Unlike seals and mottoes that were devised early in Nevada’s history，a state flag was not provided for until after the turn of the last century．Also，unlike the state seal whose design has remained static（固定的），the basic design of the state flag has been changed significantly．Nevada’s state flag has changed 3times．A winning design by Louis Shellback gave this state its simple sprigs（小枝，小枝状饰物）of sagebrush，the state flower，and a silver star，representing the famous Comstock Lode discovered in Nevada in 1859，one of the richest deposits of silver and gold ever found．Silver and gold are still the state colors．
In 1905，the legislature adopted a bill to provide the first official flag of the State of Nevada．It incorporated a design proposed by Governor John Sparks and Colonel Sylvester “Henry”Day，Assistant Adjutant（副官）General of the Nevada National Guard，both of whom believed a symbol was needed to honor Nevada’s rejuvenated（使恢复活力，使更新）mining industry．This act provided the following specifications：
The flag of the State of Nevada will be of blue bunting，with the following devices thereon，to wit：The word “NEVADA”in silver－colored block letters，equidistant between the top and bottom，near the top the word “Silver”in silver color，and near the bottom，the word “GOLD”in gold color，each of which shall be in Roman capital letters，and there shall be under the word “Silver”a row of eight stars in silver color；under which and above the word “Nevada”a row of nine stars in gold color，at each end of the word “Nevada”a silver－colored star，and under the word “Nevada”a row of nine stars in gold color，under which and above the word “Gold”a row of eight stars in silver color．Each star shall have five points and be placed with one point up．
It is possible that only one flag with this first design was produced．During the 1905legislative session，a banner with the proposed design was kept in Governor Spark’s office．At the Assembly’s request，the flag was brought to the chambers for the members to examine．After the session ended，the Nevada National Guard purchased the flag from Governor Sparks for30．65．The order for the purchase was issued by Adjutant General Lemuel Allen，who was also Lieutenant Governor at the time．（Mr．Allen had served in the Assembly from the 1889Session through the 1901Session and again in 1909．）In 1923，Colonel Henry Day donated this same banner to the Nevada Historical Society，which restored this valuable Nevada emblem in the early 1990s．No other flag of this design is known．
Nevada’s first flag had a legal lifespan of slightly over 10years．In 1915，the Nevada Legislature repealed（废止，废除）the 1905Flag Act and created an official flag for the State of Nevada that was distinctly（清楚地，显然）different in design．
This second official banner was designed by Clara M．Crisler，a Carson City native and enrolling clerk for the Assembly during the 1921and 1923sessions．Again，few flags were actually produced．On July 19，1924，The Eureka Sentinel reported that two Nevada flags were on display at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in Los Angeles，California，which was probably due to Ms．Crisler’s long and active participation in the Nevada Federation of Women’s Clubs．These flags were borrowed from the Governor’s office and appeared to be the only ones in the state at that time．An additional banner was flying on the battleship（战舰）U．S．S．Nevada．
The third official flag for Nevada was created by an act of the legislature in 1929．A movement to change the flag yet again began on June 15，1926，when Nevada Lieutenant Governor Maurice J．Sullivan had notices published in several Nevada newspapers announcing a contest for a new design for the official state flag．The notices indicated that the 1915design was expensive to reproduce because it required 30to 40different color shades and was difficult to distinguish from（区别，识别）many other states’flags．Mr．Sullivan offered a 25prize for the design chosen by a committee；however，he noted that the honor of having one’s design chosen would outweigh the monetary（金钱的）award．Contestants could enter as many designs as they wanted and could submit descriptions of the designs；drawings were not necessary．The contest ran until October 10，1926．
Early in 1927，each house of the Nevada Legislature appointed members to serve on a committee（委员会）to select a design for the state flag．On January 27，1927，Assemblyman Frank H．Winter announced（宣布）the selection of a design by “Don”Louis Schellbach，III，a state employee，out of hundreds submitted．At the time，it was planned that a flag with the winning composition would be flown at the upcoming inaugural ball．
The 1927legislature，however，did not consider a bill to establish a new state flag，as had been Mr．Sullivan’s original intention．
On February 19，1929，Senate Bill 51，creating a state flag using the design chosen in 1927，was introduced by Senator William F．Dressler．The measure passed the Senate without amendment and was sent to the Assembly．
Mr．Schellbach’s design did not contain the word “Nevada”This omission was noticed by the 1929legislature，and Assemblyman Cada C．Boak supplied the missing word through the amendment approved by the Assembly．The amendment placed the word in a circle around the single star provided for in the design，specifically stating that “Nevada”would begin at the upper point of the star with the letter “N”，followed by the other letters “equally spaced between the points of the star”．
Despite Mr．Sullivan’s contest and the action by the 1929legislature，the new flag received little immediate attention．The Sparks Tribune noted on April 24，1936，that the U．S．S．Nevada still carried the 1915flag and that，in fact，the new flag was practically unknown because less than six flags existed at that time，seven years after the legislation was enacted．
