Flags of the World; With 1197 Flags in Full Colors, 300 Additional Illustrations in Black and White

Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1917. Reprint from its Geographic Magazine appearance. Hardcover. fair. Pagination is [8], 282-420. Occasional notes. The pages of the Flag Book are numbered as they appeared in the National Geographic (No. 4, Vol. 32). Illus. (many in color). 1197 Flags in Full Colors. 300 Additional Illustrations in Black and White. Numbered annotations associated with numbered flags. Cover is slightly stained and soiled Some edge soiling. A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have since evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signaling and identification, especially in environments where communication is similarly challenging (such as the maritime environment where semaphore is used). National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original and ongoing military uses. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin word vexillum, meaning flag or banner. Commodore Byron McCandless (September 5, 1881 - May 30, 1967) was a longtime U.S. Navy officer who was awarded the Navy Cross during World War I and the Legion of Merit during World War II. He was also prominent in the field of vexillology (the study of flags), and helped design two separate versions of the Flag of the President of the United States. He was the father of Bruce McCandless, also a naval officer, and the grandfather of NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II. Commodore McCandless was later promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral on the retired list.

McCandless developed in interest in flags, a field later called vexillology, and in 1917 was described by National Geographic Magazine as the "foremost flag expert of the United States Government and probably the leading authority in the world on flag usages among maritime nations". McCandless authored almost the entire October 1917 issue of National Geographic, their "Flag Number", depicting nearly 1200 world flags in color and including a history of the American flag. In 1923, McCandless discovered the 1779 Dutch sketches of the Serapis flag in the records of the Chicago Historical Society, removing any doubt as to what the flags actually looked like.

In 1915, Woodrow Wilson decided to design a new flag for the presidency, replacing the separate flags then in use by the Army and the Navy. McCandless, the Aide to the Secretary of the Navy at the time, participated in the discussions along with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt and Assistant Secretary of War Henry Breckinridge. McCandless suggested a design which added four stars to the Navy's version (which used the Great Seal on a blue background), as this would be enough to distinguish it from the Army infantry flag. McCandless then met with Wilson to demonstrate the proposed design; Wilson liked it but wanted to use the eagle from the presidential seal instead. This became the final design, and Wilson issued Executive Order 2390 on May 29, 1916 to officially define it. In March 1945, Franklin Roosevelt wondered if the four stars were still appropriate, given the creation of the five-star Fleet Admiral and General of the Army ranks during World War II. Despite initial responses which recommended no change (the stars were not supposed to be indicative of rank), Roosevelt persisted and had a message sent to his old colleague McCandless, by this time a Commodore and commanding the Naval Repair Base in San Diego. Roosevelt died on April 12 before McCandless could reply, but Truman still expressed interest, so on May 29 McCandless sent a long letter containing a history of the President's flag, dozens of attachments and several recommendations for a redesign. McCandless primarily suggested using four six-pointed stars, each made up with twelve smaller stars. The six stars would indicate a higher rank, while the 48 total stars would represent the states. Truman (as a civilian) did not like the idea of designating rank, so instead requested a simple circle of 48 stars. McCandless accordingly made up a new drawing with this design. Further alterations (turning the eagle's head to its right, and changing the eagle to full color) were made by Arthur E. DuBois of the Heraldic Section of the Army's Office of the Quartermaster General (the forerunner of the Army Institute of Heraldry). This design was used for the presidential coat of arms, seal, and flag, and was officially defined with Executive Order 9646 issued on October 25, 1945. The accompanying press release discussed McCandless' role at length. It is still the current design for the presidential seal and flag, as the only changes since have been to add more stars after Alaska and Hawaii became states. In 1962, McCandless began writing an extensive book on the Flag of the United States in collaboration with Annapolis classmate Rear Admiral William R. Furlong, but died in 1967 well before the book was finished. Furlong continued working on the book, and in 1971 turned over more than a thousand pages to the Smithsonian Institution, the sponsor (Furlong himself died in 1976). Dr. Harold D. Langley of the Smithsonian eventually edited down the manuscript to a 260-page book, So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag, which was published in 1981.

Gilbert Grosvenor was the long-time Editor of the National Geographic Magazine.