Földvári Books

The Birth of the French Flag

[Caption title:] Loi Qui fixe la disposition des Couleurs dans les différens genres de Pavillons, ou autres marques distinctives usitées sur les Vaisseaux, de guerre et sur les Bátimens de commerce. Donné à Paris, le 31 Octobre 1790. [Décret de l’Assamblée Nationale, du 24 Octobre 1790.]

A Paris: De L’Imprimerie Royale, 1790. First edition. Imprint from colophon. With a woodcut headpiece above title. Published unbound. 4 p. Number “113” in ink on title page. In fine condition.

The law about the French Tricolor, the birth of the French flag. The royal, Paris edition.

The Revolution of 1789 led to the need for a new national flag, that expresses the radical changes and reforms that were introduced. The first Tricolor was established by this decree of the National Assembly, that specified all the details of the flag, the material and the placement of it.

It was originally a naval jack a maritime flag with an outer border blue at the hoist and red at the fly surrounded a white border that was around the tricolor, with the colors the reverse of what they are today, red at the hoist and blue to the fly. The order was reversed later, in 1794 and has remained in use ever since.

Red and blue are the traditional colors of Paris and they were already popular in the city, worn as cockades during the Revolution while white “the ancient French color”, the color of the Royal flag was added by Lafayette, to “nationalize” the design.

The flag became one of the most influential flags in history, as the symbol of the Revolution, many nations adopted tricoloured flags in imitation of the French, replacing its colors with their own.

A very important document of the Revolution.

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Price: €2,500.00