“Political art is nothing less than an illustration of the skirmishes and stalemates that created and continue to animate the American experiment … Fortunately, the Library of Congress has preserved all of these examples for future generations to see.” – Brooke Gladstone from the preface for “Presidential Campaign Posters From the Library of Congress.”
Images include among others: Andrew Jackson portrayed as a king to invoke voters’ memories of royal rule; Jimmy Carter as a Christ-like savior of his nation; Gerald Ford as “The Fonz” (“Fordsie”) keeping his cool against Reagan during the 1976 primaries; and Ronald Reagan as “Rambo” (“Ronbo”) ready to attack communists. Others feature campaign slogans such as Dwight Eisenhower’s “We Like Ike,” “Nixon’s the One,” and Barack Obama’s one-word message, “Hope.”
The book is published in association with Quirk Books and features a selection of 100 posters covering two centuries of political campaigns that were culled from the vast poster collection at the Library of Congress. The book provides a graphic record of how much has changed visually over the years while also reminding us how little has changed politically.
The book is set to be released tomorrow, May 5th and retails for $40. Some of us might need to buy two copies since each poster comes ready-to-frame!
Press release from LOC
Slideshow at Mother Jones