WILLKIE TRAIN STAFF

Ribbon badge promoting Wendell Willkie for president, 1940. Rare 1 3/4" cello with a pristine 1 5/8 x 4 1/4" STAFF ribbon. Worn by a Willkie staff member who accompanied the candidate on the Willkie Special campaign train, which left Rushville, Indiana in September of 1940. The excursion lasted seven weeks and toured 31 states in the West and Midwest. Willkie's staff and press reporters occupied 12 cars that contained dining, lounging, and sleeping compartments.