Advertising a Candidate: Campaign Posters

By far, buttons that people can wear showing their favorite presidential candidate are the most popular campaign item. In second place as far as popularity of campaign products are probably posters. Large images of the candidates stick with voters, especially when tied to a catchy slogan. Posters are great ways for supporters to show other people who a particular household or workplace support in an election. Throughout our political history, posters have played a vital role in campaigns. In the early days, Currier and Ives prints were the most common, often showing both candidates around an American flag or eagle, and candidates such as James Polk, Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, George McClellan, and others in the post Civil War era were promoted through the Currier and Ives posters. In the late 19th century, it was common for larger posters to be displayed in shop windows, most often with the candidates names on them and sometimes no picture. As with the campaign button, it was in 1896 that the idea of posters as we know them today first came into existence, using bright colors and better paper. Some of the rarest posters in the hobby are ones of William McKinley, William J. Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, and Alton Parker. By the time of Taft and Wilson, posters were made in larger quantities, resulting in the ability today to purchase posters from the WWI era for less than $50 normally. Moving into the 1920's, there are actually quite a few Warren Harding posters that can be found, often appearing in auctions. More rare are jugate posters showing him with Calvin Coolidge, but even these can be found still in good condition and for a reasonable price. James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt posters are generally more scarce, often requiring a few hundred dollars to purchase. By the time posters reached the era of Nixon, Ford, and Carter, posters were often made in abundance, with the price reflecting that, as Nixon posters can often be found for less than $20. Posters dealing with candidates like Reagan, Mondale, Bush, Dukakis, Clinton, Perot, Dole, and so on are often quality made and last for a long time. Most of these posters are also fairly common. Overall, posters are amazing ways to advertise and market a presidential candidate. Sometimes posters measure about the size of a sheet of paper, like 8 1/2 x 11" ranging all the way into the 40" range for the person really wanting to show off a candidate and who they are voting for. I have included pictures of some of the posters I own, with the oldest being a William Taft and James Sherman poster from 1908.

The Political Experience of the Presidents: Pre-Presidential life

With the lone exception of some of America's most famous military heroes, like George Washington, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, presidents have been involved with politics for much of their careers. There have been career politicians, such as James Buchanan, Lyndon Johnson, and to some extent George H.W. Bush, and then there have been presidents who served very minor state government roles, leading to a governorship, like Calvin Coolidge, and then ultimately the presidency upon the death of Warren Harding. Some presidents were almost completely caught off guard and were highly unprepared for the most prestigious and demanding job in the nation, such as Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, and Harry Truman. Truman, for example, was largely kept in the dark about war strategy and post war plans, but managed to learn quickly and was elected in his own right a few years later. For the most part, the president has been a tool of political parties, especially in the post Civil War era, when Congress dominated the scene. With a string of weak presidents, Congress was able to dictate policy and weaken the power of the presidency. In the beginning of our nation, being Secretary of State was seen as the next step to the presidency, with men like Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Q. Adams, and Martin Van Buren following that role. Then, state positions seemed to be a way to lead to the presidency, especially men who had served as Governor, such as Polk, Hayes, Cleveland, McKinley, and many presidents in the 20th century. All the men who have served as president or who ran for president were politicians in some way, having to work with Congress to get things done. Some have been very successful in working with opposition parties, and some have failed. Some of the most highly collectible campaign items are from presidents and candidates who ran for president when they were young or running for offices like governor, senator, representative, judges, and state offices. There are many examples of buttons, posters, and 3-D objects promoting future presidents for these lesser political roles. It is always interesting to look at these objects and picturing a middle aged California governor named Ronald Reagan not having a clue what the future would hold, or a former vice president named Richard Nixon who ran for governor of California in 1962 and lost. These items give a more common touch between the common man and the high office of president, since it is much easier to be elected to something like state senate than it is to be elected president, it gives us all hope that maybe one day we could be in the same position. I have pictured a few of my favorite items I have relating to presidents and presidential candidates before they made the run for the high office. For information sake and so you can see some of the best examples of pre-presidential items, I have included some items I do not own. The ones I personally own are the Reagan items, the Nixon for Governor pin, the Bush for Congress bumper sticker, and the Charles Hughes button. The rest are rare items I have included for a better understanding of pre presidential items.

