1932 George Washington Birthday Bicentennial Parade Flag on Ivory Duck Cloth in Gold Frame

Rare George Washington bicentennial parade flag on its original stick mounted on duck cloth. This flag was created for the bicentennial commemoration of George Washington’s birth that took place in 1932. Flag in vintage gold frame measures 16.5" x 10.5". Flag and frame have light scattered age appropriate wear but display beautifully.

Presented is an original George Washington Bicentennial parade flag dating to 1932, created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth. Printed in gold, white, and blue, the flag features a prominent portrait of George Washington at center, with “Washington Bicentennial” above and the dates “1732–1932” below. It remains attached to its original wooden stick, complete with a painted gold finial.

The 1932 Washington Bicentennial was an enormous national celebration. Planning began years earlier, when President Calvin Coolidge established the George Washington Bicentennial Commission in 1924. The Commission ultimately coordinated a nine-month observance that included parades, balls, school programs, exhibitions, films, lectures, and civic celebrations across the country.

Despite taking place during the depths of the Great Depression, the Bicentennial was celebrated on a remarkable scale. Millions of individual programs were organized by schools, churches, civic groups, and other organizations, while communities staged elaborate parades and events, often incorporating colonial music and period dress.

The celebration also inspired a tremendous variety of Washington-related ephemera. Publishers issued new biographies, printers produced inexpensive portraits and commemorative prints, and small parade flags and hand-held fans were manufactured for Americans to carry during public festivities.

This flag is a particularly charming survivor of that moment: an object intended not simply for display, but to be carried and waved as Americans gathered to celebrate the country’s first president.