Election Bandanna/Kerchief
- As issued.
- 1840
1840. As issued.. Very good; clean; occasional small spot; old folds.. Printed red on white cotton; meas. appx. 27 x 26 inches.
An election bandanna for William Henry Harrison's presidential campaign in 1840. As such it is among the first to be issued for any campaign in the nation. From the early 1800s through the 1870s, kerchiefs laden with visual symbols glorified presidential aspirants as military heroes and venerable statesmen. Long-standing custom discouraged candidates from actively campaigning for public office, a practice viewed as undignified and "unduly ambitious". As a result, kerchiefs and other propaganda devices played a key role in image advertising. William Henry Harrisons 1840 bid for the presidency, during a time of an expanding mass electorate, ushered in a new era of campaigning marked by the appropriation of symbols and slogans - in Harrisons case, the log cabin, hard cider barrel, and slogan Tippecanoe and Tyler Too - and the vigorous production of campaign propaganda. The American campaign kerchief officially arrived with the presidential bid of William Henry Harrison in 1840 after Democratic opponents labeled the 67-year-old Harrison an old has been content to retire to his log cabin and drink hard cider. Whigs seized upon the intended insult and turned log cabins and hard cider barrels into positive emblems of the campaign, championing Harrison as a man of the people. A flood of political kerchiefs featured the ubiquitous log cabin and barrels. Ironically, the man perennially portrayed as a simple frontiersman was actually an aristocratic Virginian who lived in a stately residence. Like George Washington and Andrew Jackson before him, William Henry Harrison was promoted as a military hero in this equestrian portrait. Known as The Hero of Tippecanoe for his victory over the Shawnees at Tippecanoe, Indiana in 1811, Harrison also distinguished himself during the War of 1812. The figure is surrounded by scenes depicting his log cabin home, the Battle of Tippecanoe, Battle of Thames, the farmer, US Capitol, and the Treaty. Threads of History, #131; Campaigns on Cotton, New York Historical Society.
An election bandanna for William Henry Harrison's presidential campaign in 1840. As such it is among the first to be issued for any campaign in the nation. From the early 1800s through the 1870s, kerchiefs laden with visual symbols glorified presidential aspirants as military heroes and venerable statesmen. Long-standing custom discouraged candidates from actively campaigning for public office, a practice viewed as undignified and "unduly ambitious". As a result, kerchiefs and other propaganda devices played a key role in image advertising. William Henry Harrisons 1840 bid for the presidency, during a time of an expanding mass electorate, ushered in a new era of campaigning marked by the appropriation of symbols and slogans - in Harrisons case, the log cabin, hard cider barrel, and slogan Tippecanoe and Tyler Too - and the vigorous production of campaign propaganda. The American campaign kerchief officially arrived with the presidential bid of William Henry Harrison in 1840 after Democratic opponents labeled the 67-year-old Harrison an old has been content to retire to his log cabin and drink hard cider. Whigs seized upon the intended insult and turned log cabins and hard cider barrels into positive emblems of the campaign, championing Harrison as a man of the people. A flood of political kerchiefs featured the ubiquitous log cabin and barrels. Ironically, the man perennially portrayed as a simple frontiersman was actually an aristocratic Virginian who lived in a stately residence. Like George Washington and Andrew Jackson before him, William Henry Harrison was promoted as a military hero in this equestrian portrait. Known as The Hero of Tippecanoe for his victory over the Shawnees at Tippecanoe, Indiana in 1811, Harrison also distinguished himself during the War of 1812. The figure is surrounded by scenes depicting his log cabin home, the Battle of Tippecanoe, Battle of Thames, the farmer, US Capitol, and the Treaty. Threads of History, #131; Campaigns on Cotton, New York Historical Society.
Details
Title
Election Bandanna/Kerchief
Author
William Henry Harrison - ELECTION MEMORABILIA
Binding
As issued.
Condition
Very Good
Date
1840