Candidates Pinned Hopes on Mementos
Political campaigns have featured slogans, pins and interesting memorabilia since the days of George Washington. Early campaign materials consisted of handkerchiefs and medals, but by the 1840s, when William Henry Harrison ran, there were many other mementos.
Harrison was born in a log cabin and was known to like hard cider, so those two ideas were promoted. Bottles shaped like log cabins and pins shaped like cider barrels were among the many gadgets and gimmicks used to promote his candidacy.
Later candidates used dishes, mechanical buttons, canes, matchboxes, drapery fabrics, toys, umbrellas, hats, lunch pails and stoves.
By the election of 1892, when attractive celluloid campaign buttons became inexpensive to produce, other materials became less popular. Today most buttons are made of metal, and the button is still the most popular political campaign item.
Collectors search for old and unusual political pieces. Best are those that picture presidential candidates. Serious collectors are careful to buy only campaign materials, not the gift-shop gimmicks that are not part of a candidate’s campaign.
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Question My family owns a pressed-glass plate more than 100 years old that has an American eagle design in the center. But the eagle on our plate is facing to its left instead of its right, as it does on the official seal of the United States. Do you know why?
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Answer The Great Seal of the United States was adopted by Congress in 1782 and went into use when President Washington was inaugurated in 1789. The seal has an eagle in the center.
The rules of heraldic devices call for eagles to face right, so that became the official rule of the U.S. government. But some artists, because of ignorance or indifference, turned the eagle’s head. Even some depictions of the U.S. presidential seal show the eagle’s head reversed.
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Q What is a “press bed”? I saw a reference to one in a furniture book but no explanation.
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A A press bed was a piece of furniture that hid a bed inside what looked like a clothespress. When the doors of the “clothespress” were opened, the bed could be pulled down.
Press beds, first made in Europe in the 18th century, came in various forms, from tall armoires to dining-room chests.
They lost favor by the second half of the 19th century. Most press beds then were converted into what they appeared to be on the outside--wardrobe, chest or dresser--so there are few left in their original form.
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Q I inherited a metal bank shaped like a bust of Abraham Lincoln. It’s about 5 inches tall and looks like bronze. What can you tell me about it?
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A More banks have been made representing Abraham Lincoln than any other person. The oldest date from the 1920s. Many were made as recently as the 1960s.
If your bank is made of a heavy metal and is sculpted in detail, it probably is one of the better-quality Lincoln banks. It sounds like one made in the early ‘30s by A.C. Rehberger Co. of Chicago. If so, it would sell for $100 to $150.
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Q My mother’s 12-inch, jointed composition boy doll is marked “Ideal.” The only information I have found is that he is called Liberty Boy. His hair, eyes, black shoes and khaki Army uniform are all painted. My father told me that the doll came with a felt hat. What is it worth?
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A Your Liberty Boy doll was designed in 1917 by Morris Michtom, one of the founders of the Ideal Novelty Co. of Brooklyn, N.Y. The doll was dressed as a doughboy and was used in the sale of war bonds during World War I. The doll was sold with a felt hat decorated with a gold cord.
The Liberty Boy was a big success for Ideal, even though adult male dolls were unusual.
In excellent condition and with his hat, a Liberty Boy doll is worth about $250.
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Q My green-glass plate has crossed muskets, a cannon and the words “Volunteer Plate” around the rim. The center decoration pictures a soldier standing by a flag at a cemetery.
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A The soldier on your plate is standing by a flag in an army encampment, not at a cemetery. The design elements that look like gravestones are army tents.
Tennessee got the nickname “Volunteer State” when 30,000 of the state’s men volunteered to fight in the Mexican War (1846-1848). Far fewer than 30,000 were called to fight.
Your plate probably was made for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, held in Nashville in 1897. There are 16 stars on the plate’s flag because Tennessee was the 16th state admitted to the union. The letters on the plate are stippled with tiny stars.
If you’d like a listing of helpful books and publications on antiques, send a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope to the Kovels, Los Angeles Times, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.
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Current Prices
Prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary because of local economic conditions.
* Advertising blotter, Donald Duck for Sunoco, 1942: $35.
* Hand-painted Flintstones clear plastic glasses, set of four, Barney, Wilma, Bamm-Bamm and Dino, marked “Imperial,” 1976, Hanna-Barbera: $40.
* Lamps, red plastic, lighted top, picture of New York City, 1939, 8 inches, pair: $60.
* Commemorative mug, Princess Diana, royal visit to Canada, 1983, faces of Diana and Prince Charles: $65.
* Mego Cher doll, plastic and vinyl, original box, 1976, 12 inches: $85.
* Conklin fountain pen, black, gold-filled trim, 14K gold nib, 1930: $90.
* Osage Indian bead necklace, white, blue and salmon with fringe, 1916: $190.
* Sterling silver brooch, mermaid, William Spratling: $825.
* Eero Saarinen Grasshopper lounge chair, walnut, upholstered, bentwood leg and arm supports, manufactured by Knoll & Associates, 34 1/2 inches: $920.
* Schafer & Vater decanter, blue glaze, girl holding large beer stein and leaning on barrel, German slogan, 9 1/2 inches: $1,200.
