The story
Founded in 1847 by Alexander Annin, the business was previously a ship chandler on Fulton Street, New York City, in the 1820s. Among Alexander Annin's activities was custom making small sails. By 1847, Annin Flagmakers turned to manufacturing all flags and was soon taken over and run by Alexander's two sons, Benjamin and Edward. Located at 99-101 Fulton Street (at the corner of William Street) in Lower Manhattan from 1847 until 1925, the location became known as "Old Glory Corner". Needing more space, Annin opened a location on Fifth Avenue at the corner of 16th Street. The showroom, corporate offices and custom sewing department moved to this space in 1910 and remained until 1960 when the offices moved to New Jersey.
With rising demand for American flags during World War I, Annin built a modern five-story, 34,000 sq ft (3,200 m2) manufacturing building in Verona, New Jersey that opened in 1918 at a cost of $155,655. When a 28,000-square-foot (2,600 m2) addition was completed in 1925, the Fulton Street location was closed. Two months before the closure, a large fire struck Fulton Street, but luckily Annin's location was spared.
One of Annin's early commissions was flags for the inauguration of Zachary Taylor as President of the United States in 1849. In 1850 Annin provided flags for concerts by Swedish singer Jenny Lind displayed on a national tour produced by showman P. T. Barnum. In 1851 Annin made flags for Queen Victoria of Great Britain for the Queen's "Great Exhibit of the Works of Industry of All Nations" in London, considered by historians to be the first World's Fair.
In the 1860s, the U.S. Signal Corps requisitioned all its wartime flags from Annin Flagmakers for the Civil War. An undated newspaper article in Annin's archives from the 1860s states "Without going through forms of contract, Annin supplied the government direct... as the war progressed, orders came pouring in from every state and city that was loyal to the Union, so that by the beginning of 1864, there was not a single battlefield, a brigade or a division that did not use Annin flags."
Annin supplied the flags for the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln and the flag that draped his casket as it was taken by train from Washington, D.C., to Illinois.
Annin Flagmakers records show its flags have participated in world events such as:
The opening ceremonies of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883
Commander Robert E. Peary's arrival at the North Pole in 1909 and Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's arrival at the South Pole 21 years later
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The flag raising by US Marines atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945
The NASA Apollo space program including the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969
America's 1976 Bicentennial celebration
The design in 1971 by Newt Heisley and inception of the POW-MIA flag in 1972 in conjunction with the National League of POW/MIA Families
Annin purchased competitive flag companies Colonial Flag Company in Coshocton, Ohio, in 1975 and Dettra Flag Co. in Oaks, Pennsylvania, in 1998. Dettra Flag Co. had been Annin's largest commercial competitor since 1902. In 2010, Annin purchased FlagZone in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. FlagZone runs independently from Annin with Dan Ziegler as its president.
From Wikipedia’s article on Annin Flagmakers, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4