A Revelation of the American Flag as Art and as Social History
	An Exhibit from the Collection of Boleslaw and Marie Louise Mastai

The antique American flags shown here with permission were part of the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Boleslaw Mastai, formerly of New York City. The collection wass the result of fifty years of research and study by the team. All the flags are illustrated and described in their book, that was hailed as "a revelation of the American Flag as art and as social history"; The Stars and The Stripes; The American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present, by Boleslaw and Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai (Published by Alfred Knopf, New York 1973, Book-of-the Month 1973). The Mastai's are deceased and their lives' work was sold at auction by Sotheby's in 2002. This exhibit remains as a tribute to their passion for the art and social history of the American Flag.

On July 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, passed the following resolution:

"Resolved That the Flag of the united states (sic) be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation.-"

Since no provision was made as to precise design, the interpretation of the arrangement of the two design components, the stars and the stripes, was left to the imagination of the individual flag makers. Political and patriotic slogans also appeared on flags. In some instances, the canton was placed on the right, contrary to present usage. Results were startlingly original, frequently beautiful, always unique.

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10/97 - 9/4 rev.