Lincoln Campaign Button

An 1860 U.S. presidential campaign button for Abraham Lincoln features his image on one side and that of his vice-presidential running mate, Hannibal Hamlin, on the other. Using photographs to promote a candidate was a relatively new idea in 1860. This tintype portrait of Lincoln was copied from an ambrotype that had been made in 1858; the original image was attributed to Roderick M. Cole of Peoria, Illinois.