Illustration of a 19th century man's shirt with black text above and below on a white background

"Keep Your Shirt On" is a phrase often used to mean stay calm. The origin is unknown, but it was likely formed at the time when people would take off their good shirts to get ready for a fist fight where they might get dirty or bloodied.

Small pinback buttons were often included in cigarette packs in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. “Keep Your Shirt On” features a pen and ink drawing of a 19th century man’s dress shirt and was given as a complement or prize in High Admiral Cigarettes. High Admiral Cigarettes was a product of National Cigarette and Tobacco Company.

Noted on the back on the High Admiral Cigarette pinback button is backing paper by the Whitehead and Hoag Company from Newark, N.J.  Whitehead and Hoag, which held the patent for pinback buttons since 1896 was also a union company until 1919 when they broke with the union.

Illustration of hand doing a peace sign with yellow text outlined in black on a blue background.

Candidates for the 1972 U.S. presidential election included the popular Republican incumbent Richard M. Nixon and his Democratic challenger George McGovern. Throughout his campaign, Nixon campaigned on his success in foreign affairs and championed the strong economy. McGovern, on the other hand, promised an immediate end to the Vietnam War and guaranteed a minimum income.

In the end, Nixon won in a landslide and secured 520 electoral votes compared to McGovern’s modest tally of 17. To put it another way, Nixon won the hearts and votes of 46 million Americans, which was a staggering 18 million more than what was under the Democratic nominee’s belt. So sound was Nixon’s victory that it came to represent the widest popular vote margin in a post-World War II presidential election. In spite of early polls accurately predicting this resounding win, Nixon could not help but cheat to ensure his victory. In the summer of 1972, Nixon’s reelection committee infamously wiretapped the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate complex. This “Watergate scandal” eventually landed the president in hot water and prompted him to resign from office in August 1974.

Illustration of the head of a pink elephant with orange and black text on a green background.

Candidates for the 1972 U.S. presidential election included the popular Republican incumbent Richard M. Nixon and his Democratic challenger George McGovern. Throughout his campaign, Nixon campaigned on his success in foreign affairs and championed the strong economy. McGovern, on the other hand, promised an immediate end to the Vietnam War and guaranteed a minimum income.

In the end, Nixon won in a landslide and secured 520 electoral votes compared to McGovern’s modest tally of 17. To put it another way, Nixon won the hearts and votes of 46 million Americans, which was a staggering 18 million more than what was under the Democratic nominee’s belt. So sound was Nixon’s victory that it came to represent the widest popular vote margin in a post-World War II presidential election. In spite of early polls accurately predicting this resounding win, Nixon could not help but cheat to ensure his victory. In the summer of 1972, Nixon’s reelection committee infamously wiretapped the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate complex. This “Watergate scandal” eventually landed the president in hot water and prompted him to resign from office in August 1974.

Illustration of gaunt looking man in yellow, orange, white and black.  Grinning skull is floating above man's right shoulder.  Black text inside a yellow arrow is atop his left shoulder.  Orange text below his head, and an orange and white starburst behind.  Black background.

John Zacherle was a popular horror movie television show host, recording artist, and radio disc jockey. He was most well-known as the undertaker character “Roland” (pronounced Ro-LAND) which he portrayed as Philadelphia WCAU’s Shock Theater host in the late 1950s. His signature look was to wear his hair parted down the middle, ghastly white face make-up, and a long black overcoat. His show was so popular, at one point there were over 800 fan clubs for him in the Philadelphia area. In 1958, Zacherle moved his character to the Manhattan station, WBAC, to host their presentation of Shock Theater. Due to still-existing contractual issues with WCAU, he added a "Y" to the end of his last name to create the new character name of "Zacherley"(or sometimes "Zacherly") which he went by up until his death in October of 2016. During the summer of 1960, commercials began airing for the "Zacherly for President" set. The package included a photo, two posters, two bumper stickers, a book, and a button. However, due to poor distribution, the set was hard for many to find and has since become quite a rarity.

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Illustration of an anthropomorphic mug wearing a white shirt and bow tie with shaving brush and overflowing shaving cream.  Black text on a yellow background.

Union County Pennsylvania was established in 1813 from area taken from Northumberland County. A celebration of the county’s founding occurred on July 21-27, 1963. Shaving permits were sold as a means to raise money for centennial celebrations in towns across the United States. Most of the time the fundraising effort was conducted by an organization called the Brothers of the Bush. The organization got their name because they sought to embody the men who founded the town, most of which would have had beards. The Brothers of the Bush would convene anytime a town would be preparing to celebrate an anniversary of the town’s founding. At the beginning of the anniversary year, men could enter a beard and mustache growing contest. The men had to be entirely clean shaven when they registered. Anyone who didn’t wish to participate was supposed to purchase a shaving permit. These permits ranged in price from a couple of cents to a couple of dollars depending on the year the celebration was being held. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shaving permits and the registration fees were given to the town’s centennial celebration fund.

Illustration of woman with bonde hair and blue dress in a red circle.  Black text on yellow outer border.

A golden horseshoe with "I've been to the Golden Horse Shoe in Disneyland" written inside it surrounding a bottle cap with "Pepsi Cola" written over it all on top of a light blue background.

The Golden Horse Shoe Saloon is a popular restaurant and entertainment venue in Disneyland, in Anaheim, California. It is located within Frontierland, which is a themed area of the park dedicated to the Old West of 19th century America. The venue featured performances by Donald Novis, Wally Boag, and Fulton Burley. For nearly thirty years, between 1955 and 1982, Pepsi Cola sponsored the Golden Horse Shoe.

Retrieved from: http://auction.howardlowery.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2251901

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Being “burned out” is a colloquialism for being overworked and exhausted. To be “smokin’” is a colloquialism for being extremely physically attractive. Together these idioms are a play on words that could mean despite one feeling stressed and tired, they are still sexually appealing. Another possible meaning is that one is carrying on, smoking cigarrettes or working quickly (other meanings of smokin') even though they are feeling stressed.