Author Archives: Nathan Sims

While a little bit sleep-deprived, I couldn't wait to get into the office today and update the USAmericana blog with some thoughts that came to me on the drive back from the APIC Western Regional Show & Sale in Reno.

I was reminded time and again this weekend about what makes ours the greatest hobby in America. What makes it so special isn't only the items we collect. The real life of our hobby is in the collectors. It's always a treat to congregate to share our passion for American political history, and to swap stories of the thrill of the hunt for great items. The passion and warmth of the APIC community never ceases to inspire me.

I'd like to thank Adam Gottlieb, Cary Jung, and Tina Jung for making this experience possible. Your efforts certainly paid off in a sizeable number of walk-ins facilitated by the advance publicity. The live auctions and silent auctions were well-organized and kept the excitement rolling for two solid days - no small task.

One of my favorite moments of the show was meeting and talking to a sweet woman named Sheila, who brought in some items from her days as a flight attendant for both the Nixon and John F. Kennedy 1960 campaigns. The items she brought with her included an unknown Nixon Airs brass pin and a personalized John F. Kennedy signature, both of which brought strong bids in the Seattle rules auction ($300 for the Nixon Airs and $900 for the Kennedy signature). More than this, she brought in memories that spoke to a personal connection to an exciting and historic campaign. She told me that she was overwhelmed to encounter a group of people who responded so passionately to, referring to the Nixon Airs pin, "a little thing that had just been in her sewing basket."

I was also thrilled to double the size of my recently started early gay rights pinback collection over the course of a couple days. Finding items at a Regional show is a breeze compared to scouring flea markets and antique shops. And paying for them with my video poker winnings... that didn't hurt either.

To those who attended, thank you. It was great to see you again, and to meet a few of you for the first time. To those of you who were unable to come, when the summer of 2015 rolls around, consider GOING WEST to APIC RENO 2015 - The Classiest Little APIC Show in the Biggest LIttle City in the World! I assure you, you won't regret it.

- Nathan Sims

In conjunction with today's new listings, featuring a selection of political neck wear, and the recent occurrence of Father's Day, we present a short history of the evolution of the American political necktie.

Interestingly, the first known American political neckties, which featured jugate images of Harrison and Morton, were made as a "clip on" style, in both a bow tie and standard neck tie variety. I had always assumed that the clip on tie was a recent invention (I used to wear the heck out of them as a kid going to Sunday school in the 80's) but it looks like I might not have been that much of a trendsetter.

The clip-on variety of political necktie continued on into the early 20th Century with these ties featuring printed portraits of TR and Taft on silk. These snazzy specimens of political neck wear feature a button clasp on the back to clip onto the top button of a shirt.

This tie, made for the 1928 Hoover campaign, features bolder colors than the earlier examples, and an embroidered owl to highlight its whimsical "Hoo? Hoo? Hoover" slogan.

The coming years saw some bold advances in the world of the political necktie, as the campaigns of FDR, Willkie, and Landon brought forth innovations in materials and production techniques, including multicolor screen printing and the weaving of Willkie's initials and name into the very fabric of the ties.

The Eisenhower campaign featured seemingly endless varieties of color, pattern, and construction.

The Goldwater campaign of 1964 featured this tie, which, fittingly, was extremely conservative in both width and color.

We hope you enjoyed this brief overview of political neck wear, and this week's new listings.

A great time was had by all at the Nixon Library APIC show & sale last weekend in Yorba Linda. Press for the event paid off, as a steady stream of walk-ins contributed to a great Seattle rules auction. Many turn of the century political and advertising pinbacks found new homes. Probably the most unusual item that walked in was from a Goldwater Girl who brought in a cowboy hat from the 1964 RNC signed by Goldwater, Miller, Ronald Reagan, and a host of Hollywood celebrities.

The staff of the Nixon Library provides a terrific venue. The bourse was held in an exact replica of the White House East Room.

We'd like to extend a sincere thank you to David Holcomb, Wayne Otchis, Jim Fletcher and especially Bob Banwart, whose tireless efforts made this event possible.

