Framed 45-Star American Flag — c. 1896 - 1908

The 45th star was added for the admission of Utah on January 4, 1896. The flag became the official United States flag on July 4, 1896. The flag was in use for twelve years, under the administrations of Presidents Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Teddy Roosevelt, until 1908, when Oklahoma was admitted to the Union.

It was the Official United States Flag during the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Flag size: 7" x 10.25"

Frame size: 12.25" x 15.5"

The history behind 45-star flags from Jeff Bridgman, an expert on American flags

"Utah became the 45th state on January 4th, 1896. It had been attempting to gain statehood for many years, but remained a territory, primarily due to the fact that the Mormon Church and Utah authorities continued to be openly tolerant of polygamy. In 1890, Mormon Church President Wilford Woodruff published a manifesto that denounced the contract of “any marriages forbidden by the law of the land”. This gave way to Utah’s 1896 acceptance. Although this technically remained the official star count until July 3rd, 1908, the 45 star flag was generally used from that year until 1907, when Oklahoma joined the Union. Due to the Spanish-American War (1898) and Teddy Roosevelt’s famous world tour of the “White Fleet” (launched in 1907), this was an extremely patriotic period.

"Presidents who served during this period were Democrat Grover Cleveland, in his second, non-consecutive term, the two terms of Republican William McKinley, the second of which was cut short by his assassination (shot 09/06/1901, passed 09/14/1901), and the two terms of Theodore Roosevelt, the first of these attained by ascension."

Source: jeffbridgman.com