CAMPAIGN PINS

Gilt campaign pins from 1884 depict James G. Blaine thumbing his nose at rival Grover Cleveland— prematurely, however, because Cleveland overcame personal scandal to win the presidency. The gilt pins are a good symbol for the Gilded Age and its politics —an era characterized by lavish wealth of those in power but tainted by corruption and political strife. Collection of Janice L. and David J. Frent.