$6,000
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000
A Grand Old Flag: The Stars and Stripes Collection of Dr. Peter J. Keim
Auction: November 24, 2019 1:00:00 PM EDT
Printed with emblazoned eagle and 13 stars and 16 vertical stripes on cotton, with a machine-sewn canvas hoist, two brass grommets, a printed cloth manufacturer's tag to hoist, "In Name Annin Guarantees Quality-Defiance," hoist stamped, "Mastai Collection," mounted and framed.
31 1/4 in. x 49 1/2 in. (sight)Provenance: The Collection of Boleslaw and Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai.
Literature: Kevin Keim & Peter Keim, A Grand Old Flag: A History of the United States Through its Flags (2007), 31.
Note: At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the Navy was disbanded and its warships sold. Smuggling on the high seas was rampant and the tariffs to be collected on imports largely avoided. In an effort to remedy the situation and raise much needed income, Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton urged Congress to pass the U.S. Revenue-Marine in 1790. This act created the only American armed maritime service of the time. The official Ensign of the Revenue-Marine was created in 1799, with an eagle with shield, 13-Stars and 16 stripes representing the sixteen states of the time. The present version of the Revenue Service Ensign was adopted in 1868.