Tells how to start, store, display, and take care of a political button collection, discusses reproductions and forgeries, and looks at the investment value of political buttons

A guide to political campaign collectibles of the last century includes stories behind the classic buttons, pictures of over 800 items, checklist of all presidential mominees and hopefuls, address of political items dealers and publications.

"A collection of more than 2,000 colorful and artistic pin-back buttons, forming a people's history of American culture and politics that focuses on a range of subjects: advertising, arts and entertainment, historical events, movements and causes, humor, nature, celebrated personalities and organizations, geographical features, sports, transportation, wars and anti-war movements"--

Wright presents a richly illustrated history of American presidential elections told through campaign memorabilia. Based on the authors extraordinary personal collection, these objects--from posters and paper dresses to ice cream bars and buttons--form a fascinating record of the past.

Texas politicians are a lively, sometimes controversial, always entertaining breed, and the ways they have chosen to put themselves and their messages before the public are equally as interesting. Anything and everything that can be printed with a candidate's name, image, and slogan—from buttons and bumper stickers to chewing gum, pocket knives, and plastic pickles—is likely to turn up in a Texas political campaign. Though many consider these items ephemeral, collectors value political memorabilia as a fascinating "sound bite" record of the candidates and issues that engaged the voting public over decades. Texas Political Memorabilia presents just such a pictorial history of Texas politics, the first ever compiled. Drawn from the vast personal collection of Chuck Bailey and augmented with items from other private and public collections, this book presents the most exceptional, most memorable, and most informative examples of Texas political memorabilia. The featured items cover everything from the presidential campaigns of Lyndon Johnson and both George Bushes, to U.S. House and Senate elections, to statewide races for governor and the Texas House and Senate, to county and city elections. All the major figures of twentieth-century Texas politics—as well as Sam Houston and Davy Crockett—are represented in the book. To set the images in context, Chuck Bailey and Bill Crawford provide background on the candidates, races, and issues that inspired many of the pieces pictured in the book. From LBJ's Stetson-shaped ashtrays to Jake Pickle's plastic squeaker pickles to George W. Bush's "W" buttons, Texas Political Memorabilia is a treasure trove of the nuts and bolts and buttons of Texas politics.

950 photos present a multi-faceted look at Abraham Lincoln and how society still reveres him more than 100 years after his death. Includes artifacts, pictures, coins, and much more.

This New York Times bestselling “deep dive into the terms of eight former presidents is chock-full of political hijinks—and déjà vu” (Vanity Fair) and provides a fascinating look at the men who came to the office without being elected to it, showing how each affected the nation and world. The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Eight men have succeeded to the presidency when the incumbent died in office. In one way or another they vastly changed our history. Only Theodore Roosevelt would have been elected in his own right. Only TR, Truman, Coolidge, and LBJ were re-elected. John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He was kicked out of his party and became the first president threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay’s compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. Chester Arthur, the embodiment of the spoils system, was so reviled as James Garfield’s successor that he had to defend himself against plotting Garfield’s assassination; but he reformed the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts. Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Harry Truman surprised everybody when he succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam. Accidental Presidents shows that “history unfolds in death as well as in life” (The Wall Street Journal) and adds immeasurably to our understanding of the power and limits of the American presidency in critical times.