American Flags: Designs for a Young Nation

The American flags of our forefathers were often beautifully handmade objects that lovingly expressed in both craft and design the patriotic sentiments of their makers. American Flags presents 70 shining examples of these masterpieces of popular art, with a short, readable essay that gives the history of the flag from the nation's founding up until 1912, when United States law finally decreed that the design of the flag must be uniform across the land.

Today, the audience for historic flags is booming. Museum exhibitions of flags have proven to be far more popular than even their organizers expected, and prices for historic flags have been rising rapidly. The flags presented here are arranged chronologically, showing how individual flag makers redesigned the flag for different occasions, such as the admission of new states to the Union. Selected for their historic significance and their craft and workmanship, these rare survivors bear the marks of time and events.

Nancy Druckman is Senior Vice President and Director, American Folk Art, at Sotheby's in New York. She lectures frequently on American folk art, and appears regularly on Antiques Roadshow. Druckman lives in New York City. Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn is an expert in the history of the American flag. He lives in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.