Customer Reviews

A Grand Old Flag: A History of the United States Through its Flags

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A year after Madaus & Smith's The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, another gorgeous volume has come along, telling the story of the U.S. flag through the holdings of a personal collection. This time it's that of Peter Keim, a retired family-practice doctor, and his architect son, Nathan, who over 30 years have amassed what they call "one of the richest and most comprehensive collections of antique Stars and Stripes held by one family".

The father-son duo weaves a deeply meaningful interpretation of the history of the U.S. flag, in a lavishly-illustrated volume in the full Dorling Kindersley style of colorful, active images on every page bursting from the glossy white background. Nathan brings an architect's eye to flag design and construction, a welcome and unusual perspective.

Due to the book's broad scope, it can be forgiven its propagation of a few flag myths--such as the "war stripe" or the misidentification of the designer of the Confederate Stars and Bars as Mrs. Napoleon Lockett--and for committing other minor historical errors. It is not primarily a history book although the historical background provided is extensive and useful; the history included in the book should be treated as the context for understanding the flags themselves.

The Keims advance an interesting theory, never before advanced, of why the U.S. flag uses stars and stripes--they attribute the stars to the astronomical fascination of Francis Hopkinson and others (spurred by the 1770 Rittenhouse orrery and the Lextell comet the same year), and the stripes to the lashes of a whip (symbolizing for the colonists provocation and defiance). Dr. Keim articulated on this theory in his presentation at the 42nd annual meeting of the flag-studies group NAVA in Austin, Texas in October 2008.

Depicting over 100 flags and even more related images, the book is a visual and vexillological delight, with excellent production values. Its chronological narrative follows states' admissions and number of stars in the canton. Among the gems: a rare 19-star printed parade flag, an unusual 32-star (8-8-8-8) flag celebrating Minnesota's admission, and a 33-star flag flown by Union troops at the Battle of Bull Run in 1861.

The book is particularly strong in its explanation of textile technology, history, and terminology, and of their application to flags. NAVA member and antique flag dealer Jeff Bridgman has already given away 50 copies to his clients!

The outsized book includes a separate poster, with an innovative " Timeline of the Stars and Stripes", a 64-inch fold-out showing years (1755-1975), presidents, wars & conflicts, state admissions dates & maps, and key events in national, flag, & textile history, along with a nice little "Star -Spangled Banner History" and, on the back, 16 more flag images.

More than another pretty "picture book" on the U.S. flag, A Grand Old Flag is a loving but discerning tribute to the Stars and Stripes and a beautiful and important addition to the libraries of flag enthusiasts everywhere.

Edward B. Kaye
Editor, Raven, A Journal of Vexillology
North American Vexillological Association

It's simple, if you love our American flag, this book is a must have. I loved it from start to finish. It's a great history lesson for students learning about individual states and their flags or of our collective history but mostly it is a beautiful photographic document of the flags of our country's history. Have you ever seen a flag with 18 stars or 24 stars, a flag that represents the state of Illinois with only 21 stars. That is the uniqueness of this book. Don't miss out on this great book, especially if you have a child that loves American history.

As a patriot, I feel this is the greatest expression of patriotism for our flag, and deserves to be read and re read for generations. I feel this is the perfect addition to any library or to given to any young, or old, American. It was given to me on my 78th birthday and I will always treasure it Fortunately, the authors have autographed my copy, and I have met and visited with the authors, and the book is always laid out for others to our home to read. We hope a local gallery will display some of the flags this year, and in future years.

This is by far my favorite book on the American flag and I have just under a dozen of Them . If you can only get one book on this Grand subject this is it . Slightly over size book with one of the most complete history s on the Stars and Stripes , first stating with the stripes then the stars then to the flag we love today. This book is not a history of American flags (i.e. colonial , early American flags PER SE ) It is a history of the Stars and Stripes . The Author has a personal and extensive collection of various Stars and Stripes flags and he shares them with us in color pictures of his and others rare flags . The book is organized by the flags as stars were added , some one,some two at a time , giving a short history of those states leading to their joining the United States and a picture of that flag. It is surprising to see the various star arrangements an not the simple add a star as you might think . This is a very well written , very informative and well photographed book .

There are plenty of flag books around, I've got three others that concentrate on the contemporary graphic aspects rather than the history, so why did I choose this title? Primarily because it was published by Dorling Kindersley. From experience, over the years, I know that their books deliver high standards of editorial and production excellence. This lovely book confirms it.

Because Kevin and Peter Keim reveal a ton of flag information throughout the pages they have thoughtfully included near the front of the book an explanation of how everything is organized: essentially using the addition of each star as the editorial key. Much of text about the flag is common to other titles but I thought what gives the Keim's book a lift are all the related items they cover, for example: a spread visually showing fourteen different flag stars; types of fiber used in flag making; stitching and grommet styles over the centuries; the story of Uncle Sam; patriotic songs; flag etiquette and more. Add in all the excellent flag photos and graphics (all beautifully laid out on each page) and it seems to me that the book can't really be improved on. A lovely extra is a long flag timeline foldout tucked in a flap inside the back cover.

Though the book was published in 2007 it seems now to be remaindered stock and therefore new copies should be quite cheap. Some net prices certainly seem excessive (I reckon no more than $15 for a good copy) so it's worth searching around for a realistic price. Check that the timeline foldout is included, too.

### LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

As an 1800 pre and post Civil War, or more specific, Rocky Mountain Fur Trade and Western Re-enactor, I needed a book for researching the flags of the 1800's and was more than happy with this book. Not only did it show me historically accurate flags, but how they were made and hoisted, as well as the Star Pattern variations (am looking for a 38-Star Great Circle at this time...)

This is a terrific book which tells our national history in a very unique way. The authors' enthusasism is felt. This will be a conversational piece at family & friends gatherings.

The Keim book on flags is the most comprehensive book on the hobby of flag collecting since the Mastai's published their landmark text "The Stars & The Stripes" in 1973. Well thought out, well organized, well written, and with great photogrpahy, I've bought more than 50 copies so far to send to my clients as gifts.

Jeff Bridgman, dealer in antique flags. [...]