Illustration of a flag with red and white stripes and a blue triangle with a white star on a white background with blue text

Puerto Rico (formerly Porto Rico) is an unincorporated United States territory located in the northeast Caribbean. It is an archipelago, consisting of one main island and several smaller ones. The islands were colonized by Spain in 1508 and named for their rich natural resources, particularly gold. Nearly four hundred years later, in 1898, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States, and in 1917, it became the first unincorporated U.S. territory.

One May 17, 1932, the United States Congress approved a law that changed the spelling from the Anglicanized version, Porto Rico, to the original spelling, Puerto Rico.

Black and white illustration of a man with dark hair and white shirt with his hands squeezing the neck of another man in a dark shirt with light hair.

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A blue, white and red striped flag with a red moon on the white stripe on a white background with black text

Illustration of a dog's head on a white background

This button was created as part of the Busy Beaver Button Co.'s Button-O-Matic 2006 series "Imaginary Friends". The series included this button by Andy Moran along with 6 others.

Orange and black text on a yellow background with three orange squares with black text along the top edge

Carson Pirie Scott is an American department store and mixed goods retailer that was founded in 1854. Originally a mail order company, Carsons expanded to a physical department store in 1899. The Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company department store was constructed in two stages in 1899 and 1903-04 by well-known architect, Louis Sullivan. Throughout the years, the department store sold a variety of clothing merchandise, including a line of hats by ‘Louis of California’ referenced in the image.

Blue cross with white text on a white background

The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (commonly known as Santa Fe) was chartered in 1863 with plans to connect Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, with Santa Fe, New Mexico, by rail lines. The lines were completed in 1880. Santa Fe campaigned for tourism with staged “southwest US” photographs that created a romanticized view of what was then considered the “Wild West.” The company came to an end in 1994 as they merged with Burlington Northern to form the BNSF railway. 

Celluloid pencil clips were a popular advertising medium at the turn of the 20th century through the 1930s. As pens and pencils were often clipped onto chest pockets, advertising clips were a quick easy way to gain prolific advertising.

Illustration of a red flag with a white shield with black bird in the center on a white background with black text

Prussia, whose flag is pictured here, was fully incorporated into Germany under the Weimar Republic after territorial losses during World War I. After Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, Prussia’s legislature and constitution were abolished.

Designed and manufactured by Whitehead & Hoag Co. advertisers like Sweet Caporal cigarettes were able to insert their own backings to this button. Sweet Caporal was a brand of cigarettes created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1878 and sold to the American Tobacco Company in 1911.  Sweet Caporal was a very popular brand, especially in Canada during the early part of the 20th Century.  In 1908, 50% of cigarette sales in Canada were comprised of the Sweet Caporal brand.

Illustration of two people in robes on either side of a blue and yellow shield with a brown horse head on top over a white and brown banner on a light blue and pink background with brown text on a white background

Around the turn of the century, a popular advertising technique for cigarette companies was to include trading cards in their packages. The cards also served the purpose of stabilizing the folded paper boxes. Many companies would include a collector pin that matched the card as an added incentive to purchase frequently to collect the complete set. Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, produced by Kinney Tobacco Company, issued several sets including a Military Series in 1888-1889 that featured lithograph prints of state coat of arms as well as international military uniforms. They also had an Actresses set in 1890 that featured albumen prints of famous US actresses.

Illustration of a white toilet with blue text,  a red seat and a face on the bowl on a blue background with white text

"Get Sassy" was a slogan used by the Beneke Corporation for their Magnolia Products line. This line of products, created in 1956, was introduced in a marketing campaign to reach audiences in retail stores. Beneke specialized in toilet seat manufacturing and was the first company in this niche to have both a commercial distribution while also being in the retail market.

Two color photographs inside diamond shapes with a purple ribbon banner across the bottom over gold text on a black background

In November of 2008, Democratic nominees Barack Obama and Joe Biden defeated John McCain and Sarah Palin in the United States Presidential election. Obama gave his victory speech at Grant Park, in Chicago, in front of a crowd that held more than 125,000 guests. Obama made history as the first African American President of the USA.

Prior to their success, Obama had been a Senator for Illinois for twelve years and Biden was a Senator for the state of Delaware from 1973 until 2009. Obama and Biden were elected to a second term in November of 2012.