27464

1844 Henry Clay Campaign Flag

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:12,000.00 - 18,000.00 USD
1844 Henry Clay Campaign Flag
<B>Important 1844 Henry Clay Silk Campaign Flag</B></I> <BR>While several varieties of Clay portrait flags appear on the market from time to time, this style is much rarer, and highly desirable because of the delightful "coon" image. The central device is a reclining raccoon, and below him is this little ditty: "The moon was shining silver bright, The stars with glory crowned the night, High on a branch, that 'same old coon,' Was singing to himself this tune, _______ de kitchen, Hurrah! Hurrah For Harry Clay!" Condition is very decent overall. There is a 1" hole, harmlessly located to the right in the second white stripe from the bottom, as well as several much tinier holes, in unobtrusive locations. Several very minor small 1/2" to 1 1/2" separations along old fold lines, none of which involve any fabric loss. These conditions could be easily, virtually invisibly repaired by any competent textile restorer. However, the previous owner, a sophisticated collector of early political cloth, did not find this necessary, nor would we. There is light even overall soiling, again not objectionable. The white areas have evenly turned to a beige tone, however the reds and blues have held quite strong, the red having resisted the common tendency in these early flags to turn to a rust color. When photographing this flag for the catalog, we had a hard time getting a sharp photo of the raccoon. This image is made up of many very fine lines of ink, many of which are close together. As framed, the fabric is puckered, rather like the skin on your thumb after long immersion in water. As a result, the photographed image of the "coon" is fuzzy. It is clearer in person. However, in order to display this piece to best advantage, it would be advisable to have a good textile conservator re-back the flag with silk. This would be the best way to completely flatten out the surface, so the image can be best read. Having noted these various minor imperfections, we reiterate that the overall display appearance is quite presentable, as the photo shows, and could be further improved with minimal, easy restoration. One of the finest political textiles we have ever handled. 31" x 27", nicely custom framed. <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid. Lot:27464