Photo is Morse of Course!

An old newsprint photo has been causing some discussion amongst collectors on the APIC facebook page. I was searching for photos used in newsprint of collectors and their collections when I stumbled upon this photo of Emanuel Ress from 1960. He is inspecting laminated prints for 1960 presidential hopefuls that he plans to sell to the public. As you can see there are pins for Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson, Humphrey and several for Senator Wayne Morse.

Morse of course, was the Oregon Democrat running for President in the 1960 primaries. While he was only officially on the ballot in three contests (Maryland, DC, and Oregon) he claimed to have organizers working for him in most states that held state conventions to select delegates. I am a huge Morse fan and wrote my last political science paper in college on his 1960 effort. I have so far been unable to find ay firm details on these various efforts outside of those three mentioned above, but, like so much political organizing today it may have gone largely unnoticed.

Ress inspecting the quality of his prints for buttons.

Tom McCall Dress from 1970

Dress Found on Ebay this week

Sometimes us Oregon political junkies have to wait and wait...and wait for an interesting Oregon item to find its way to ebay. If you are a regular searcher of Oregon related political figures then you have probably seen this item. It is a paper dress from his re-election campaign in 1970. Paper clothing items were cheap and very popular in the 1960s. It was seen as sort of a fashion novelty and lots of campaigns used them in an attempt to boost their vote getting abilities.

Collectors Archive: Terrorists Seek Political Buttons

This short article appeared in the Reading Eagle  on July, 21, 1972. It concerns terrorist demands for Nixon campaign buttons. This headline and story would be taken to a whole new level in the post 9/11 world. 


LOS ANGELES (UPI) Ransom demands are becoming almost commonplace, but this one was unusal. The terrorist demanded four Nixon campaign buttons.

A note slipped benith the door of a local headquarters for re-election of the President Thursday threatned to "destory the your headquarters with all the people in it" with TNT unless "two square buttons and two big round ones" were left outside after closing hours for ransom.

The note was signed "you know who."  Campaign workers said they did not know who. They did not say whether they left buttons.


What makes this story so sad is that Nixon buttons from 1972 are pretty much everywhere now. They were made by the thousands and given out in handfuls. Long after all human life is gone, Nixon Now pins will be picked up by alien explores and they'll toss them too! The Columbia Advertising Company was the official supplier for the Committee to Re-Elect The President. If you pay more than a dollar for one of these buttons....