THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION of 1860 saw Abraham Lincoln seeking his first term with the country deeply divided over slavery. This campaign badge bears a tintype—or tinted metal—photograph taken by Mathew Brady on February 27, 1860, in New York City, the day Lincoln gave a speech at Cooper Union. Lincoln remarked that the success of the speech and Brady’s photograph helped him win the presidency. The roughly 2-by-3-inch brass-framed pin, part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, was made in Boston. The pin was mounted onto a canvas circle covered with white silk ruffles and a pink ribbon (lost to time). Such badges were made in far fewer numbers than today’s mass-produced buttons. In 1860, photographs were a new tool in politics that helped make Lincoln more familiar to the public. (In keeping with 19th-century custom, after announcing his candidacy on May 9, Lincoln largely stayed at his home in Springfield, Illinois, while others traveled to speak on his behalf.) His election on November 6 was the only one in U.S. history that led to states immediately seceding.
Abraham Lincoln campaign badge
Vintage: 1860
Resides at The Indiana State Museum
