John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy, in the eyes of many people, was America’s golden boy president. He was certainly the youngest ever elected (but you already knew that). And since:
- his birthday is on May 29th;
- ’tis the season for primary elections across the country; and last but not least
- this year marks the 50th anniversary of his 1960 fight for the US presidency (which, of course, he would eventually win) against Richard M. Nixon;
I thought it’d be nice to shine the spotlight on several of the many JFK campaign collectibles and memorabilia pieces that abound today.
John F. Kennedy Campaign
Before I delve into that, I’d like to point out that the organisation behind the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has been doing a very interesting thing. They have been posting the ins and outs of his day-to-day campaign moments of 1960 via tweets. Relive this history at http://twitter.com/Kennedy1960.
John F. Kennedy Button
So, to get back on point, I linked to that particular URL – and not to the index page – on the library website for two reasons. First and foremost, the page is directly related to the topic of this post. As far as the campaign of 1960 is concerned, that page is a paragon for media and narrative resources.
I linked to the page for another reason. You see the picture of the button pin waaaay at the bottom of the page? An authentic pinback from the campaign, very similar to this one and using the same Kennedy profile mind you, recently went for about $100 on ebay. (And before you even ask, I’m not linking to presidential collectibles on ebay for a reason I previously stated.) You’ll have to trust me on this. 
John F. Kennedy Art
There were several Time magazine covers that featured Kennedy’s likeness while he was still alive (I counted about nine), and most of them have been reproduced for public consumption. Thus, anyone can acquire the art print version of the cover of the Kennedy family issue…Or a poster for the issue that was released on the eve of Election Day (which was on Tuesday, November the 8th in 1960).
(Just a fun fact: Someone used to the “British Standard” might get the release dates of the two aforementioned Time publications mixed up. That is, if said dates were written using the notation form: 07/11/60 vs 11/07/60.)
John F. Kennedy Photos
But, just in case cover art is not nostalgic enough for you, the New York Times store has arguably done something even better. Just to make you feel as if you were there – or, depending on how old you are, to remind you what it felt like – it has taken historical news photos from the campaign trail and slapped them on archival paper. Witness (then) Senator John F. Kennedy stumping at a rally , JFK preparing for a speech, and Kennedy in New York…
If you go to the Search page at shopgoodwill.com and type in “Kennedy,” you should get a fair number of results for auctioned items. For the purpose of this blog entry, I’d like to point out the photo print of 1959 taken by Fabian Bachrach (a renowned celebrity photographer who’d also taken photos of a Haitian leader and Martin Luther King’s widow, to name two personalities). This rendering was JFK’s official campaign portrait for his presidential bid.
(Even if you do not grab a Kennedy memorabilia piece, I highly encourage you to buy something at the Goodwill Industries website. The proceeds from whatever you decide to pick up, as you can imagine, will go to a good cause.)
John F. Kennedy Gold
I’ve brought up the subject of ingots before. In my opinion, these casts are some of the most awe-inspiring collectibles you’re ever going to see. And that’s why we had to stock one in our store. The ingot half of this Kennedy ingot-medal duo, as you can read from the product description, is based on the 13-cent stamp issued in Jack’s golden anniversary year (1967). And the picture on that stamp, in turn, was derived from a photo taken by one Jacques Lowes, Kennedy’s Official Presidential Campaign Photographer.
Now before you go singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” in your sultriest Marilyn Monroe voice, I would like to reinforce the point that these joint items are only overlayered in 24-karat gold. However, there is a JFK pure gold ingot sold at nytstore.com…
In conclusion, this is by no means an exhaustive list of John F. Kennedy products commemorating his historical 1960 campaign run. I could have listed a great number of relevant items. But were I to do that, you, my fellow fan of political Americana, would be robbed of the satisfaction of the hunt.
So as a great man might have said, “Ask not what collectibles and memorabilia I can find for you. Ask what collectibles and memorabilia you can find for yourself.” 
13-cent John F. Kennedy stamp
JFK at the Democratic National Convention, 1960
