Canadian School

Private Collection, Ontario

This flag is in excellent condition. It is creased and folded throughout, and all seams are folded over and sewn in a straight stitch. There are minor insect holes throughout.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This 1868 Canadian flag was the first one made following the Confederation of Canada in 1867. The incredibly pristine condition of this particular and rare historic artifact makes it unique among those still extant. At four by seven feet (129 x 214 cm.), its impressive size is startling. On the fly, the coats of arms of the four founding provinces, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, are combined in one shield and surmounted by the Queen's Crown, which was used during Queen Victoria's reign.

The Red Ensign, from which this historic flag was adapted, was the official flag of the British Merchant Marine. By definition, it was meant to be flown on ships at sea. Early in the 17th century, it had been a flag of the Royal Navy, but King Charles II had confirmed it as the merchantmen's pennant in 1674. The Hudson's Bay Company, chartered in 1670 and the oldest commercial corporation in the Americas, therefore flew it aboard their ships, with the letters HBC on the fly.

Since the flag clearly symbolized Britain and 'The Bay,' it became the practice to fly the Red Ensign at The Bay's York Factory headquarters and at the various trading posts throughout Rupert's Land, the enormous territory that stretched eastward from the Rockies and encompassed all the lands that drained into the Hudson's Bay. This Ensign also fluttered over the English colonies all along the northeastern coast until the Stars and Stripes replaced it in the United States in 1776.

The Red Ensign had crept almost surreptitiously inland all along the eastern seaboard over the years prior to Confederation and was already in use by merchantmen in Canada, a use that was finally made official under a British Admiralty warrant issued in 1892. Local versions of the Ensign were allowed. The adaptation of the Red Ensign in Canada with this 1868 version, therefore, was never made precisely official and never approved or adopted by Parliament, but Sir John A. MacDonald made sure it flew over Parliament and above Canadian public buildings. In 1891, the Governor General, Lord Stanley (he of the Stanley Cup in hockey), declared it to be "the recognized Flag of the Dominion, both afloat and ashore."

Each time a Province joined Confederation further coats of arms joined the original four on the fly: first Manitoba in 1870 for a five-part shield, with the addition of a circle or wreath of maple leaves around the badge on the fly, then a seven-part version in 1893 when Prince Edward Island and British Columbia became part of Canada (the wreath was replaced by a half-circle of green maple leaves and a beaver below the coats of arms); and finally, in 1905, with the addition of Saskatchewan and Alberta, a nine-part variant. These later variants were produced in large numbers and many still exist. 

The Royal Union Flag, or Union Jack, was the 'official' flag of Canada, having been used by successive Governors General. But Canadians loved the Red Ensign and the 1868 flag was the only 'national' flag until 1921, when the Government of Canada asked the crown to allow the Red Ensign to be Canada's flag, with the substitution of a coat of arms for Canada to replace the combined coats of arms of the nine provinces. The approved flag went into service in 1922 but was not actually 'approved' for general use until 1945. That means that the Red Ensign was the Canadian flag during the First and Second World Wars: first it flew over those killed at Vimy, the Somme, Passchendaele, Ypres, Flanders, and other battlefields; then it was part of the Italian campaign, the liberation of Holland, Hong Kong, and the Battles of Britain and the North Atlantic. Later, it supported our troops in Korea. It then continued to serve until Canada adopted its own flag forty-five years ago, in 1965. At that time, two Provinces retained the Red Ensign, with their coats of arms on the fly, as their Provincial flags: Ontario and Manitoba.

The Red Ensign is a powerful Canadian symbol, which has a long, affectionate, and great history in Canada, having flown over our early settlements, our distant outposts, our government buildings, our schools and post offices, and our cemeteries and war graves, for well on three hundred and fifty years. This particular version and this particular flag, representing Canada in the year of its Confederation, is one of the rarest and most magnificent of all, with its exceptional condition and its brilliant original colours still forcefully intact. The power of its pure, rich colour, the scale of it, and the pivotal moment it represents in our country's history, is unmatched.