It does not have to be an election year for dealers and collectors to caucus in a smoke-filled room, discuss political memorabilia and drone on about market values.
From campaign pins (or ”pinbacks,” as collectors call them) and lapel ribbons, to election posters and ceramic figurines, political collectibles have been a favorite pursuit since ”Old Hickory” Andrew Jackson took the oath of office and the Whigs groomed a candidate.
Richard Friz, author of ”The Official Price Guide to Political Memorabilia” (House of Collectibles, $10.95), wrote in his preface: ”The retention of old political memorabilia (is) almost a reflex action with countless Americans.”
Before the advent of baseball, politics was the national pastime. The application of commercial lithography spawned mass-produced political fliers and posters, visual forerunners of the myriad pins, souvenirs and keepsakes representing more than 200 years of political activity.
Savvy collectors already are anticipating the material that will herald the `92 election: perhaps a colorful George Bush/Dan Quayle jugate (a two-candidate photo pin) or a miniature Bill Clinton saxophone button? Who knows?
Button underpinnings
Seasoned collectors confirm that campaign pinbacks are the most coveted of all political items. A quick check of collector-publication want ads reveals that compared to the market for three-dimensional artifacts, paper and related ephemera, most buffs choose buttons.
But collectors prepared to go the distance and pay a four- or even five-figure sum for a rare lapel item probably will have to compete with one of four famed experts in the hobby, men who nearly have cornered the supply of big-ticket material.
Always a contender is leading authority Morton Rose of Maryland. Aficionado Paul Purlin recently donated his collection to the University of Louisville, while Merrill Berman of New York enjoys lending his cache of campaign treasures to museums. Don Warner`s more than 850 choice pieces recently were sold at auction in Pennsylvania at the only major sale of a political collection to date.
But Friz writes that times have changed: ”A market once dominated by a few free spenders now boasts a broad, solid base, attesting to the landsliding growth and vitality of the hobby.”
While most political pins fall in the $2 to $10 range, intense competition for pieces valued at $50 to $100 has established an echelon for the hobby somewhat above that of a casual pursuit. Author Friz, however, says that items in the $2,000-plus range have tailed off since 1987, a notable exception being the astounding $33,000 paid for a James M. Cox-Franklin D. Roosevelt jugate button a few years ago.
Generally, three-dimensional political items and paper remain undervalued, while most buttons have maintained price levels, with many dramatically rising in value.
Consider a brief rundown of recent sale prices for celebrated items.
– A small Abe Lincoln campaign flag banner: $8,250.
– A Zachary Taylor pottery pitcher circa 1850: $4,620.
– An engraved plaque with relief busts of Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax: $2,090.
– A Martin Van Buren campaign ribbon inscribed, ”New York Must and Shall Be Redeem`d, New York`s Favorite Son,” with a portrait bust: $2,420.
– Grover Cleveland`s engraved bass-fishing reel: $2,750.
Friz`s guidebook and auction-house catalogs keep up with the values of thousands of known pinbacks and lapel buttons. Not all are valuable; a great many are worth hundreds; a few fetch a fortune.
Reproductions, facsimiles and out-and-out forgeries are cropping up. Always buy from a reputable dealer or collector. Check around and consider the individual`s credentials before buying expensive buttons or making trades. Novice collectors also should familiarize themselves with the specific glossary of terms used in the political-pin trade. For example, an ”amalgam” is paper or tin sandwiched between celluloid in certain political badges; a
”bartender`s delight” is a pinback depicting candidates from rival parties as a token of impartiality.
Whether you acquire metal, celluloid, plastic or cardboard lapel items or stick with ceramic items, posters and assorted paper material,
specialization can mean less frustration. No one can accumulate every item related to Calvin Coolidge or John F. Kennedy, but narrowing the field can make finds more exciting.
Buttons relating to a person`s stint as judge, senator or member of Congress before a presidential or gubernatorial candidacy are desirable too. Offbeat, regional pieces-”elect so-and-so mayor”-also have charm, although few are valuable unless quite old.
With the re-emergence of female activism in the `60s, items pertaining to the pioneer organizations WITCH, Red Stocking and NOW became instant collectibles. And don`t overlook any vintage piece relating to the women`s suffrage movement; the memorabilia are rare and historically important.
Posters picking up
Friz also advises to look beyond standard political collectibles. Veteran collectors may go weak in the knees at the sight of a tiny rare campaign pinback, Friz says, yet stifle a yawn over a visually stunning poster, fine print or original political cartoon. Among the sleeping giants of political memorabilia are posters and campaign ”broadsides” with vibrant graphics and bold colors. They are scarce and generally undervalued, Friz says.
George McGovern posters created by artist Peter Max in 1972 are a find, along with pop-art posters for Eugene McCarthy in 1968. Other classics include the Uncle Sam ”I Want You F.D.R.” image drawn by James Montgomery Flagg, artist Ben Shahn`s Truman-Dewey piano poster from 1948 and the memorable poster ”Only One Earth/Don`t Blow It!” for the ill-fated 1984 Walter Mondale-Geraldine Ferraro ticket.
Keep looking and allow aesthetics, not catalog values, to govern purchases. A handsome vintage item surely will appreciate in value, but the thrill of the chase and the acquisition are what make collecting fun.
