I just got a copy of a book that probably isn't well known to numismatists: Campaigning for President by Jordan M. Wright. Published by Smithsonian and Harper-Collins, it's beautifully done, showing political items, including medals and tokens, but loaded with other political campaign material in full color and coffee table size. It retails for $35.00 list but got thru Abebooks.com for $19 plus postage. Very worthwhile.

Based on the author's extraordinary personal collection of presidential election memorabilia, Campaigning for President tells the colorful story of how presidents (and their losing rivals) have wooed voters since America was founded. These objects—from posters and paper dresses to ice-cream bars, sunglasses, and (of course) buttons—form a fascinating, moving, sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous physical record of the past.

Campaigning for President makes it clear that money didn't become important just in recent elections and that candidates—and their minions—have sometimes been willing to gloss over the fine points or get very creative in their self-representation in attempts to win the presidency. Full of entertaining stories about the elections and the memorabilia, this book provides wonderful insight into America's most important achievement—our democratic system.

His book, with more than 500 full-color illustrations, is a must read/own for students and teachers of U.S. presidential history, collectors of quadrennial election memorabilia and just plain old, run-of-the-mill, political junkies. Campaign banners, buttons, posters, flags, socks, gloves, shirts suspenders, fans, figurines, and medals to name a few, memorializing the past efforts of our Presidential candidates, each from his personal collection, are reproduced in this work

Based on the author's immense and unique personal collection of over one million objects, our nation would be poorer without this special edition. Replete with fascinating tales and little remembered facts about presidential elections and the candidates who competed, Jordan's work provides insight into our nation's most important achievement-our democratic republic (pun intended!).