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The University Museum will house political campaign buttons and editorial cartoons dating back to former U.S. President Andrew Jackson this semester thanks to the donation of an alumnus.
Jerome Mileur, a former political science professor at the University of Massachusetts at Arnherst, said he donated his collection of more than 1,500 pieces to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute knowing it would be taken care of and used in classrooms.
The collection, which includes buttons with pictures of presidential candidates and political cartoons from newspapers and magazines, is scheduled for display until Nov. 4, said Dona Bachman, director of University Museum.
Though he does not have a favorite piece, Mileur said he is fond of the various political cartoons. The display contains only a small portion of the 135 framed objects Mileur donated, Bachman said.
"Once I made the decision to give it, there wasn't one piece I had a hard time letting go," Mileur said.
Bachman said after the display is taken down, the memorabilia would be stored with other collections that rotate in and out of the museum. Within the next year, Bachman said Mileur's collection could be used as the state celebrates Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.
Mileur's collection includes ribbons and buttons promoting Lincoln for president in the 1860 and 1864 elections.
No fiscal value has been placed on the collection, but that could change, said Matt Baughman, assistant director of the public policy institute. Baughman said images of the collection have been sent to David Frent of Political Americana in New Jersey, who could not be reached for comment during the weekend. The University of South Carolina recommended Frent to the institute after he appraised a similar collection donated to that institution, Baughman said.
"It's probably going to be appraised in the tens of thousands," Baughman said.
But Bachman said she is not interested in the monetary worth of the collection.
"In the museum, we don't talk about the value of pieces," she said. "The real value is in the scope."
As she walked through the exhibit Friday afternoon, Bachman pointed out how promotional items have changed between the 1828 Jackson campaign and the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. A piece of silk carrying Jackson's portrait starts the exhibit, and an autographed picture of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and running mate John Edwards concludes the display.
The collection also contains many buttons denouncing Roosevelt after he announced his third-term intentions. Mileur said those buttons are perfect examples of pieces he would use in his classes to show how campaigns have changed through the years.
"The biggest change is that elections have gone from party-led campaigns to a candidate-led campaign, and that's unfortunate," he said, meaning that voters support candidates because of personality instead of political affiliation.
Even though Mileur supported more Democrats, the GOP is equally represented as well as a few independents.
Mileur said he would not be collecting memorabilia from this year's election between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain even though one of the candidates is from Illinois. At the peak of his collecting, Mileur said he actively sought memorabilia that promoted candidates from his native state. That is why the collection includes more merchandise from Adlai Stevenson, John A. Logan and Lincoln.
Now a resident of Massachusetts, Mileur earned his 1955 bachelor's degree in speech communication from SIU and a doctorate in political science 16 years later.
Barton Lorimor can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 263 or barton.lorimor@siude.com.
