Fans of Abraham Lincoln or election history in general can attend a pair of online events this month showcasing election artifacts, and may be able to include some of their own.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is holding a two part virtual series titled “Beyond Bumper Stickers”, hosted by historian Jacob Friefeld, the ALPLM’s specialist in Illinois and Midwestern history.
The online events will be shown on the library and museum’s Facebook page with the first event scheduled for this Thursday at 7pm.
Friefeld will highlight some of the extensive campaign memorabilia in the presidential library’s collections, paying particular attention to items in the Stevenson Collection, which includes material from a U.S. Vice President, Democratic Presidential nominee and a candidate for Illinois Governor.
Information will also be presented such as how Lincoln and Grant promoted their presidential campaigns, and was there an 1890’s version of MAGA hats?
The second event will give the audience a chance to be involved. Anyone with a particularly interesting campaign item is invited to share photos by emailing them to alplm.showandtell@illinois.gov
A few of them will be shown and discussed in the second “Beyond Bumper Stickers” event, which takes place Thursday, Oct. 29, also at 7 p.m. Central time on Facebook.
Experts on campaign memorabilia will join in to discuss items submitted by the public, explore pieces captured digitally by the University of Illinois Springfield and examine other miscellaneous items in the presidential library’s collection.
Friefeld says “Elections are important and everyone should do their part by voting, but campaigns also produce some fascinating, creative and even downright weird attempts to capture voters attention.”
He says organizers hope to explore this with these two events.