Whether you’re a history buff, hobbyist or collector, the Albany Political Memorabilia show and sale on Saturday offers a chance to remember bygone campaigns.
Tom Keefe has been a member of the New York State Chapter of the American Political Item Collectors, the sponsor of the program, for 53 years.
"I collect presidential campaign material," said Keefe. "And I go back to the beginning of America in collecting that stuff. Many people merely collect eras, or they collect one or a handful of specific candidates. But then there's people who collect anti-Vietnam War pins, and people who collect things related to women's suffrage, and people who collect things like having to do with slavery and civil rights and that kind of stuff. There's people who collect just local campaign buttons, like governors and congressmen, and some of those people only collect their own state and that kind of thing."
Fellow-collector Brian Fessler, whose day job is with the New York State School Boards Association, says 20 dealers from all over the country will have booths at the show. He says you can start collecting for as little as a quarter an item. But be prepared to pay more for memorabilia that holds particular public sentiment or has a historical connection or both. Fessler says 1860s Abraham Lincoln paraphernalia starts out around $300 an item, while items from the time of Ulysses Grant, in the 1870s, sell for less.
"You could start off buying something from a real campaign item from one of Grant's two campaigns for $50 or $60 or $80," Fessler said. "And people who come into the show without any real interest in collecting political campaign material, have had a tremendous, fun time looking through the wide variety of crazy stuff available and being shown and seen.”
Keefe says the event runs from 9 to 3 at the Holiday Inn Express on Wolf Road.
"The thing to take away is this can be a fun show, whether or not you're a serious collector, or whether or not you're a collector at all, you know, there will be you know, if you're a collector, there's gonna be a ton of materials to take a look through, to see and/or buy," said Keefe. "But, you know, maybe you're just looking for, you know, a knick-knack, or some office decorations, or a small gift. And there's opportunities there. Or if you're simply a fan of, you know, history and politics and government, national, New York State, local, you know, it's kind of like a museum. So whether you're a serious collector looking for, you know, a $100 pin, or you just like the fun of history and politics, plenty of stuff to look at, to look at and everywhere in between."
Keefe says if you have any political memorabilia APIC members will be on hand to give free appraisals.