Part one of a continuing series on political facial fuzz

Breaking the Presidential "Beard Barrier" - Grace Bedell is an unsung hero of American history. On October 15, 1860, she wrote an impassioned letter to then candidate Abraham Lincoln urging him to grow a beard in order to hide his somewhat sickly countenance. The letter apparently worked, because less than a month later then President Lincoln was sporting American history's most famous beard, a somewhat Amish chinstrap variety he'd wear till the end of his life.

Until Lincoln's fateful decision, no American president had dared to delve beyond the hirsute half-measure of sideburns (worn by Washington, Jefferson, J. Q. Adams, Van Buren, Polk and Taylor).

Speaking of Sideburns - What did they call sideburns before General Ambrose Burnside? I don't know, but it isn't too difficult to recognize that naming a whole genre of facial hair configurations after this man was not only appropriate, but inevitable.

Ambrose would ride the coattails of his formidable mutton chops on into his postbellum career, including two terms representing Rhode Island as a U.S. Senator. Some say that Burnside could have accomplished even more if he hadn't been committed to a couple hours of daily whisker grooming. What these cynics fail to take into account, though, was the time he saved on maintenance of his coiffure.

"Grow West, Young Man" - Horace Greeley was a newspaper editor, founder of the Liberal Republican Party, reformer, politician, outspoken opponent of slavery, and wearer of perhaps the most eccentric variety of facial hair of his or any day. Although, to call it "facial hair" would be to deny its basic genius, in that none of it actually resided on his face.

Clearly a man who forged his own path, Greeley opted to grow a whispy, downy, and luxuriant neck-beard that was the envy of Alpaca enthusiasts from the Andes to the Rocky mountains. Legend has it that Greeley, an avowed spendthrift, decided to grow the kitten-fur like mane so as to save on both shaving supplies and scarves.

Interesting side-note: I've been told by an accomplished backpacker friend of mine that if Greeley's throat fur were used to fill a sleeping bag, it would be a more efficient filling than premium goose-down, and would probably be rated for temperatures as extreme as -40° Celcius.

Replete in Defeat - When life hands you lemons, sometimes you just got to throw those lemons aside, unplug the internet you invented, and grow a Grisly Adams-worthy beard. Such was the case when Al Gore emerged from his post-Florida recount self-imposed exile with a beard that said to the world "what's the point of even trying anymore?"

Gore must have been reeling from the disappointment when he threw his Norelco into a lockbox and decided to reduce his carbon faceprint.

Posters are my nemesis. There, I said it.

Always have been. Over the course of years and what feels like thousands of posters, lithographs and engravings, I'd find myself waiting for just the right time of day, shimmying up a step stool, and trying my darndest to get the shot before a gust of wind came along and blew the poster down the parking lot. I'd lay rulers along the edges so that the curls would straighten and the piece would lay flat. I'd shoot the poster at odd angles to avoid a distracting sheen from the light source, and take minutes per piece in Photoshop with the perspective and distortion tools to correct the angles and bring it back to some semblance of reality.

Product photography is important. In internet commerce, the better representation you can give the customer of what the piece they're buying or bidding on is, the less you'll have to deal with returns and, more importantly, disappointment. Returns are one thing. They happen, and it's fine. But the disappointment is another thing. I'd rather have a hundred customers return an item they aren't satisfied with than one who gets bummed when they open their package and choose to find another place to do their business.

But I digress. I was talking about posters...

I knew there had to be a better way. Shooting on the ground never really seemed to work right. So I first thought about a wall-mounted "reverse suction hockey table" arrangement, so that the piece could be held flat and in place by light suction. But that would have been clunky and loud and taken forever to build. I was telling Tom about what I was thinking, and he mentioned magnets, and I ran with it.

So this is the setup I'm currently using, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.

It's a pretty straightforward setup. Giant piece of sheet metal - wall mounted. Magnets at the corners of the poster. Two sets of fluorescent shop lights mounted to lumber tripods placed on either side at a 45 degree angle to the piece. This allows the use of a camera tripod, which doesn't work when you're shooting at the ground.

I haven't noticed any problem with sheen in the glossy posters, and it works a treat with bandanas and textiles, too. Not to mention that I no longer have to wait for that "magic hour" of the day when the daylight is just right and the wind isn't blowing.

Hope that comes in handy for someone, and I hope you find that the posters we feature on the site give you an honest representation of what we have to offer.