Photographs of Jonathan Binkley and John Kerry with USA seal and a yellow star between them with blue and red text.

Jonathan Binkley is the chair of the Republican Political Items Collection for the American Political Items Collectors, a non-profit organization founded in 1945 dedicated to studying, preserving, and collecting political and presidential items. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican candidate George W. Bush ran against Democratic candidate John Kerry. In 2003, however, the official candidates had not yet been chosen. During the primary elections, there had been nine Democratic candidates running for presidency. The main contenders for the Democratic party were John Kerry and John Edwards. Binkley had presumably chosen Kerry as the Democratic candidate before the primaries had come to a close.

Photographs of Jonathan Binkley and George W. Bush with a United States seal and a yellow star between them and red and blue text surrounding.

Jonathan Binkley is the chair of the Republican Political Items Collection for the American Political Items Collectors, a non-profit organization founded in 1945 dedicated to studying, preserving, and collecting political and presidential items. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican candidate George W. Bush ran against Democratic candidate John Kerry. In 2003, however, the official candidates had not yet been chosen. During the primary elections, there had been 15 Republican candidates running for presidency. The main Republican candidates were George W. Bush and Bill Wyatt. Binkley had presumably chosen Bush as the Republican candidate before the primaries had come to a close.

Blue text on a white background

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States and served from 1969-1973 under the Nixon administration. Vice President Agnew was a controversial figure who vocally supported conservative views and disparaged the media which criticized President Nixon. Catchphrases were coined by Agnew in his many pointed inflammatory speeches, including “nattering nabobs of negativism” and “radiclibs,” short for radical liberals. His phrases became so famous/infamous that they were published in the book: The Real Spiro Agnew: Commonsense Quotations of a Household Word. 

Agnew's career reached an early end in 1973 when he was charged with receiving kickbacks and bribes while in office. General Alexander M. Haig, Nixon’s chief of staff, took action and informed Agnew’s staff that if the vice president resigned and pleaded guilty to a single charge, the others against him would be dropped and he would not have to serve time in jail. Agnew pleaded nolo contendere to the tax charges and resigned from office on October 10, 1973. 

“Just What Nixon Always Needed - AGNEW face,” refers to Agnew’s resignation and the celebration that happened when a different vice president was appointed. Soon after, Nixon also resigned from office due to the Watergate Scandal. Agnew and Nixon were the first—and, as of 2024, the only—presidential pair to both resign from office.

Red and blue background with white text on top

Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) was sworn in as president following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. Johnson immediately focused on his campaign to create a "Great Society" and fought for social programs and legislation including Medicare, public broadcasting, and Head Start as well as the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. A democrat from Texas, LBJ was a high school teacher elected to the House of Representatives in 1937. He then served as a Senator before running with John F. Kennedy as his vice president in the 1960 presidential election. Despite his success with domestic policy, Johnson was heavily criticized for not getting the US out of the Vietnam War and ultimately declined to run for reelection when his term ended in 1968.

Red, white and black illustration of a mouth with its tongue sticking out on a black square on a white background with red and black text

British rock band The Rolling Stones formed in 1962. Video Rewind is a collection of The Rolling Stone’s music videos from 1972 through 1984, when it was first released on VHS, Laserdisc, and CED Videodisc formats. Each clip is introduced by Bill Wyman and Mick Jagger. Still active as of 2017, current band members include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts. The Rolling Stones are estimated to have sold over 250 million records over the years. The band was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame.

White text and two white lines over a red background

Since Coca-Cola's inception in 1886, the drink has evolved into one of the largest products in the world, accompanied by one of the most well-known logos. According to The Coca-Cola Company, the phrase "Coca-Cola" is one of the most recognizable terms world-wide -- second only to the word "okay". Though the logo appears intact here, there is a satirical play on the instantly-recognizable name which instead boasts a reference to the drug cocaine, as opposed to the famous beverage. Interestingly, when the drink was first introduced and sold in drugstores in the late 19th century, it was intended as another version of French "coca wine", which contained coca leaf and, therefore, cocaine. It was initially marketed as "Coca-Cola: The temperance drink."

White text on a dark pink background with an illustration of a white cat's face

Have info on this button? Contact us here

Green and red illustration of a clown beating a drum on a yellow background with green text

A circus is a popular form of entertainment consisting of trained animal acts and daring human skills. Although some elements of the circus date back to Roman times, the modern circus is founded by Philip Astley in England in 1768 after discovering to keep his balance when standing on a horse galloping in a circle with the help of centrifugal and centripetal forces. In 1770, Astely added clowns, musicians, acrobats, rope dancers, and jugglers in addition to equestrian exhibitions to provide entertainment. The circus was introduced to the United States in 1793 when John Bill Ricketts presented novelty entertainment in Philadelphia and New York City. During the 19th century, Joshuah Purdy Brown and Hachaliah Bailey developed the circus to become a traveling tent show with the help of exhibitions of exotic animals. In the 1870s, P. T. Barnum and William Coup added multiple rings and stages to expand the physical space and used rail as daily transportation to increase popularity in America and internationally. In the 1880s, Barnum partnered with Bailey to produce shows that were significantly remembered in the United States for more than a century. Throughout the years, the circus went through cosmetic changes including automobiles replacing equestrian acts. Today, the circus remains to be highly adaptable in the performing arts.

Illustration of a horse and rider on a white background with red text across the top

Equestrian events at the Michigan State Fair are traditions that celebrate the magic and grandeur of horses. The state fair includes competitions in English hunt and saddle seat, Western equitation, pleasure classes, barrel racing, reining, and pulling events. The state fairgrounds became notably popular in the 1930s when horse race gambling was legalized and struggling racehorse Seabiscuit began winning races. Harness racing also became a popular sport at the fairgrounds.

Red white and blue text with an shield illustration with wings on a white background

Jewel (now Jewel-Osco) is an Illinois supermarket chain. They started the Jewel Heroic Americans Club in January 1942 to sell Defense Stamps. If you went to a Jewel store and bought a 10 cent Defense Stamp for the war effort, you would get “a beautiful album and a series of 30 poster stamps of ‘Heroic Americans.” School children would get a Jewel Heroic Americans Club button when they bought their first stamp. After buying 10 stamps, children could enter a patriotic essay contest for prizes including more defense stamps.