Honest Abe and Old Jeff
Posted by Victor on 7/16/2021 to
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The election of Abraham Lincoln so divided the country that 11 states withdrew from the union. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the succeeded states met at Montgomery, Alabama and formed the Confederate States of America, electing Jefferson
The Progressive Era
Posted by Victor on 6/25/2021 to
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We have crammed in another catalog update in June, and the focus is on the Progressive Era. The era of Debs, LaFollette, and the Bull Moosers who wanted Teddy back in the White House -- as well as mainstream politicians who tacked to the left in
Vote for Bill!
Posted by Victor on 6/11/2021 to
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This update features a large and varied assortment of pinbacks and other material from the campaigns of William McKinley, William Jennings Bryan, and William Howard Taft -- the three Bills who sought the presidency around the turn of the 20th
Blast from the past
Posted by Victor on 5/28/2021 to
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At the beginning of May, we acquired a collection of pinbacks, mostly from early 20th century campaigns. Many are new to the catalog, but first we are highlighting some old familiar friends. All were offered at least once in the past. Some have
New Dealers and Cold Warriors
Posted by Victor on 5/14/2021 to
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In this update we feature a selection of items from the New Deal era to the 1980s, a period defined by liberal domestic policies and a bellicose foreign policy. FDR and Truman, Ike and Nixon, Kennedy and Johnson, as well as the men who ran
A prodigious array of political paraphernalia
Posted by Victor on 4/16/2021 to
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The final decades of the 19th century produced a prodigious array of political paraphernalia, and despite being in the business over 20 years, we are still discovering items we never knew existed. Case in point, the pair of acid-etched glass
A mid-century assemblage
Posted by Victor on 3/19/2021 to
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This month we have a selection of items from the high water mark of the last century, from Roosevelt to Kennedy. In terms of material culture, this period offers collectors lots of options, from buttons to automobile accessories. Primary colors
The Great Commoner and contemporaries
Posted by Victor on 2/19/2021 to
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William Jennings Bryan, the great populist orator and three-time Democratic presidential standard-bearer, takes center stage in this month's offerings. "The Great Commoner" was also known as "The Anti-Trust Champion" and that moniker appears on a
A selection for the advanced collector
Posted by Victor on 1/15/2021 to
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For our inaugural catalog update of 2021, we have a selection geared to the advanced collector, with items of both quality and rarity. Among the highlights: Classic Theodore Roosevelt pinback featuring Teddy as the sun rising over America, Uncle
Gilded Age gelt
Posted by Victor on 12/11/2020 to
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In time for Hanukkah, we have some gold, or rather gilded items from the Gilded Age, the period in the late 19th century known for great but superficial opulence, as well as "badges bright and flamboyant" to quote Edmund Sullivan. We offer a few
Another 20th century rewind
Posted by Victor on 11/13/2020 to
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This month we offer a diverse selection of items from the last century. Everything from the woman suffrage movement, to home front and civil rights, along with items from the presidential campaigns of most of the major candidates from the 1920s
Rough Riders, three Bills, and Uncle Joe
Posted by Victor on 10/16/2020 to
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First, we want to express our condolences to the family of legendary political button auctioneer Al Anderson, who passed away earlier in the week after a lengthy battle with cancer. Like many of you, we followed his quarterly auctions for
Old Hickory, Long Abe, Little Mac, and The Pathfinder
Posted by Victor on 9/4/2020 to
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The 19th century was the heyday of nicknames. Nearly every national political leader had one, not bestowed derisively or with sarcasm as we often see today, but with affection by supporters. The practice goes at least back to Andrew Jackson being
Between the Wars: Political artifacts of the 1920s and '30s
Posted by Victor on 8/7/2020 to
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With this update we feature over 60 political buttons and items from the 1920s and 1930s, the two decades "between the wars" and the era of Cox and Harding, Coolidge and Davis, Hoover and Smith, and FDR and his first two Republican challengers,
Campaigns of the Golden Era
Posted by Victor on 7/17/2020 to
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We have a nice selection of Golden Era celluloids and badges this month, a period defined by political button enthusiasts to date from 1896 to 1916. TR, Parker, Taft and Bryan are well represented, and if some of these are considered "standard"
20th century rewind
Posted by Victor on 6/20/2020 to
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This month's new listings feature a selection of mostly late 20th century items, including some top drawer JFK buttons. Eisenhower, Nixon, LBJ, Goldwater and McGovern are also represented, along with some lesser aspirants to the White House,
Canal Boys, Plumed Knights and Gold Bugs
Posted by Victor on 5/15/2020 to
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We have a fun selection of items dating from the final decades of the 19th century, 1880 to 1900, with material from the campaigns of Garfield and Hancock, Cleveland, Blaine and Harrison, and William McKinley. It was, in the always apposite words
Franklin Roosevelt and his Republican rivals
Posted by Victor on 4/24/2020 to
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This catalog update features over 80 new items, all from the campaigns of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Republicans who challenged him, Alfred Landon (1936), Wendell Willkie (1940), and Thomas Dewey (1944). Most are from a single collection
Blast from the past
Posted by Victor on 4/10/2020 to
Last week Victor finalized the purchase of a significant collection of political buttons, ribbons and badges, almost all Eisenhower and earlier. The collection included many items we have never offered, but first we are highlighting the many
The crisis, continued
Posted by Victor on 4/5/2020 to
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Last week the governor of Arizona issued a "stay at home" order, and it became more restrictive over the weekend. This week, the CDC recommends everyone stay at home unless absolutely necessary. While we are not directly impacted by the