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May 6, 2015


Have you thought about encouraging a young person
to collect American history memorabilia?

Maybe dazzling them with trivia would get them interested.

Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States, was
the first President to be born a citizen of the U.S.  The previous
seven Presidents were born before the American Revolution War,
before the United States was an independent country.

Do you recognize this woman?

Her name was Abigail Fillmore, the wife of Millard Fillmore, the 13th
President of the United States.  She was the FIRST first lady to work
outside the home!  She met her husband while she was his teacher
in New York and worked to support them while he campaigned for
various political offices.  A lover of books, Abigail Fillmore petitioned
Congress and obtained the funds to establish the White House library.


We've all seen this famous I Want You poster of Uncle Sam but
have you ever read the small print on the poster?  Over the You is
the painter's name - James Montgomery Flagg, pictured below.
In 1917, Flagg was commissioned to paint an original recruiting poster.
In order to save time and money Flagg decided to use himself as the model.

He experimented with painting his own portrait and added a goatee
and used aging techniques.  The result?  The famous Uncle Sam.

Here's a fun game - have kids search online for early black and
white photos or paintings of historic American politicians and try
to match them to a cultural icon of the last 50 years.
This hottie is a young Rutherford B. Hayes, the future 19th President of the
United States who oversaw the end of the Reconstruction following the Civil
War.  He bears a striking resemblance to a young Montgomery Cliff doesn't he?
Clift is known for co-starring with Elizabeth Taylor in the 1951 movie A Place In The Sun.


Not  many people recognize the name Alben Barkley but he was an important figure in American history during WWII - he became President Harry S. Truman's Vice-President upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt.

Maybe you already have an unusual collection established.  How about adding an American history element to the lot?  Here is a hankerchief from the estate of Alben Barkley for sale with certification from the dealer: 
You can clearly see his initials AWB.  Cool.

The best types of collections are those that have a personal connection to the
collector or the subject.  Why not pass on the love of your favorite subject
to a young person who could carry on the tradition?

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