LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Feb Americana Grand Format Auction #659  / 

26105

Alfred Landon: 1 ¼" "Land On Washington

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Historical Memorabilia Start Price:1,250.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD
Alfred Landon: 1 ¼ Land On Washington
<B>Alfred M. Landon: The Key 1¼" "Land On Washington" Button Variety.</B></I> Long gone were the days of the inventive and colorful button designs of the turn of the century. By the 1936 election, political buttons largely had become formulaic. In addition, aside from a handful of very common, nationally-distributed varieties, there were surprisingly few Landon button styles. It is not uncommon to find this when the candidate was viewed as a sure loser, as was the case with Landon in 1936. It is always harder to raise campaign funds for a doomed campaign, and all forms of political promotion would suffer, including button giveaways. However, it is also usually the case that the Republican candidates were better funded, so this anomaly is a particularly interesting one. There was, though, one stand out button design that emerged from the Landon campaign that has become one of the all time favorites among collectors. In a play on his name, Landon is depicted piloting a plane, with his name emblazoned across the wings, descending from the clouds upon the Capitol building. This variety remains quite rare; it is speculated that the entire known population of several dozen copies all came from a group obtained by pioneer collector Andrew Velever from a vendor during the campaign. A number of the known examples show some degree of foxing, but the present copy is in excellent condition. Only in the most slavish devotion to accuracy do we point out a couple of inconsequential, tiny surface indentations, visible only when the light is at a certain angle. A very fine example.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Miscellaneous Collectibles, Smal (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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