Bumper stickers weren’t yet really a thing.
A bandana handed out at a 1912 presidential campaign stop by Teddy Roosevelt in Milwaukee is notable because Roosevelt was shot outside a Milwaukee hotel but continued on to his event instead of going to the hospital.
People are also reading…
Items collected so far from this year's presidential campaign include a cheesehead worn at the Republican National Convention. Abbie Nordhaug, an assistant state archivist with the Wisconsin Historical Society, helps collect these items.
Abbie Norderhaug, an assistant state archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society, said the society is always looking for items that tell the stories of the state, including that of a Wisconsin delegation at the 1912 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore.
Wisconsin Historical Society public relations and communications specialist Kendall Poltzer, left, and assistant state archivist Abbie Norderhaug, look over political campaign items collected by the Historical Society over the decades. At back is a car-topper from Fred Risser's 1992 run for State Senate.
Artifacts from previous presidential election cycles collected by the Wisconsin Historical Society are displayed at the State Archives Preservation Facility in Madison. The Lincoln/Hamlin banner is from the 1860 presidential campaign.
Photos: The political campaign memorabilia collection from the Wisconsin Historical Society
Abbie Norderhaug, an assistant state archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society, said the society is always looking for items that tell the stories of the state, including that of a Wisconsin delegation at the 1912 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore.
A bandana handed out at a 1912 presidential campaign stop by Teddy Roosevelt in Milwaukee is notable because Roosevelt was shot outside a Milwaukee hotel but continued on to his event instead of going to the hospital.
Items collected so far from this year's presidential campaign include a cheesehead worn at the Republican National Convention. Abbie Nordhaug, an assistant state archivist with the Wisconsin Historical Society, helps collect these items.
Artifacts from previous presidential election cycles collected by the Wisconsin Historical Society are displayed at the State Archives Preservation Facility in Madison. The Lincoln/Hamlin banner is from the 1860 presidential campaign.
Wisconsin Historical Society public relations and communications specialist Kendall Poltzer, left, and assistant state archivist Abbie Norderhaug, look over political campaign items collected by the Historical Society over the decades. At back is a car-topper from Fred Risser's 1992 run for State Senate.
Among the political campaign items collected by the Wisconsin Historical Society over the years is a pennant, top, from Robert La Follette's 1924 run for president and a bumper sticker, at bottom, from Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson's 1968 campaign.
A large metal badge was used in 1896 to promote William McKinley’s run or president and is part of a 1896 presidential campaign and is now part of the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Wisconsin Historical Society assistant state archivist Abbie Norderhaug displays a shirt obtained from this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago and now part of the society’s collection of election-related artifacts at WHS’s State Archives Preservation Facility in Madison, Wis. Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin Historical Society assistant state archivist Abbie Norderhaug, left, and public relations and communications specialist Kendall Poltzer view a shawl worn by Abraham Lincoln on the way to his inauguration ceremony and stored in the society’s collection at the State Archives Preservation Facility in Madison, Wis. Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Artifacts from long-past presidential election cycles are displayed at Wisconsin Historical Society’s State Archives Preservation Facility in Madison, Wis. Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Wisconsin Historical Society assistant state archivist Abbie Norderhaug displays items in the society’s collection relating to past election cycles at WHS’s State Archives Preservation Facility in Madison, Wis. Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.

