Wednesday 3 August 2016

The Flag Company Inc And New Mexico Flag

By Barbara Jameson


Since 1912, when New Mexico entered the union, two official state flags have flown over this southwestern state. The first flag of the state was designed by New Mexico historian Ralph Emerson Twitchell and featured a design quite different from the current flag. Mr. Twitchell's flag was blue with a small representation of the flag of the United States in the upper left-hand corner and the New Mexico State Seal in the lower right-hand corner. Placed in the upper right-hand corner of the field is the number forty-seven, representative of New Mexico's admission to the Union as the 47th state. "NEW MEXICO" was embroidered diagonally across the field from the lower left-hand corner to the upper right-hand corner.

Enter the Daughters of the American Revolution who had been quite involved with the official state flag designations in other states. In 1920, the Daughters of the American Revolution suggested that a new design is adopted that was more representative of the unique character of New Mexico. This idea had many supporters and, as had been done in other states, a design competition was launched. The winner was Dr. Harry Mera, a Santa Fe physician, and archeologist. The flag was constructed by Dr. Mera's wife, Reba.

The colors come from old Spain; yellow and red are found in the Spanish Cross of Burgundy flag, used during the reign Phillip the II (1556-1598). The Spanish viceroys used this flag during their time in the New World. The red and yellow in the New Mexico flag honor Isabella I of Castile and stem from this part of our history.

The size of the Zia Sun is about one-third of the entire flag. It has a group of four rays wherein one group has four rays each, all at right angles. The two innermost rays have sizes of about one fifth longer than that of the outermost rays. The center has a circle with a diameter of one-third.

The Zia also believed that with life came four sacred obligations: development of a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit and devotion to the welfare of people/family. All of these things are bound together within the circle of life. The red and yellow colors are the colors of Isabel of Castilla brought to the continent by the Spanish Conquistadors.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior New Mexico flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Imported flags are cheaply made and more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags made by American manufacturers. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of New Mexico flag for the future.




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