It started when he was nosing around in his grandfather’s attic as a teenager. Tom Peeling soon developed a fascination with old political campaign buttons—especially those sporting the image of Teddy Roosevelt, America’s 26th president.
After nearly half a century of collecting, Mr. Peeling now has a collection of at least 1,000 Theodore Roosevelt buttons—ranging in size from seven-eighths of an inch to about six inches in diameter—as well as a variety of ribbons. “In my grandfather’s attic in Pennsylvania, I found a few dozen 1900- to 1920-era campaign buttons, ones featuring such presidents as Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley, and those really got me collecting,” said the Floridian native who has now retired to Western North Carolina.
He has also acquired smaller collections focusing on Abraham Lincoln, the Prohibition Era, the V for Victory campaign during World War II, and patriotism in general. He keeps buttons and ribbons neatly displayed in tray-style cases, and he can relay the history of each one.
While promotional and campaign buttons are less popular in the digital age, they were once the main vehicle for showing one’s support for a political candidate or a cause. From the 1800s to about the mid-20th century, buttons were made of metal, with the message printed on paper, covered in protective celluloid, and then affixed to the metal discs with a collet, or ring, that also included a pin for attaching to clothing.
Mr. Peeling has gleaned much about each button’s significance, where it was made and distributed, and its rarity—just by studying the message and backside. For example, some of the larger Theodore Roosevelt buttons feature mirrors. Mr. Peeling learned that prior to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1919, which gave women the right to note, ladies kept them in purses and used them for primping; while they could not yet vote, many women still desired to show support. Mr. Peeling also discovered that one of his buttons commemorates Roosevelt’s 1913 visit to Argentina, just prior to embarking on his famous Amazon expedition. The paper on the back has written in Spanish, “Made in Argentina.”
Favorite collectibles include those with Rough Riders imagery, from the time Roosevelt led a volunteer cavalry to fight in the Spanish-American War. Promoters of Roosevelt’s foray into politics often pushed that aspect of his persona. “I have at least four trays of Rough Rider buttons and ribbons, which were mostly created when he ran for governor of New York,” said Mr. Peeling. Dangling from one button is a century-plus-year-old rabbit’s foot, while another has a small metal replica of Roosevelt’s signature hat.
Highly sought-after are “coattail” buttons, featuring various state politicians who communicated allegiance with Roosevelt in order to bolster their own following. Buttons with the initials “T.R.“ on the front and a running mate on the back are also desired by collectors. Mr. Peeling owns some buttons with two side-by-side faces (jugate) on the front, as well as ones that are double-sided, with the political candidate on one side and his running mate on the other.
Mr. Peeling explained why he loves to collect Roosevelt memorabilia. “Teddy has always fascinated me for many reasons, but mostly because of his energy and what he managed to cram into 60 years … I’m 66, and I feel like I’ve done a lot, but he did so much so young: state senator at age 23, run for mayor in his 20s, youngest president to serve … and then his adventures, such as cattle ranching and hunting in the Dakotas in his 20s, serving in the Spanish-American War at 40, and surviving an expedition in the Amazon when he was in his 50s.”
Mr. Peeling’s passion for researching the history of his items has led to friendships, a 30-year stint as president of the Theodore Roosevelt chapter of the American Political Items Collectors (APIC), and the editorship of APIC’s quarterly publication, The Keynoter.
“Many people get into collecting because they like a historical figure or a subject matter, and then they learn so much and meet like-minded people,” noted Mr. Peeling. “My wife, Becky, and I travel all over the country attending shows and talking to people about what they have collected, what they are looking for, and what they learned.”
Mr. Peeling’s interest in Theodore Roosevelt campaign buttons and ribbons has naturally led him to discover a plethora of other unique objects: a hand-sized metal whistle and rattle with T.R.Roosevelt’s likeness on it, and “Teddy’s teeth” made as a children’s toy. “It’s so funny and interesting,” pointed out Mr. Peeling, “but many parents were supporters of Teddy when he was New York City’s police commissioner [in the late 1890s] because he reformed the force and cleaned up the city, so the children had these toy teeth to look like Teddy.”
In his home’s “museum room” are also Theodore Roosevelt-adorned plates, cups, tin and wooden boxes, posters, and even a rare 1907 photograph on which Roosevelt signed with his nickname “Teddy Bear.”
“Everything tells a story,” said Mr. Peeling, “and part of the interest in collecting is imagining the person who wore the button.”
