Surveyors are generally keen on details. There are some distinct clues in this photo as to what year it could possibly be. Can you spot them?
Hint: It is not the 1946 Knucklehead. And it is not the denim jeans. BTW...Does anybody else remember when blue jeans came without hems?
48 Star flag on the bike, cannot tell for sure, but I am suspicious the big one is 50. Not that this helps much. Everything about the pic screams that era.
Steve
45 Star US Flag, 1896-1908
Other than the houses, it is too old to date the photo. Oddly the typical 45 star flag started with a row of 8 then 7, not as shown.
The 46 star flag was from 1908 after Oklahoma became a state until 1912 when New Mexico and Arizona put 48 stars on Old Glory.
The oversized display or camp flags were not replaced as quickly as the standard size ones. My Boy Scout Troop had oversize 48 and 49 star flags.
One year I was running a training camp and I handed the color unit the 48 star flag to raise. After it was up there were some comments about it being wrong, so I said "Oh" and handed them the 49 star flag, which they then raised. Nobody really noticed the difference until I pointed it out at evening colors.
The 49 star flag had 7 rows of 7 stars, the 50 star flag has 9 rows, 5 x 6 and 4 x 5.
The flag in the photo has 6 rows, 3 x 8 and 3 x 7.
Paul in PA
Probably 1960. Dude on the bike thinks he's James Dean, except he was already dead by that time.
Edit: Having a problem with the big flag based on the following. 46, 48, 49 and 50.
Dang, that Paul in PA is goooood! Here's the 45-star which matches the big one. It was replaced in 1908 with the 46 and again in 1912 with the 48. 49 came out in early 1959 and the 50 in August 1959. We had a big ceremony at our little two-room grade school about the start of school to take down the old one and put up the new 50-star flag. I doubt that the school splurged to buy a 49-star one, but maybe they did.
Looks like one of the "Cash" Klan preparing to visit his parole officer! 😉
Since the entire larger flag is not visible it is hard to determine. But I believe the larger one to be the short-lived 49 star flag.
The smaller one is of course a 48 star.
I pledged allegiance to a 48 star flag most of my elementary school years. A few years past 1959-1960. I guess they didn't have the "budget" to replace all the classroom flags. I didn't get to see a "new" flag up above the chalkboard until I matriculated to what we use to call "Junior High".
So I think it's probably 1959 or 1960.
And that fella is way too clean cut to be from the Cash Clan...besides he got shoes. We all went barefoot until 1967....;-)
edit:
son-of-a-gun, that may very well be a 45 star flag...that makes the possible range a little larger...
Google "Search by Image" is your friend 😉
http://selvedgeyard.com/2009/06/10/13-rebels-mc-wild-motorcycle-gang/
> Google "Search by Image" is your friend 😉
That's pretty cool. My wife had forwarded that image to me, from Pinterest I think.
45 Star US Flag
Took me a while, but I finally posted my first image.
I see Cow beat me to getting it right.
Paul in PA
Doesn't have enough rows, for a 49.
I thought early 50's from the boots, jeans, shirt and hair style.
The flag in the first photo is none of those posted later, although it is closest to the 45-star which would have been quite old at the era suggested by the other details.
It has 6 rows, but the top row (if rotated to view in standard position) is offset from the stripes (to the flagpole side) and the only 6-row, alternating offset, flag posted is offset the other way.
I think some flag-maker put the stars with the rows offset opposite of the official standard.
I Do Not Think An Official Standard Was Ever Created
There were 4 different arrangements of the 13 star flag, and others also varied. Some of the non standard flags were simply a previous flag with another star added.
For example the 33 star arrangement of 7/7/5/7/7 could also have been 7/6/7/6/7.
Some odd even rows were staggered and on others the odd even rows were not staggered and had a blank space at the pole or the fly end. Those would have been perfect to add another star or two to.
The 45 star flag was typically 8/7/8/7/8/7 with the first star first row nearest the pole.
Without seeing the full flag in the photo it could also be a 43 star flag with an 8/7/7/7/7/7 arrangement with blank spaces at the pole end.
Paul in PA
