A Little History is Written with a National Treasure

Inkwell tells about William Henry Harrison and collectors David and Janice Frent

Edited by Ralph Finch

Heritage Auctions of Dallas recently conducted the sixth auction of selections from one of the top collections of presidential material ever amassed, that of David and Janice Frent, two people who make the rest of us look like pikers, or pickers, or privy diggers.

Shortly after they were engaged, the Frents received a small jar of political buttons from a friend. The Heritage catalog noted: “Both of us were intrigued by what we saw and wondered who wore the Teddy Roosevelt Rough Rider pinback, the Taft button and the Alton Parker picture pin,” David Frent recalls. “Both of us liked the history of our country and these few items formed the beginning of what would be a multi-decade quest.” (One can only imagine what they come have amassed if they had been given a roll of antique toilet paper.)

“Fifty years later, the Frents have one of the premier collections of presidential and political campaign artifacts. Their pieces have been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art and featured in ads, textbooks, magazines, on television and on a U.S. postage stamp.

At the latest auction installment, I selected Lot 43046, described as a “William Henry Harrison ‘Hard Cider’ Glass Inkwell, 2.25 inches by 2. One side of the barrel-shaped, clear glass inkwell has ‘Hard Cider’ in relief with ‘Tippecanoe Extract’ on the other. The bottom has a ground pontil scar and was said to be in excellent condition.”

It had a minimum bid of $200, and sold for $250. (The buyer’s premium per lot was “25 percent on the first $300,000, plus 20 percent of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 12.5 percent of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.” Clearly, this was not an event for beginning collectors or privy diggers.) Harrison, 1773-1841, was an American general and politician, the ninth U.S. president, and his ephemera is extensive. Especially popular with glass collectors are Harrison flasks, often impressive, and usually expensive.

The Harrison ‘Hard Cider’ glass inkwell

The Heritage catalog included this (edited) information: “Among members of the organized fraternity of political items collectors, the Frent collection has long been revered as the largest, most extensive, and valuable collection ever assembled. Its history began shortly after the Frents’ marriage in 1968, a monumental election year when public awareness of

politics was never higher. The young couple soon discovered their shared fascination with American history and they began to collect tangible political artifacts. Little did they know that this shared passion would lead to an unparalleled collection of over 50,000 items, embracing every category from buttons to banners, from George Washington through modern presidential candidates.

“By the mid-1970s, their plan had crystalized: they would collect as broadly as possible, seeking to acquire important and representative examples from all categories of items from every presidential campaign, with an emphasis on pieces in top condition whenever obtainable. New Jersey residents, they always placed special emphasis on items from that state, and collectors residing in New Jersey will find a particularly exciting selection in the auctions of this collection.

“Around 1990, renowned historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. conceived an ambitious plan: he would assemble essays from respected scholars on every American presidential election, to be illustrated by images of items produced to promote aspirant’s candidacies. Schlesinger became aware of the Frent collection and arranged a visit to view their collection.

“The Frents still recall warmly that visit, when the historian expressed amazement not only that such a wide range of campaign items had been produced, but that such a diverse and important collection had been assembled by private collectors in one ambitious effort. Dr. Schlesinger opined that the Frents’ collection represented a ‘national treasure,’ and he was excited at the prospect of drawing upon it to illustrate his planned history of American politics.

“The project evolved into a two-volume set titled Running for President, the Candidates and their Images 1789-1992, illustrated by some 500 selected items from the Frent Collection. With editing assistance from Prof. Fred Israel (himself an avid political collector) and David Frent, the resulting volumes, published by Simon & Schuster, present an unparalleled overview not only of American political history, but also of the myriad items produced to support political candidacies. But they also do much more. The incredible industry and ingenuity demonstrated by these diverse artifacts represents in a very real way the American spirit. One cannot come away from perusing these books without feeling a sense of respect not only for our past, but for the unique qualities which led generations of entrepreneurs and public-spirited citizens to create this vast and ingratiating body of artifacts.”

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For more on Heritage Auctions, go to www.ha.com.

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FOR SALE!

• Set of Three Figural Skull Poison Bottles + Extremely rare Trade Card • Selling the set only - no individual pieces (one example with rare, 'plain base') • Bids starting at $10,000. To discuss, or for additional information, please contact: • Dave at drlambert@dialez.net, or: 920.863.3306