American Historical Ephemera & Photography

2 silk flags, each 6 1/2 x 10 1/4 in., with 44 printed stars configured in 8/7/7/7/7/8 pattern on a blue canton. Each with overprint on stripes: "1892." First with stamped portrait and signature of Grover Cleveland. Second with stamped portrait and signature of Benjamin Harrison. (Each flag in very fine condition, Harrison flag with light edge wear near lower left corner.) Framed, 12 x 27 1/2 in. 

Grover Cleveland was elected President in 1884 but lost his bid for re-election to Benjamin Harrison, grandson of former President William Henry Harrison, in 1888 even though Cleveland won the popular vote. They faced each other again in the election of 1892, a contest dominated by the issue of tariff policies and one in which neither candidate led a unified party. This time Cleveland won handily, outpolling both Harrison and third party candidate James Weaver and in doing so became the first, and only, president to date to serve two non-consecutive terms.

The flags have been exhibited at several museums and are documented in the book The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit, Richard Pierce, LLC, 2005 (page 53).