Last week, I discussed collecting political Christmas cards in general. This week, I’m telling you why I love political Christmas cards. Next week, I’ll discuss organizing your collection.
A number of MPs, a number of politicians from every level of government, in both Canada and the US, choose to be original. Their cards have photos of themselves. Their cards have photos of their families. Their cards have photos from their constituencies. Some have caricatures. Some have photos of landmarks within their constituencies. The best ones have multiple pictures.
This is true at so many levels of government. I have cards from municipal politicians with the family photo. I have provincial politicians with family photos. I have state politicians with family photos. I have federal politicians with family photos. One oddity is the Presidential Christmas card. For some reason, the Presidential Christmas card almost never has a picture on it ( 1993 Bill Clinton White House Christmas Card being an exception). I find this odd since, if one looks at their Christmas cards from a previous office, they often do use photos. They become President and, suddenly they select a picture of a painting of Washington or the White House. I’m hoping someone in the US will be able to explain this to me. On the plus side, the White House has a web site White House Christmas Cards devoted to them. Canadian Prime Ministers almost always have photos of themselves, usually with other family members. I have ten Christmas cards from John Diefenbaker and his picture is in all of them.
I find it very interesting to see pictures of politicians in their constituencies, or, “doing their jobs”. “Candid” photos of these politicians within their constituencies gives one a view of the different regions of the country. Family photos of politicians lets you see their kids grow up. My favorite example of the this is Brian Mulroney’s annual card. It’s remarkable watching his kids grow up over his 10 years as leader, including 8 years as Prime Minister. Another great example are the cards from pre-President George H.W. Bush. His cards prior to his presidency included photos of the kids, which includes future President George W. Bush and future Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Seeing these two much younger than today is remarkable. The same can be said of some of Pierre Trudeau’s cards. Seeing the baby Justin, given his position today, is lots of fun (regardless of your political leanings – my non-partisan disclaimer).
Another fun aspect of collecting political Christmas cards is moving them within your collection. For example, Brian Tobin’s cards were in my general Canadian politician collection. However, when he moved back to Newfoundland to become Premier, I moved them to my Premiers collection. The same is true of the John Kerry cards. His cards were in my general US politician collection. When he became Secretary of State, they moved to my US Cabinet Secretaries collection. Sadly (or fortunately, depending upon your perspective-another of my non-partisan disclaimers), my Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff cards remain in my general collection, as do my John McCain and Michael Dukakis.
Next week, I talk about organizing your collection (or, more accurately, how I organize my collection).
To see the political Christmas cards that I have available, Click Here.
What are your favourite political Christmas cards and why? You can share photos on the Bill’s Political Shoppe Favourites Photo Album.