Political Memorabilia

With all the hype leading up to this week’s Scottish referendum it seemed natural to consider election memorabilia, where there is a growing market, particularly for one offs like this, which has historic value.

Museums and archivists are also waking up to the value of these items, and whilst a happy band of dedicated volunteers are busily handing out ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ leaflets, flyers and car stickers, and catching their fingers in letter boxes (believe me, as a veteran of five election campaigns myself, I know all about the inherent dangers) those with an eye to future gains are preserving selected items for their future auction value.

Campaigners for each side may be poles apart in their views, but the plethora of posters, badges and other memorabilia will be equally important to collectors wanting a piece of UK history.   

In Scotland the volunteers at the Scottish Political Archive (SPA), which started at the University of Stirling in October 2010, have been amassing political material and archives from Scottish politicians and political organisations to chronicle the political history of Scotland in the 20th and 21st centuries. They have readily acknowledged the importance of collecting the information now, as experience has shown that retrospectively much of it is lost.  

Political historian Prof Russell Deacon and artist Dan Peterson have a web-based business, ‘Protest and Survive’, that sells replica vintage Liberal, Labour and Conservative posters, fridge magnets and such like, featuring slogans from Winston Churchill's 1945 election campaign and coffee mugs.

Many items are sought after as gifts for budding politicians, with the most desirable stuff of course being either scarce or rare, and most closely linked with high profile figures; Churchill, Lloyd George, and this case Alex Salmond.   

This time around it is material from the ‘Yes’ campaign, that, if the vote goes their way, could become valuable, in as much as it will have played a historic part in changing the shape of the UK, although it will take some time for the material to gain significant monetary value.

Going back in time, it is at the turn of the last century when the suffragettes fought so hard for their cause, that existing pieces of board games and tea sets still continue to fetch the highest prices, and more recently posters, political comic strips and cartoons can still be had for very reasonable prices, many for well under £1000, as the trend has not yet caught on in the UK quite like it has in the USA.

The Saatchi slogan, ‘Labour isn't working’, created for the 1979 election, was voted the poster advertisement of the century. For those interested, The People’s History Museum in Manchester has in its collection Michael Foot's donkey jacket, complete with Harrod’s label.

Collectors may also like to consider obtaining ‘kitsch’ items; apparently Saddam Hussein watches, and Margaret Thatcher tableware are popular, in addition to ‘future prime minster’ baby gros, whilst Prime Ministers’ signatures are practically given away.