A pre-sale highlight of Kimmel’s collection — and, ultimately, the top lot of the sale at $47,500 — was this Roosevelt & Fairbanks 1904 jugate made by the American Badge Company of Chicago.
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring
DALLAS — Heritage Auctions described Roger H. Kimmel’s collection as “the most extensive Theodore Roosevelt collection ever offered” and, on February 21-22, an even 914 lots of political memorabilia were offered in a sale that achieved a cumulative $954,993, with nearly 9,500 registered bidders watching or participating.
“I was extremely pleased with how well the auction did,” reported Curtis Lindner, Heritage Auctions’ director of political Americana. “The collection was very well curated, but what particularly impressed me was the depth of the hobby, that it was able to absorb such a large collection so successfully. We had so many collectors who came to the sale comment, as they thumbed through the catalog, saying ‘Wow, we haven’t seen some of these things for decades.’ It was a real pleasure and I’m happy to say Mr. Kimmel — whose life story had many parallels with that of Teddy Roosevelt — was very happy with the sale and some of the records set during the sale.”
Lindner shared that several of the best buttons were previewed at a numismatics event in Florida where they attracted the attention several collectors who ended up participating in Kimmel’s sale.
Campaign buttons or ribbons with portraits of both candidates are known as jugates and the sale featured nearly 250 lots of them, a sizeable category and one that saw most of the highest prices. Among these was the top lot of the sale, a jugate from the 1904 campaign that displayed the portraits of Theodore Roosevelt and Charles W. Fairbanks in the window of a train engine, surrounded by the words “Railway Employes [sic] 20th Century Club.” The auction catalog described it as a “Holy Grail,” further noting that the last one offered by Heritage achieved $18,750 in 2016. Kimmel’s example finished at $47,500.
Achieving a second-place finish at $37,500 was the only known and possibly unique example of this 1904 campaign jugate button featuring two images of Theodore Roosevelt.
A jugate from the same campaign that featured two portraits of Roosevelt — one as a Rough Rider, one of him wearing civilian clothes — was designed and copyrighted in 1902 by T.H.P.B & N. Company in Terre Haute, Ind. The only known example, it was noted to be in pristine condition and traded hands for $37,500.
A jugate showing Roosevelt and Fairbanks framed by a pretzel, from Reading, Penn., finished at $21,250; apparently, it was a design used only in 1904, with no corresponding jugate for the Democratic candidates, Alton B. Parker and Henry G. Davis.
Roosevelt was a big game hunter and is often associated with animals — after all, the teddy bear was named after him — and a few buttons featured animals in their designs. Achieving $21,250 was a pin with a cartoon ark made by the Goerke Company to welcome him home from an African safari.
Following the same animal theme were two pins that each sold for $15,000. The first to reach that price was one showing his face on a lion, titled “‘Teddy’ Our Lion.” The auction house observed it was one of several examples known but probably the finest one available. A few lots later, a pin showing his portrait superimposed on the image of a bull moose, achieved the same result. At $13,750 was a 1904 jugate showing Roosevelt and Fairbanks marching with a teddy bear that holds a sign inscribed “Four Years More Of Theodore.”
The first of two animal-themed buttons to achieve $15,000 was this “Teddy Our Lion” example, in mint condition.
Kimmel’s collection was not limited to Roosevelt political ephemera, and memorabilia from other campaigns cracked the sale’s top tiers. Among these was a “jumbo” 6-inch-diameter jugate from the 1924 campaign of Republican winners Calvin Coolidge and Charles G. Dawes that rose to $15,000.
Only two flags were in the sale: a campaign flag for John Bell and Edward Everett, who ran in the 1860 election as the Constitutional Union party and an 1892 silk portrait flag featuring the portrait of Benjamin Harrison. The earlier flag was raised to $4,250 while the later one flew out the door for $906.
Future sales in the Americana and Political category include Historical Manuscripts and Texana on March 28 and an Americana & Political Signature auction on April 25-26.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
