Collecting political memorabilia
By OVID VICKERS
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
For people who are "collectors," the items they collect can range from old jewelry to electrical insulators. Jim Laird, our son-in-law, has a most unusual collection of political memorabilia which he, during the recent election, expanded greatly.
A true collector can be "hooked" on collecting certain things just as a person can become addicted to spirits or nicotine. Jim, who edits the Mississippi Business Journal, is addicted to the collecting of items related to political campaigns.
He began collecting campaign buttons while a student at Mississippi State University, and today he avidly collects anything associated with past and present political campaigns. One corner of Jim's office is the repository for campaign signs, stickers, buttons, flyers, tee shirts, push cards, and even a small metal broom from the gubernatorial campaign waged a few years back by John Arthur Eaves, Sr.
One of the most interesting pieces in this collection is a metal cutout that reads "Wallace for President" and attaches to the bottom of a car license plate. The metal plate is a hold-over from George Wallace's presidential campaign.
As governor of Alabama, Wallace stood in the schoolhouse door early in his political career, but later he sensed that the political winds were shifting rapidly. Always the politician who could shift his stance, he managed to reach across racial lines and was a viable presidential candidate when he was tragically shot and crippled for life.
One item which my wife found and donated Jim's collection is a set of Bill Clinton nesting dolls like those that tourists usually purchase on trips to Russia. These nesting dolls, from the smallest to the largest include Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, Jennifer Flowers, and lastly a very tiny Hillary. This set of dolls makes one of the strangest political statements ever conceived.
Things like cardboard signs and bumper sticks are probably among the most trashed items left over from a political campaign. But those who are into collecting political memorabilia are quick to gather the more unusual of them after a campaign to be stored in attics and basements. These posters are also sometimes seen at flea markets, garage sales, and even on EBay.
Avid collectors, believe it or not, have been known to approach the managers of television stations in an attempt to buy even the nasty and negative commercials.
Jim offers the following comments concerning his collection: "The collection is farm from complete and in the long run will probably find its way into a landfill. But for now, it offers an interesting pop culture assessment of how we share power, share policy, and spread our vision of what democracy is and should be."
In this collection, Jim's office visitors can see both the usual and the unusual. There is even a bag of peanuts from Roger Crowder's campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture and a packet of cucumber seeds from Mike Mass who ran for the US Congress as a Democrat from Oklahoma. Mass used the unoriginal slogan "The People's Man." Another poster in the collection carries the equally uninspiring words "A Good Man," found on a placard of a candidate who ran for a seat on the Alabama Supreme Court. It is true that a good slogan can help a candidate win a race, but a majority of them have very little substance.
Jim says that most of the items in his collection have come from friends who have worked or volunteered on state and national campaigns. "Some," he says, "I collected from the side of the road after election days, before the MDOT crews could pick them up."
Some of the rare signs in the collection explore one of the ever-present factors in past political campaigns in Mississippi, and that factor is race. A sign from a Third District Congressional race has emblazoned across a state flag "White Country Rebel." Compare that statement with these two messages on other posters: "What Would Dr. King Do?" and "Why Can't A Black Man Be Sheriff?"
According to Jim, surveying a broad spectrum of political memorabilia gives one some perspective. "It's a lot to expect from a bumper sticker or sign, but the symbolism, slogans and even clichés help us make sense of the complex issues of present day politics."
Since the elections have recently ended, Jim has been quite busy attempting to collect a whole new batch of political signs which soon will move into the realm of political memorabilia. He considers the collecting of cards, fans, placards, stickers, and signs to be a great deal of fun. After all, these objects will, in a short time, become a part of our state and nation's political history.
http://www.neshobademocrat.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=301&ArticleID=15827&TM=65717.07
