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.