The Morris County Political Ephemera Collection is comprised of political ads and flyers donated between 1985 and 2018 by various Morristown residents, including Marion Harris and several Library staff members. The Political Pins and Buttons appear to be the work of a single collector but no accompanying documentation exists.
The collection consists of campaign flyers, constituent communications, and political pins dating from 1844 through 2018, with gaps. The bulk of the Election Advertisements and Political Newsletters were donated by long term Morristown residents and reflect both Republican and Democratic candidates from the 1980s through late 2010s, and the materials illustrate changing philosophical and political alignments among the parties. Newsletters provide insight into the issues elected officials and political organizations considered important during a particular election cycle.
A third group of material consists of political pins and buttons that were for years kept in storage; their provenance is unknown, although many typewritten and handwritten notes found with them indicates they were the work of a single collector who gave them to the Library in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Included with the Political Pins and Buttons were several unrelated artifacts, copper stencils of unknown origin, and three ca.1780 iron nails. These appear to have been collected for their historic nature and are not otherwise related to the other material. Among these are a small group of children's club pins collected by Mary Danforth Dodge who helped form the groups for high school and grade school girls between 1900 and 1915, before the proliferation of school-based extracurricular activities and the girl scouts. These pins are from groups interested in cooking, homemaking, sewing, and general recreation.
Taken as a whole, the Morris County Political Ephemeral Collection reflects the enthusiasm with which New Jersey residents, primarily those in Morristown and Morris Township, supported various political campaigns over the years. The high quality of printing used for many flyers, as well as the complexity of the pins and jewelry, indicates a significant amount of time and money was spent on the respective campaigns.
The collection is organized into three series: I. Election Advertisements, 1985 - 2018, II. Morris County Political Newsletters, 1987 - 1993, and III. Political Pins, Buttons, and Miscellaneous Artifacts, 1884 - 1991. The records in Series I are arranged alphabetically by candidate's last name and organized by year. In most cases the office being sought, or slate they are running on, immediately follows the candidate's name. The newsletters in Series II are organized according to year. Political Pins, Buttons, and Miscellaneous Artifacts are organized chronologically by campaign or artifact type.
This collection is open for research under the conditions set forth in the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. All archival material should be handled with care and kept in its original order; notes may only be taken in pencil or with a computer, and food and drink are prohibited in the Reading Room. Records may be copied for scholarly or personal research using the edge scanner or a digital camera without flash; however, researchers must obtain copyright permission prior to publishing material from the collection.
Morris County Political Ephemera Collection, 1844 - 2018, North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Arranged by Andrew Zesk, December 2018. Described and encoded by Jeffrey V. Moy, Archivist, January 2019.