A Quirky Assembly of Artifacts From Campaigns Gone By : Collectors: Among Patrick Brumleve’s treasures is a teapot shaped liked Ronald Reagan’s head. No wonder he finds campaign buttons boring.

Patrick Brumleve has been on the campaign trail--lots of them--to collect hundreds of pieces of presidential memorabilia dating back to 1840.

A porcelain teapot shaped to resemble Ronald Reagan’s head and a peanut holder with Jimmy Carter’s toothy face are just a couple of prized pieces in Brumleve’s collection.

Brumleve, supervisor of off-campus housing at Southern Illinois University, has amassed a collection of 1,000 to 1,500 pieces.

“For most political collectors the premier piece is a button,” he said. “But I think a lot of collectors miss out on these three-dimensional items--they’re so colorful and often unique.”

Brumleve, 33, received his first campaign pin at age 13, but didn’t start collecting in earnest until 10 years ago. He now has at least one item from every presidential campaign since 1840.

Among the most eye-catching pieces are the Reagan teapot, the vividly colored Carter peanut holder and a peanut-shaped radio with Carter’s equally toothy smile again. Brumleve said these are some of his favorites because they are so unusual.

The peanut holder is a foot-high bust of the Georgia peanut farmer with sparkling blue sequins for eyes and a hollow center to hold peanuts. The peanut-shaped radio boasts a black top hat nestled atop another toothy Carter visage--a monument in plastic.

Dating further back is a Herbert Hoover “toby” mug--actually a large hollow ceramic bust of Hoover, in the “toby” tradition of cartoonish English pub tankards. The collection also includes a brass clock with figures of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and George Washington.

Brumleve doesn’t have all the collection on permanent public display. Last year some 200 pieces formed an exhibition at the university’s museum. A few are on display at a local Cobden museum.

The majority of the collection consists of small items, including the obligatory “I Like Ike” buttons for Dwight D. Eisenhower and “The Grin Will Win” button hawking Carter for President. A Woodrow Wilson “Man of the Hour” button is worth several hundred dollars, he said. All told, he has nearly 500 buttons.

The oldest items in his collection are a campaign token and book from the 1840 election of William Henry Harrison.

Brumleve said the widespread interest in these collectibles is especially lively around election times.