Political Collectibles: Sometimes Loser Takes All by Linda Rosenkrantz on Creators.com

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Political Collectibles: Sometimes Loser Takes All

In this Presidents Day week, we celebrate the winners of the most crucial political races, but what about the also-rans? In the collectibles world, there is also interest in the memorabilia of those who were only votes away from becoming the nation's commander in chief.

After all, some of the most renowned names in American history — John Jay, John Hancock, Aaron Burr, DeWitt Clinton, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Horace Greeley and William Jennings Bryan, to cite a few — all made unsuccessful bids for the country's highest office. Clay actually tried three times, running under the banners of three different parties.

The American presidency has been a contest between two or more candidates since 1800, but at first, souvenirs were issued only to commemorate the winner's victory. Beginning with the campaign of 1840, in which William Henry Harrison was elected, however, candidates began to issue tokens, ribbons, badges, flags, bandanas and other items to attract supporters.

Political campaign pin-back buttons were first mass-produced and widely distributed in 1896 for presidential hopeful William McKinley and for the first of three unsuccessful campaigns of William Jennings Bryan. Pin-back buttons have been used in every presidential campaign since, and are among the most common political collectibles, particularly jugates — those which depict both candidates. Some of the scarcest and most sought after are tied to losers: John W. Davis, who ran in 1924, and James Cox in 1920. Caveat: Almost all pin-back buttons made between 1896 and 1916 were covered in celluloid; any lithographed pin from a pre-1916 election is likely to be a fake.

Some items of political memorabilia are of museum-worthy quality, including ferrotype portraits mounted on brass, wooden canes topped with metal portraits of the candidates, glazed china plates; while others are more frivolous in nature, e.g., "I Like Adlai" bubblegum cigars. In fact, an interesting collection could comprise only humorous items, such as caricatured portraits and other items — e.g., a George C.

Wallace caricature wristwatch and a skill game in which you had to roll Teddy Roosevelt's teeth into his mouth; also items displaying such campaign slogans as Barry Goldwater's anti-Johnson "Let's Light Up the White House and Clean Up the Bird House," Hubert Humphrey's anti-Nixon "See Dick Run/Run, Dick, Run" and Thomas Dewey's anti-Truman "Too Many Jacks from Missouri."

The advent of television commercials and the Internet have greatly reduced the number of tangible campaign items made in recent decades, making the vintage items even more desirable.

Here are some prices that have been fetched by high-end political loser items:

Framed flag promoting George B. McClellan, the Democratic candidate who lost to Abraham Lincoln in 1864, 13-by-17 inches: $12,788.

Rare 1924 John W. Davis button, 2 1/4 inches — Davis was the Democratic Party nominee defeated in a landslide by Calvin Coolidge: $11,500.

1912 Theodore Roosevelt-Hiram Johnson jugate button, when Roosevelt, running as the Progressive Party candidate, lost to Woodrow Wilson: $11,000.

Horace Greeley black-and-brown hat with fabric band, 1872: $6,560.

Framed poster for James M. Cox, defeated Democratic candidate in 1920: $5,829.

A 1948 Thomas E. Dewey-Earl Warren jugate pin-back button, "Dewey & Warren for Prosperity," 6 inches: $4,478.

An 1860 campaign printed cloth American flag with the names Douglas-Johnson — Democratic presidential candidates Stephen Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson — 13 1/2-by-22 inches: $3,795

A William Jennings Bryan jugate (with running mate John Kern) pin-back button of 1908, showing Lady Liberty, 1 3/4 inches: $3,125.

1920 Franklin Roosevelt for Vice President celluloid button, 1 1/4 inch (yes, he was a loser before he was a winner): $2,540.

For the 1936 campaign, a long swag-style flag-motif cloth banner promoting Republican candidate Alfred M. Landon, centering a portrait of Landon above sunflowers and with crossed American flags, 36 inches long: $1,530.

Linda Rosenkrantz has edited Auction magazine and authored 18 books, most recently "Beyond Ava & Aidan: The Enlightened Guide to Naming your Baby" (St. Martin's Press). Visit her baby names website at http://nameberry.com. She cannot answer letters personally. To find out more about Linda Rosenkrantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.