In the October, 2018, CTT's letters to the editor, Bob Peterson makes the good point that the Post Office reviewed on page 58 of the July issue does not quite work for a layout set in the earlier part of the 20th century. He points out the anachronistic blue mailbox and 50-star flag.
The 50-star flag became official on July 4, 1960, replacing the 49-star flag which had appeared exactly one year earlier, as Alaska became a state early in 1959 and Hawaii only later in the same year. The 48-star flag itself doesn't go all the way back to the turn of the century either--it dates from 1912.
As Peterson points out, mailboxes changed to blue from olive drab in 1955, but the olive drab goes back only to the end of WW1, when the Post Office inherited the surplus paint left over from the war.
Bob Nelson
The 48 star flag is my personal favorite, there's an awful lot of history represented by that flag!
No disrespect intended to Alaska and Hawaii, by the way.
agreed, I've always been interested in the late '20s thru '50s, mainly WWll era. Always wondered about the OD mailboxes. Still see some.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
Yes, they still use olive drab--for "postal relay boxes", which are for temporary storage, but not for letter collection.
Here's an bit of interesting trivia for everyone.
Did you know that the 48 star flag was the first American flag where the star pattern and flag dimensions were specified by Federal regulation? It's true.
Thirteen stripes, and thirteen stripes only, dates from 1818. A congressman assigned to the flag committee at the time said "If we add a stripe every time a new state comes in before you know it the flag will look like peppermint shirting!"
Prior to 1912 only flags produced for the Navy Department had the stars arranged in parallel rows, star patterns on flags produced for others were left up to the flag makers, hence there were stars in straight lines, stars in circles, small stars making up one big star, and so forth. All that ended with the 48 star flag of 1912.
There was an alternate flag designed by a popular historian at the time named Wayne Whipple which was liked by Teddy Roosevelt and then-president William Howard Taft that looked like this. Give it a few seconds to load.
http://jeffbridgeman.com/inventory/index.php?page=out&id=2891
Pretty striking, huh? However, in the end the simpler design prevailed, most likely because it was easier to make.
That Whipple flag is cool, though!
Just for fun, here's a spread sheet on the evolution of "Old Glory." Remember for simplicity's sake the star patterns reflect the Navy Department flags, there's just too many variations prior to 1912 to be comprehensive.
https://flagsexpress.com/category_s/1916.htm
Reminds me of the yachting ensign:
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
The "Yacht Ensign" has an interesting history of it's own, Becky.
Back in the 1840's (I believe) American yacht owners wanted a distinctive flag of their own to differentiate themselves from commercial ships and save themselves the hassle of clearing Customs with every American port they entered and with US government blessing they got one, just as you posted, it hasn't changed from that day to this.
There was one condition though, it could only be used in US territorial waters. Outside of the same the regular American flag had to be used. That condition is still in force to this day. Of course, yacht owners didn't have to use the "Yacht Ensign" if they didn't want to, but most did.
I'll tell you, flags are a fascinating study when you get into them, both the American and other nations flags. I've been hooked on it for years.
Wayne
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