ROOSEVELT, HUGHES & TAFT "SECURITY HARMONY JUSTICE" 1916 CAMPAIGN BUTTON HAKE #3017.
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Winning Bid:
$25,960.00
(Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Tuesday, March 19, 2024 9:00:00 PM)
Item Description
Intended to be distributed at an event on Oct. 3, 1916 at the Union League Club. Roosevelt accepted an invitation to the event in an effort to support Hughes. TR had earlier in the summer refused the nomination from the Progressive party intending to support the GOP candidate. When he learned this button would be distributed at the event he became enraged, wishing not to be associated with Taft. TR responded through intermediaries in a New York Times article from Sept. 30, 1916 that carries a sub-headline "Will Be No Union League Reception Button With T.R.- Taft-Hughes Pictures." TR is quoted via a "close friend" stating "I Will Make No Advance To Shake Hands With Mr. Taft" adding "This attempt to make it a reconciliation meeting between myself and Mr. Taft is all wrong. The reception is to be given to Mr. Hughes, and that is the only reason I am going to be present. I do not want my picture to appear on the same button as those of Mr. Hughes and Mr. Taft. I think such an arrangement is outrageous. It is simply a scheme to becloud the issues." While no one knows what happened to the other produced buttons it is clear there was a tight seal on their distribution as until this discovery only one example was known to have survived. The present example was only recently discovered creating a monumental opportunity for advanced button collectors to obtain one of the premier GOP buttons extant.
1.25" w/Bastian Bros. imprint on metal verso and text on curl at 6 o'clock. Oval portraits of Roosevelt & Taft flanking Hughes at center w/slogans above each. Text at bottom center "Hughes For President". Six faint light brown dots of toning scattered in cream background none affecting portraits. Otherwise only light surface wear in reflected light. Extremely Fine. One of only two known examples and easily the finest condition extant. An important rarity with a fantastic back story.
A note from Americana Director Scott Mussell: One of the premier Hughes and GOP campaign button rarities. I can't think of another button that features such an array of major party candidates all at once. This offering marks the first time this button has been offered in a Hake sale and the only time the backstory has been properly fleshed out. For many years I looked at the fuzzy black and white image of this button that graces the pages of Ted Hake's Political Button Book III and James G. Kahler's Hail To The Chief An Illustrated Guide To Political Americana and wondered why was it so rare? That this exciting discovery is in even finer condition than the previously known example is icing on the cake. The other known specimen is locked tightly in a major collection making this offering a perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity for advanced specialists.
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