Inauguration Day: The Peaceful Transfer of Power

Since the beginning of the American Revolution, democracy has lived on through the means of elections and the orderly transfer of office. The world was amazed that George Washington would voluntarily give up his role as president and leader of the United States at the end of eight years, setting the precedent for every president until Franklin Roosevelt. Democracy was a very new concept at the end of the 18th century, and Washington did an amazing job of setting the bar high for America. One of the highlights of a presidential election is the Inauguration, held the following year a few months after the election. After Washington's first term, the inauguration date was set for March 4 following an election year. With the rapid progress of technology and communication throughout the late 1800's and into the World War I era, it was decided that the long period between the election and inauguration was no longer necessary, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inauguration in 1937 was moved to January 20, the date currently recognized. There have been instances where inaugurations have been moved, especially when the date fell on a Sunday. The 1985 inauguration of Ronald Reagan was moved a day later to January 21 due to extremely cold temperatures and wind chill. The Inauguration is one of the most amazing spectacles throughout the world, as hundreds of thousands of citizens attend the inauguration, parades, and balls that follow. Millions more watch on television or the internet. The ultimate sign of democracy is the outgoing president shaking hands and welcoming the incoming president. Twice in history, both after bitter elections, the incumbent left town and did not stay for their successor's inauguration. John Adams left town on the night of March 3, 1801, after the close election of 1800 and the fact that Thomas Jefferson, the winner in the election, and Adams had become personal enemies. The other time was for Andrew Jackson's inauguration on March 4, 1829, when incumbent and outgoing president John Q. Adams fled the capitol the night before and did not stay on to witness Jackson's triumph. The speech that the new president gives at the inauguration often outlines a new direction in government or promises to pass legislation or govern in a new way than the previous president has. William H. Harrison gave the longest inaugural speech in history, lasting over an hour and a half. George Washington gave the shortest inaugural speech, during his second ceremony in 1793. All in all, the Inauguration every four years in Washington, D.C. is a highlight for many Americans and shows a democracy in work. Items from various inaugurations are very popular and collectible. Many people want to buy items at the inauguration as keep sakes, so there are many different button designs, programs, tickets, music, and other various objects made for inaugurations. I have pictured a lot of the inaugural related items I have, such as buttons, tickets, pennants, music, and programs.

Size Really Does Matter: Large Campaign Buttons

In the history of campaign buttons, nothing impresses people as much as wearing a huge button that measures either 6 inches or 9 inches, which really shows off the candidate you support. Buttons as we know them today were first created for the 1896 campaign of William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan, when the celluloid technique was mastered. In 1900, a large 10" button was made showing McKinley and his running mate, Theodore Roosevelt. After that, almost every election has produced a button measuring at least 4" in diameter. Some of the most famous buttons in the hobby are of the larger variety, such as a Coolidge/Dawes jugate from 1924, a Harding and Cox mate from 1920, and a pair of John Davis and Calvin Coolidge 4" pins from 1924. Starting with Franklin Roosevelt, the 9 inch buttons began to make headway as far as popularity, and by the time of the Eisenhower campaign, many buttons measuring at least 6 inches were common. Many of these buttons were produced for conventions, as many people would not want to wear such large buttons to show off a candidate. Most of these large buttons have easel backs on them so they can be displayed. These larger campaign buttons are great for really showing off a particular candidate of your choice. Some of these are fairly common and not worth more than $10-$20, especially more modern ones for candidates like Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. One of the most popular and affordable John F. Kennedy buttons is a 6 inch from Inauguration Day in 1961, which can often be found for less than $20. I have pictured many of my most favorite buttons that are at least 6 inches in size. I put a quarter in the picture for comparison so you would be able to grasp just how large these buttons are. The 9" buttons I have pictured include two George W. Bush, one from Virginia, and the other a button showing all 50 states as small campaign buttons. Another set of 9" Bush buttons feature one showing all the Republican presidents and a button from the 2005 inauguration. Also shown is a Barry Goldwater 9" along with a Gerald Ford button from 1976. Another group of 9" buttons is a set from 1996, one with Democrats, the other with Republicans. Now on to 6" buttons. The 6 inch size button is much more common in the recent political history era, basically from Eisenhower to the present. Many of these buttons can be found for relatively cheap as well. 6" buttons are on the borderline as being "wearable" and making a statement as to who you support. I have included a few groups of this size as well, such as Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight Eisenhower. Collecting buttons this large does create a storage issue however, as the standard size riker mount case, 16 x 12" will only hold two of these 6" buttons and one 9" button. If you collect these items, the best riker mount is the 20 x 14" size case, which will hold 6 of the 6" buttons. These large buttons are great to collect and really show that you support a certain candidate, and make great centerpieces for a display case that you can surround with smaller buttons.