Collector Bob Dawson, a Boston financial advisor, brought thousands of the buttons with him to sell at the Auburn show. His sampling boasted contemporary political campaign buttons from 1952 ...

They’re self-described “scavengers” of the physical objects that make up political campaign history, from candidate buttons to signs, banners and anything else that can enter the Smithsonian ...

By the early 19th century, rivalries among political factions in the new government ... and crockery gave way to expendable campaign advertising novelties such as badges, buttons, and ribbons. These ...

In the grand political tradition of campaign buttons – think “All the Way with LBJ” or “I Like Ike” – the crypto world is trying its own version, with a non-fungible token (NFT ...

Smithsonian curators collect campaign material like these tall state standards used at the 2016 GOP convention. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images ...

These buttons are snapshots that bridge America’s political past to the present. They are small, but mighty symbols of campaigns that once rallied our nation.