for the Betsy Ross House.