As we draw nearer to another presidential election, the campaigning is getting hot and heavy. Hardly a day goes by without hearing or seeing an advertising splash for the current candidates. So far this week the news has been filled with coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. It’s getting close…

While television is a relatively new arena for political debate, it has quickly become one of the most important. Political campaigns of the past were not as all-encompassing as today, relying on word of mouth and printed materials. One technique was the proud display of your candidate through use of a pinback button or sign. Many of these political buttons and signs have since gone on to become valuable collectibles, with new political items being produced with each election.  

Hake’s Americana, a division of Geppi’s Entertainment, began in 1965 as a mail-order auction that specialized in these political collectibles. While Hake’s has added many other areas of collectibles over the ensuing decades, they still have a fondness for political memorabilia. This is true in their current auction, which in addition to the usual wonderful selection of pinback buttons, features an extensive assortment of political posters. 

Some of the highlights include a superb example of a William Jennings Bryan 1900 campaign poster, a matched pair of posters for the Alton Parker and Henry Davis 1904 campaign, a poster for Warren G. Harding’s presidential bid in the 1920 election, a poster for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1944 presidential bid with Harry S. Truman for Vice President, a poster for John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign that was later signed by Robert Kennedy, an oversized Barry Goldwater poster, a 1968 Richard Nixon poster proclaiming “Next Stop: Washington,” as well as a window card for Ted Kennedy’s first Senate run in 1962 and a pair of posters for Ralph Nader. These are only a few of over 100 great political posters up for bid in Hake’s current auction.

Hake’s auction is now online and will be closing September 2-4, 2008. For more information on these posters and to peruse through the other items in Hake’s auction, visit www.hakes.com.