POLITICAL RIBBONS
Ribbons were one of the principal forms of political badges during the 19th Century. Ribbons were often silk and were generally used as bookmarks (and are often today found in old books). The age of ribbons begins with Andrew Jackson's campaigns in 1828 and 1832 but takes off in earnest with William Henry Harrison's 1840 campaign.
Among pre-Civil War campaigns, there are literally hundreds of Harrison ribbons commemorating campaign events or promoting Harrison the candidate generally and numerous ribbons for Henry Clay's 1844 campaign. Less frequently found are ribbons for Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Webster, Cass, Taylor, Pierce, Buchanan, Fremont, and Scott.
There are numerous ribbons from the 1860 campaign, all of which are desirable and some of which come in sets of four for Lincoln, Douglas, Breckinridge and Bell, including single picture and jugate sets employing Mathew Brady photographs. Lincoln ribbon varieties are plentiful but bring a premium because Lincoln is Lincoln and Douglas, Breckinridge and Bell are not.
There are a variety of ribbons for the campaigns from 1864 through 1892, many of which are scarce, but there are generally common varieties for each campaign and candidate (Greeley is a notable exception). The 1896 and 1900 McKinley/Bryan campaign spawned numerous campaign club ribbons -- an entire collection could be based on these ribbons.
Many pre-1896 ribbons were made in limited quantities and most are desirable. Condition is an important factor for all ribbons, although minor condition defects are more acceptable for extremely rare ribbons. Generally, jugate (showing both President and Vice Presidential candidates) ribbons are in the greatest demand and bring the highest prices in the marketplace. Ribbons addressing significant campaign themes are always desirable.
The leading resource for ribbon collectors is the book American Political Ribbons And Ribbon Badges 1825-1981 by Roger Fischer and Edmund Sullivan.