I am not a big fan of state flags which are just the state seal on a background. Not much imagination. I like Virginia's though.

State seal

Firehouse, I agree with you. Not too much thought or originality put in to it at all. I don't like "square" flags either. Just doesn't look "flag like" IMHO. We need to design a new one.

What does Illinois' flag being "busy" have to do with the Southern Confederacy?
regards,
Ralph

quote:

Originally posted by mod57:
What does Illinois' flag being "busy" have to do with the Southern Confederacy?
regards,
Ralph

Only that (IMO) the Illinois flag isn't as good a design as the flags of Georgia, Texas, Mississippi and North Carolina, all of which had already been posted in this thread.

I grew up in Illinois and never liked our flag--that's why I moved to NC about three decades ago. Well, that wasn't the only reason. There was a woman involved.

But really, a state seal is one thing, and a flag is another. The two serve different purposes. The seal is usually seen up close, and the flag is viewed at a distance. A flag shouldn't be cluttered with a lot of fine detail, which makes it harder to identify at a distance. On the other hand, a lot of fine detail on a state seal is, well, fine.

I feel that if a flag is so complex that a patriot can't paint it on the side of a building in ten minutes or less, then the flag is poorly designed.

quote:

Originally posted by Lucky Derby:
Gotta love that Republic of Texas Gonzales Flag.

My favorite symbol of the Revolution.

I would love to have met the guy with who made it. It sure takes some balls to draw a cannon on your wife's wedding dress and run it up a flagpole. I am sure the Mexican Army was the least of his worries.

quote:

Originally posted by bshepherd:
I am not a big fan of state flags which are just the state seal on a background. Not much imagination. I like Virginia's though.

California Seals...
http://www.goldenstateimages.com/harbor.htm

That's interesting about the Pennsylvania state seal as I usually hear Pennsylvania referred to as a commonwealth.
Ditto about the state flags being just a state
seal on a background. Not only unimaginative but also too complicated and hard to copy.

quote:

Originally posted by Wheelgunner840:
Here is RI. I don't know how to get it to show up other than by this link. If someone can unscramble it so it shows, I would appreciate it.

http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/flags/ri_flag.htm

WG840

My current home:

Unique among the state flags of the union, the Ohio State Flag was designed by John Eisemann. Described as a pennant, the Ohio burgee is properly a swallowtail design. It was adopted in 1902.

The Ohio flag, unique in shape but uncomplicated in design, is filled with symbolism. The union of the flag, a large blue triangle is populated with seventeen white stars. Those that are grouped around the circle represent the thirteen original colonies. The four stars found at the apex of the triangle combine with the stars of the thirteen original colonies to total seventeen. Ohio was the seventeenth state to enter the union.

Three red and two white horizontal stripes and the blue field copy the red, white and blue of the Stars and Stripes. The blue field represents Ohio's hills and valleys. The stripes represent the roads and waterways of the state.

The white circle with a its red center forms the "O" in Ohio and can also be related to the state's nickname, the "Buckeye State."

The flag of my native land:


Puerto Rico's flag is 100 years old on 22 December. The NANDO News service on the net had a short report on the celebrations a few days ago. Some lines from the report:

"The flag was created in 1895, by the Puerto Rican section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, which advocated independence for Puerto Rico and Cuba from Spanish rule." (...) "Its design is the same as the Cuban flag, but with the colors inverted. It has five horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with a white star on a blue triangle in the extreme left." (...) "Before 1952, police arrested anyone displaying the flag on charges of insubordination against the United States. When Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth that year, the flag became the island's official emblem."

Jan Oskar Engene, 21 December 1995

From :
The National Flag is the highest expression of Nationality and pride for the Motherland. Back in 1511, Spain issues an official flag for Puerto Rico, based in the Coat of Arms authorized by the spanish monarchs.
On December 22, 1895, a group of 59 Puerto Ricans gather at "Chimney Corner Hall" in New York City and organizes a political group, attached to the Cuban Revolutionary Party to organize the Pro-Independence movement in Puerto Rico, still under Spanish ruling. According to the meeting acts, the flag "...is same as the cuban, but the color stripes are inverted..."
There are different theories regarding the origins of our flag, one of them names Manuel Besosa as the designer , in a letter written by his daughter she says, "...my father asked me to sew together some pieces of cloth, white, red and blue that he brought himself , this tiny flag had 5 alterned stripes, red and white, and a triangle with a five point star within it...".

This is the symbolism according to the 1895 meeting:

Red Stripes - The blood from the brave warriors.
White Stripes - Victory and peace after obtaining indepence.
Blue Triangle - Our sky and coastal waters.
White Lone Star - Our beautiful Island.

It wasn't but until 1952 that our Legislature approved the final symbolism of our flag:

Red Stripes - stands for the "blood" that nourishes the three branches of our government; Legislative, Executive and Judiciary.
White Stripes - represents individual liberty and the rights that keeps in perfect balance our form of government.
Blue Triangle - stands for the "Republican Government", represented by the three branches.
White Lone Star - represents "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico".
Dov Gutterman , 28 December 1998

The Seal Of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

The first Spanish name for the island was La Isla de San Juan (St. John's Island) thus the Latin inscription on the scroll: Joannes est Nomen Eius (Juan Es Su Nombre, John Is Thy Name).

The predominant color on the background is the green, it is known that this color was used at the beginnings of the Christian era in allusion to Saint John the Baptist, as a symbol of the grass or vegetation when he would preach in the deserted jungle of Judea. Within the background there is a white lamb on top of the Book of Revelations, holding the seven seals of The Apocalypse of Saint John the Apostle. The lamb represents purity which corresponds to the figure of the Lamb of God, the Agnus dei, identified as Jesus Christ. The lamb holds a white flag with a red cross, the "Cross of Jerusalem" used by the monarchs to expel the "non-Christians" from the Spanish peninsula.

The rim is covered by 16 symbols: 4 castles signifying the "Kingdom of Castilla", 4 lions, representing the "Kingdom of Leon", both, lions and castles, represents the unity of both kingdoms, 4 flags, and 4 crosses of Jerusalem are symbols of Saint John the Baptist.

The crown on top symbolizes the "Royalty" who authorized this shield. To the right, an "F" for Fernando, to the left, a "Y" for Ysabel, who were over the crown (King and Queen of the Spanish Empire) when Puerto Rico was discovered, evoke the great pioneering efforts. The quiver of arrows and yoke represent ideograms for the initials of the Catholic Kings, F and Y.

Las armas son necesarias
Pero nadie sabe cuando;
Asi no, si andas paseando,
Y de noche sobre todo,
Debes llevarlo de modo
Que al salir, salga cortando.
Martín Fierro

And Alaska

State of SC, Crescent moon and Palmetto tree..zorro49

South Carolina State Flag


Asked by the Revolutionary Council of Safety in the fall of 1775 to design a flag for the use of South Carolina troops, Col. William Moultrie chose a blue which matched the color of their uniforms and a crescent which reproduced the silver emblem worn on the front of their caps. The palmetto tree was added later to represent Moultrie's heroic defense of the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island against the attack of the British fleet on June 28, 1776.
http://flashgordon.smugmug.com/gallery/1890381_GaH2c#326916654_5vHXe

|Click here for MS state flag history