The Extraordinary World of MARBL: Delegate Badge

The Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library is a place of discovery. All are welcome to visit and explore our unique holdings, whether as a researcher or an observer. The breadth and depth of our collections are vast, and it is nearly impossible to investigate every nook and cranny. We invite you this year, through our blog, to tour some of those places you didn’t know existed, and get acquainted with collections you might not have previously explored. Check back in with us weekly over the course of 2013 as we offer you a delightful look into some of the favorite, but perhaps lesser-known, corners of our collections. These pieces are visually interesting, come attached with fascinating stories, and are often 3D objects you might not have realized are part of what makes up The Extraordinary World of MARBL.

This delegate badge can be found among the family papers of African American Baptist minister and church leader, Isaac G. Bailey and his wife, Susie E. Bailey. The collection tracks the political and religious pursuits of the family through three generations. There is no date on the badge to indicate from which convention it came. Lincoln’s image was used in a number of delegate badges through the late 19th and early 20th centuries.