Anyone else here a campaign button collector?

I have just started to collect buttons and need advice and help for what to look for. I know that limited editions are most sought after, but what makes a good LE as opposed to any old button that has not been mass produced. Other tips would be much appreciated, ie names, artists or companies.

Thanks all, I seriously need help to keep from getting ripped off.

:fistbump:

unfortunately, they're inherited, so no advice. but here's some from the internet. maybe a springboard to more.

http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/ways-collecting-political-buttons

I would love to see some of those old buttons! The earliest ones I have are from the McGovern and EMK campaigns.

Was that passed down to you? I don't know why, but I usually think of campaign buttons as a fairly recent development.

i actually have two debs-seidels.

no, buttons go back to the 1800s, i think.

debs-seidel = 1912.

remember.

just a handful of buttons.

on edit: i have this one too. the g-step-uncle was a socialist. i met him once as a child. he was a character.

http://www.havelshouseofhistory.com/Benson%20Kirkpatrick%207-8%20inch%20jugate,%2051%20dollars%20and%2075%20cents,%20May%2029,%202008.jpg

when the National Archives curator character collected buttons from George washington's campaign. Does anyone know if that is factual?

Congratulations, Hannah...you're holding history in your hands (in a manner of speaking).

when my father was just a teenager, but my aunt always swore that he ran for the local city council as a socialist.

roughly 1880s-1930s.

e.g.:

http://www.havelshouseofhistory.com/Socialist%20Party,%20post%20card,%20Washington%20State%20slate,%2074%20dollars%20and%2075%20cents,%20May%2029,%202008.jpg

which state?

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2133

During the 1890s, several political parties formed that favored socialism. The Social Democratic Party, founded by Eugene V. Debs in 1898, and the Social Labor Party ranked among two of the more prominent organizations. These two parties united together in 1901 to form the Socialist Party.

In the presidential election of 1912, Debs received 900,000 votes, amounting to six percent of the total votes cast. In the presidential election of 1920, Debs surpassed that number of votes by twenty thousand, but socialism’s appeal had begun to decline. While socialists attained many local and state offices during the 1910s, socialists’ opposition to World War I and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s implementation of many socialist goals to help Americans during the Great Depression doomed the Socialist Party. Socialists still exist today and several socialist political parties still exist, but none have attained the success of the Socialist Party of the 1910s.

In Ohio, socialists attained limited success. Progressives, who sought to improve the working and living conditions of Americans, originated in the state before the socialists gained a foothold. In 1911, socialists managed to gain control of the mayoral seats of a few communities, including Canton, Lima, Barberton, and Lorain, but socialism’s popularity quickly declined in the state, as many prominent socialists opposed United States involvement in World War I. Socialists remained active in the United States through the 1920s and 1930s, but their numbers dwindled during this same period.

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Cleveland?

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/KCL05471mf.html

can't be more accurate because all those who would have had direct information have passed away.

friend would think so highly of you to will them to you. I wish I had them! Thanks for sharing.


:toast:

It is pretty cool

DON'T CHANGE DICKS IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCREW
VOTE FOR NIXON IN '72

:D

But I got them by attending lots of rallies, speeches, and other events. I was very lucky in the last decade to have a friend who would let me use his frequent flyer miles to travel to DC for a lot of the big events there, and then, the DNC came to my town last year, that helped!

Actually, my collection is probably more general political ephemera, but there are a lot of buttons in the mix. :-)

bug attending Obama rallies mainly. :fistbump:

There's an historical society for political memorabilia, and they have a convention/show each year. I'll ask her the name of it.

Her prized piece is a JFK PT-109 pin. It's a beauty.

several years ago. it was a "spiritual" experience. I also have a PT-109 tie clasp given me by my best friend that I abnsolutely treasure.

My favorite is one that was issued by a union during one of the Nixon presidential campaigns. It has a photo of Truman and a quote from him that says "Nixon is a lying, shifty eyed SOB" or something to that effect. I always look at it and laugh when I'm at her house (she'll only collect stuff from Dems - lol).

She also has a nice collection of convention badges - she has one from Roosevelt's first convention. I love looking at this stuff.

and imagine being there. One thing I have always wondered, having lived through historical events, is whether living through those long-ago historical events seemed as "just another day" to those who lived through it. I can't articulate quite what I am trying to say but, hopefully, you get my meaning nonetheless.

media.

my father listened to the war (WW2) news on the radio every day as a teen, with his entire family, religiously, & so did most of the folks in his community. then they talked about it. then they prayed about it in church, sent care packages, etc.

doesn't seem to be that way for most people, unless you have someone in the service in the family.

the family "huddled around the radio" days. It would have been interesting to live during that time, I think. Thanks for sharing, HB!

Thanks for sharing. :hi:

but just because i'm a HUGE fan. it sez "Vote Socialist Workers - Camejo for President"

Been collecting since 1972.

Most of them are from the 1972 Presidential Campaign... mostly McGovern and nixon.

The oldest one I have is an 1872 button of US Grant.

I am sure that the www is chock-full of info on this subject.

Good luck and happy collecting!

to be to much info. I have gotten a lot of good tips off the internet though. I was just looking for some experienced collectors to help with some of the pitfalls. I have some buttons from names of companies like Tigereye and Guardfrog. I also have some limited edition buttons from some local vendors. I have been on Ebay, but am not totally sure about purchasing from an online vendor cause of the high potential for fakes or mass productions. I have bought quite a few from a local store called White House Gear in Tampa.

Its like an addiction, the quest to find that one little jewel, and it does cost very much either.

Thanks :fistbump:

So much so that you might come across his name, Paul Weinrich, in your travels. He was well known in the 60s and 70s as having one of the largst collections in the country. I wonder what happened to it all.