1960 – Nixon!
On May 5, 2017
- Uncategorized
My mother – a staunch Republican – decided to volunteer newly-teenaged me to the local Nixon for President headquarters, which was a few blocks from our house in Teaneck, NJ. I don’t recall what I did there, but I decided I deserved one of the huge Tricky Dicky posters for my efforts, so, at some point, I took one home. The story I’m sticking with is that the campaign was already over and stuff was being dispersed (you buying that?).
I displayed it over a window in my bedroom, which now had another occupant, whose crib is seen in the lower left of the below image. I festooned the poster with other campaign leftovers, which included six Nixon buttons and two signs. All of this was a setup for my supposedly developing sense of humor. At the time, I was an avid MAD magazine fan. MAD came out with an issue that had dual covers: one congratulating JFK for his victory (shown below) and the other doing the same for the later-defeated Nixon.
Guess which one I put on the poster (I’m sure Mom was thrilled).
The picture’s composition may be related to the room’s composition (I also think I was standing in the doorway) and this may have been the only way to get the full poster, etc., in the shot. The white of the upper left may be a door jamb that was too close to the flash.
This may be the only image I’ve ever shot that shows what film was used.
I kept this poster folded up in our attic for years, but when I cleaned out the house after my parents died, it was nowhere to be found (but I have my suspicions about its absence).
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