Historical "47" Star U.S. Flag Stained Glass Window Very Rare, Civil War: "Grand Army of the Republic" Start Price USD 900.00 Current Price USD 900.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, November 21, 2008 End Time Monday, December 01, 2008 Location Olathe, Kansas See more about 'Historical "47" Star U.S. Flag Stained Glass Window ' Description Listed here is a "very rare" and "Historical" antique stained glass window.  This original stained glass window was removed from a church that was torn down about 25 years ago.  Our research indicates that this church was originally a Methodist church built circa 1879 in a small town in kansas.    The church changed denominational ownership throughout its' history, until the last owners of the church removed all items of value and significance and auctioned off most of them (including this window) on site 25 years ago.  This window (among others) was purchased at that auction.  The buyer donated this window (among others) to a college.  In turn, the college auctioned this window (and others) off during their annual fund raising event.  The new owner then stored this stained glass window in his basement where it remained for over 20 years.  While recently helping the owner move to a retirement home, and to prepare for an estate sale, the window was uncovered.  After some "quick" research, the historical significance of this "47" star American Flag stained glass window began to unfold.  This led to more extensive research which is summarized here: The first step in the research process began with an attempt to date the window by counting the stars on the flag.  We quickly discovered that there was a "46" star American Flag that became the official flag of the United States on July 4, 1908 with the admission of Oklahoma to the Union.  Then, the official flag of the United States changed to a "48" star flag 4 years later on July 4, 1912 with the admission of New Mexico and Arizona to the Union.  New Mexico gained statehood and became the 47th state on January 6, 1912.  Arizona gained statehood as the 48th state on February 14, 1912, 5 weeks after New Mexico.  But, the United States only adopts new flags on the 4th of July, so, since both states were added to the Union in 1912, before the 4th of July, the United States never had an "official" "47" star American Flag when New Mexico became the 47th state (for 5 weeks).  So, the fact that there are "47" stars on this American  Flag stained glass window logically dates the window to around January, 1912.  Evidently though, there were some flag makers at the time that didn't realize all this, and some ("unofficial") "47" star flags were produced.  The "47" star flag is a rare item.  It appears that there are only about 12 known to exist.  Most of these flags appear to be in or near New Mexico, which probably means that they were made by people from New Mexico who wanted to show their pride in gaining statehood.  Three places where these rare flags can be seen hanging are in the Tularosa Basin Historical Society Museum, the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe and at Fort McHenry.  Why it is that the maker of this "47" star American Flag stained glass window did not include a 48th star for Arizona remains a mystery.  Perhaps he/she simply did not know about Arizona becoming a state so close after New Mexico did.  Perhaps the maker did know about Arizona, but the window was completed on or about the 6th of January 1912 and it had to be technically correct for display, and the intention was to add another star later (there appears to be room to do that), but it never was added.  Perhaps we will never know?  But here is the point, if there are only a handful of (period) "47" star "unofficial" American Flags in existence, how many (period) "47" star stained glass American Flags are there in existence?  How is it that this "47" star American Flag stained glass window, dated to about January, 1912, ended up as a window in a church built in the 1800's?  How is it that the window itself looks exactly like all the other original windows (circa 1879) that came out of that church (except for the flag portion of the window)?  Here is the answer: Along with this "47" star American Flag stained glass window are many other original windows from that church.  On one of those other windows is the inscription "Post No. 23".  We knew that the American Legion identifies local chapters by post numbers, but the American Legion wasn't founded until 1919 (after World War I).  Further research led us to another organization that also identified local chapters by post number.  This organization was The Grand Army of the Republic, which was a fraternal organization comprised of veterans of the Union Army who had served in the American Civil War.  Historical documents from the Kansas Historical Society show that Post No. 23 of the Grand Army of the Republic was located in Howard, Kansas.  We learned that it was "common place" that these Civil War Veterans Organizations often had their meeting place/headquarters in a local church.  In order to identify the location of the organization's meeting place, members usually had some form of patriotic emblem (usually the American Flag) and their Post Number displayed for all to see.  So, it is more than likely that the members of Post No. 23 in Howard, Kansas used this local church as their headquarters/meeting place in 1911/12.  They then commissioned someone to add the American Flag ("47" stars-January, 1912) to an original church window.  Additionally, they added an inscription with (their) Post No. 23 on another window.  Additional research with Howard, Kansas residents verified that a church was demolished over 25 years ago and one older gentleman remembered well the day that they removed all the items (windows) from the church and auctioned them off on site.  No one seems to know (yet) how long this chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic occupied this church as its' meeting place before the entire Grand Army of the Republic organization finally disbanded in the 1940's.  So, herein is the connection to the American Civil War by way of veterans who actually participated in the war.   Now a little about the window itself:  From the top of window (the small end) to bottom (the large curved end), the window measures 46 inches high. From side to side at the widest point, the window measures 37 1/2 inches wide.  The very last picture shows the reverse side of the window.  We know very little about antique stained glass windows, so we have not attempted to clean, mend, fix or do anything to this window.  What you see in the pictures is exactly how the window was uncovered after 20 (plus) years in storage.  The leaded glass is very thick and heavy.  We are told that this is indicative of the type of glass used in many stained glass church windows of that era.  There are some cracks in the window as depicted in some of the close up pictures, and of course, it is in need of cleaning.  The window is sturdy, yet fragile when handling it.  We will ship the window however the new owner wants it shipped.  Not sure what the cost of shipping will be.  I entered a flat shipping rate of $50.00 as an estimate, but what ever it cost us is what you will pay, nothing more.  You can also pick it up in Olathe, Kansas if you desire. This information that we gathered about this historical stained glass window came from several different sources, but primarily from the county library, museum curators, The Kansas Historical Society, internet resources and direct communication with long time residents of Howard, Kansas.  I do have several expert opinions about the value of the stained glass window itself, but all agree that it is next to impossible to place a value on "historical significance"  If there are any questions about this item, please ask.  If you have any information (historical facts or opinion) that may shed more light on this unique find, we would appreciate you sharing that with us as well.  Good luck.                                    Place a Bid!