Benny Brandvold MD Before eBay, collecting in “the wild” meant what you found depended on what was originally distributed in the area or was transplanted as families relocated. No one understands regional campaign item scarcity more than a locals collector; imagine trying to put together a Massachusetts locals collection...
Presidential Items
Parties and individual vendors have produced and distributed items supporting the campaigns of presidential contenders since the early 19th century. These items have included ribbons, badges, pins, bandannas, posters, pamphlets, stickers and three dimensional items such as statuettes and dishes. The majority of these items are “national” with no regional flavor. I find items produced for more local use to be more interesting. These are produced by local parties for fundraising, conventions, candidate visits, and events or to tie a local candidate to a popular presidential candidate (coattails). Montana for its size has produced a relatively large number of these items. These have been the focus of my collecting for the last three decades. The items pictured on this site will focus on earlier items which tend to appear less frequently but there are a multitude of items produced in the last three decades. I will only present a few of these that are relatively uncommon.
Collecting Third Party Items
Early in the history of our republic, political parties were fluid and often short lived. Since the Civil War, we have had two very stable political parties though they have switched philosophies as to the balance of the power of the federal government versus state’s rights. Throughout our history...