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Every presidential hopeful, whether Republican, Democrat or independent, launched a campaign for the White House. And win or lose, every campaign left a trail of collectibles. Buffy Gorrilla spent some time at a community hall in Titusville, New Jersey, meeting collectors, tracing presidential history through the memorabilia left behind.
BUFFY GORRILLA, BYLINE: It was like walking into a live taping a U.S. history themed "Antiques Roadshow" episode - so much presidential campaign memorabilia carefully spread on large tables, some of it covered in what could be presidential dust.
TOM KEEFE: It's an electric lamp. There's a light - there's a fixture and a light, and that's Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And this is from the 1940 election.
GORRILLA: Tom Keefe's FDR lamp stands out. Keefe and FDR have come down from Albany, New York. He's here to talk history, see friends and do some business.
KEEFE: So that's a little mustard cup.
GORRILLA: With a profile of William Jennings Bryan in relief.
KEEFE: George Bush wristwatch, and a Wendell Willkie lead pencil (laughter), a Goldwater Miller nail file (laughter), this was a little Harry Truman donkey.
GORRILLA: In gold.
KEEFE: In gold.
GORRILLA: And Tom Keefe has more, a match holder with the face of 18th President Ulysses S. Grant and a campaign button from our 12th president, Zachary Taylor.
KEEFE: It says - rough and ready. His nickname was "Old Rough and Ready."
TONY LEE: This is probably six 8-foot tables.
GORRILLA: Six 8-foot tables.
LEE: Covered with buttons (laughter).
GORRILLA: And these are all yours?
LEE: All mine - and these are my duplicates. This isn't even my collection. My collection's at home.
GORRILLA: Tony Lee is the president of the American Political Items Collectors, a 2,000-member group.
LEE: I really enjoy collecting Alf Landon. He was the candidate for president in 1936. He lost to Franklin Roosevelt. He was from Kansas, and his campaign theme were sunflowers.
GORRILLA: Lee points to a Landon campaign button that is backed with felt sunflower petals. On table after table, presidential winners and losers share space - Eisenhower, Goldwater, Nixon, Wilkie, Obama, Trump and both Clintons. The exhibitors know their history from campaign dates to running mates and opponents.
SANDY JOHNSON: It does keep their older brains active.
GORRILLA: Sandy Johnson is married to a collector, and after 38 years of marriage, she has come to appreciate her husband's collectibles.
JOHNSON: I love some of them. They're great because they do show a lot of history.
GORRILLA: Retired teacher Seth Cohen may have the cutest political items on display.
SETH COHEN: I have stuffed animals. One's a donkey, one's an elephant, and they're from the 1984 Convention, from the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
GORRILLA: Some members of the American Political Items Collectors have a niche, a specific candidate, a state or only buttons. There's campaign sheet music, including "I Like Ike," words and music by Irving Berlin. Tony Lee and his group have one goal.
LEE: We're just going to preserve it while we have it, take good care of it, and then eventually probably sell it to the next collector who will do the same thing.
GORRILLA: Because everyone can have a piece of the presidency. For NPR News in Titusville, New Jersey, I'm Buffy Gorrilla.
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