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Flag and seal of Idaho

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State of Idaho
UseCivil and state flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is mirror image of obverse side
Proportion26:33 (official)
AdoptedMarch 12, 1907; 117 years ago (1907-03-12)[1] (initial version)
March 15, 1927; 97 years ago (1927-03-15)[1] (first modification)
March 1957; 67 years ago (1957-03)[1] (second modification)
DesignA state seal above the words "State of Idaho" in gold letters on a red and gold band on a blue field.
Great Seal of the State of Idaho
ArmigerState of Idaho
Adopted1891 (modified 1957)
MottoEsto perpetua

The seal of the Territory of Idaho was adopted in 1863 and redrawn several times before statehood in 1890. The first state Great Seal was designed in the 1890s by Emma Edwards Green, the only woman to design a U.S. state seal. That seal was used until 1957, when the seal was slightly redrawn by Paul B. Evans and the Caxton Printers, Ltd. at the request of the state government, in order to add more anthropocentric elements to the centered shield.

The flag of the state of Idaho was adopted on March 12, 1907, and consists of the state seal on a field of blue.[1] The words "State of Idaho" appear in gold letters on a red and gold band below the seal. According to the official description of the flag, there should also be a fringe of gold around the edges.[2] The official proportions of the flag, 26:33, are unique in the world, although many reproductions use more common ratios like 2:3

The seal depicts a miner and a woman representing equality, liberty and justice. The symbols on the seal represent some of Idaho's natural resources: mines, forests, farmland and wildlife.

History

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The original Idahoan state flag from the 1920s.
An old Idahoan state flag from the 1930s.

The current seal contains the text "Great Seal of the State of Idaho" in the outer ring, with the star that signifies a new light in the galaxy of states. The inner ring contains a banner with the Latin motto, Esto perpetua ("Let it be perpetual" or "It is forever").[3] A woman (signifying justice) and a man (dressed as a miner) support a shield. The miner represents the chief industry of the state at the time of statehood.

Inside, the shield bears images symbolic of the state. The pine tree in the foreground refers to Idaho's immense timber interests. The husbandman plowing on the left side of the shield, together with the sheaf of grain beneath the shield, are emblematic of Idaho's agricultural resources, while the two cornucopias, or horns of plenty, refer to the horticultural. Idaho has a game law, which protects the elk and moose; an elk's head rises above the shield. The state flower, the wild syringa or mock orange, grows tall at the woman's right, while the ripened wheat grows as high as her shoulder. The river depicted in the shield is the Snake or Shoshone River.

In 1957, the seal was slightly redrawn by Paul B. Evans and the Caxton Printers, Ltd. at the request of the state government, in order to add more anthropocentric elements to the centered shield.[4]

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of all 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state and U.S. territorial flags, combined. Idaho finished in the bottom ten, finishing 64th out of the 72.[5][6]

During much of the 1920s, there was only one known Idahoan state flag in existence, designed by the state's adjutant general and in possession of the governor of Idaho, traveling with him as he went abroad.[7]

Historical seals

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Government seals of Idaho

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Smith, Whitney. "flag of Idaho". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Governor C. L. "Butch" Otter - The State of Idaho - FYI Idaho State Symbols Archived June 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "A historical, descriptive and commercial directory of Owyhee County, Idaho, January 1898". 1898.
  4. ^ "Idaho State Seal History".
  5. ^ "2001 State/Provincial Flag Survey - NAVA.org" (PDF). nava.org.
  6. ^ "The Idaho State Flag" (PDF). Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series (135). Idaho State Historical Society. August 1968. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  7. ^ "THE State Flag". Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
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