7 x 12 in. silk flag with 47 stars configured in 8/7/8/8/8/8 pattern on a denim blue canton. The stripes are slightly elongated. Machine stitching along entire perimeter of flag (occasional soiling/spotting).  Professionally mounted using stitch on board.

EXTREMELY RARE STAR COUNT.

Admitted to the union on 6 January 1912, it had taken New Mexico more than fifty years to gain statehood. Initially granted territorial status by Congress through the Compromise of 1850, in the years following, several attempts to pass a state constitution were defeated by the voters. Many in Congress at the time expressed concern over the issues of racial and religious make-up of the population as well as economic considerations. 

New Mexico was followed shortly thereafter by Arizona statehood on 14 February, making the 47-star flag the unofficial flag of the United States for only thirty-nine days.

This flag has been exhibited at a museum and is documented in the book The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit, Richard Pierce, LLC, 2005 (page 20).