UPPER WEST SIDE — An exhibit at the New-York Historical Society aims to show the evolution of American presidential campaigning — and to remind viewers how much its rules have stayed the same through the years.
To create "Campaigning for the Presidency, 1960-1972," which runs through Nov. 27 at the museum, curator Cristian Panaite dug through hundreds of campaign items that are part of the extensive private Wright Family Collection.
Artifacts as varied as paper dresses, cigarettes, lighters, cologne and cans of juice, just a few of the objects once used to spread candidates' slogans and images, are on display in the exhibit.
The result is a show that is both "nostalgic" and "colorful, engaging and exciting," Panaite said.
In the 1960s, campaign objects like a a mini "bale of Johnson grass hay" or a toilet seat depicting Nixon's face — both on display at the exhibit — were used to stir the emotions of voters and rally them around a candidate, the curator explained.
But as the decade progressed and television became more central to campaigns, these material objects took a backseat.
Television became the primary medium for persuading the electorate and campaign items were used instead to stoke voters' enthusiasm.
For visitors too young to find the exhibit a walk down memory lane, they will still be drawn in by the whimsy of the 1960s, as well as connections to the current election, Panaite said.
Donald Trump has drawn on Nixon's campaign, Hillary Clinton's past as a "Goldwater Girl" has resurfaced and the media characterized Bernie Sanders as a "latter-day George McGovern."
"[The exhibit] is even timelier than expected," Panaite said.
The connections to the past don't stop there, he added.
Just like today, the two candidates in 1964 "couldn't be more different" and the 1968 presidential election had a similar level of anxiety surrounding it, the curator said.
All the presidential campaigns represented in the exhibit used short, pithy slogans to quickly communicate their main message in a memorable way with the public, a tradition that's still very important, Panaite explained.
"Millennials might be surprised that writing in 140 characters has been fashionable for quite a while," he said.
The exhibit is included with admission. The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Monday.
