American Flag with a Fouled Anchor in a Circle of Thirteen Stars

Description

Explore the luxury market of fine art and material culture. Our organization has deployed the use of blockchain to offer digital asset tracking for objects sold by the Art Gallery.
American Flag - Nautical
"A modification of the national flag and ensign but with a fouled anchor in a circle of thirteen stars in the canton, was created by Act of Congress in August 1848 as a flag to be used by licensed U.S. yachts. The design was recommended by the New York Yacht Club in 1849. Yachts eligible for the license were initially 20 net tons and over (later reduced to 15 net tons) and otherwise eligible to be enrolled as a US vessel; the license allowed the yacht to proceed from port to port without the formality of clearing customs. The 1848 act used the word 'signal' to describe the flag that a licensed yacht would use to identify herself, and use of this flag was required by all licensed yachts ("All such licensed yachts shall use a signal of the form, size, and colors prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy."). The Secretary of the Navy approved a modification of "the American Ensign" as the signal, and Treasury Decision No. 2727 (March 24, 1876) issued by the Treasury Department confirmed that the flag was to be used as an ensign ("Licensed yachts are required by law to use the American ensign prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy."), and its use as an ensign was reiterated in Treasury Decision 9426 of June 11, 1889 (referring to the "yacht ensign"). While formally licensed yachts were legally required to fly this modification of the national ensign, unlicensed U.S. yachts also started flying this flag as their ensign, too, and eventually the U.S. Navy confirmed that it recognized this practice for all U.S. yachts. In 1939, the Secretary of the Navy approved the ruling of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy "...that a ship of the Navy should return a dip made by a yacht flying the yacht ensign and that the yacht ensign may properly be made the object of a hand salute to be rendered on boarding or leaving a yacht."
Era: Mid Century
Flag Dimensions: 22" length and 14" width
Condition: Fair - wear consistent with age and use
Shipping and insurance cost included in sale price. This item is final sale and non-returnable.
Ships White Glove - Please do not hesitate to contact us for an international shipping quote.