In 1896, presidential campaigns entered American homes through objects as much as through speeches, newspapers, and rallies. Buttons, ribbons, canes, plaques, and portrait busts gave voters a way to place a candidate’s image in offices, shops, and private rooms.
This hollow-cast bust of William McKinley belongs to that world. This bust presents McKinley in formal dress on a classically fluted pedestal, with “WM McKINLEY” cast across the front. The side carries an integral mark: “COPYRIGHT BY N.N.S. & CO. 1896 / 2238 / N.Y.” 1896 was the year of McKinley’s first presidential campaign. The mark securely dates the model or design. It does not, by itself, establish the casting date of this particular example.
The 1896 copyright places the model within the visual culture of McKinley’s first presidential campaign, although the production date and original purpose of this particular casting remain unconfirmed. The 1896 campaign set McKinley against William Jennings Bryan in one of the defining political contests of the Gilded Age. Whatever the casting date of this particular example, the copyrighted model belongs to the visual culture of McKinley’s 1896 candidacy, when his political identity was being carried into everyday American spaces.
Date: Copyrighted 1896. The construction and surviving bronzed surface are consistent with an early casting, but the present record does not establish whether this example was made during the 1896 campaign or at a later date from the copyrighted model.
Origin: United States
Maker / Markings: N.N.S. & Co., New York; model no. 2238; 1896 copyright cast into the model
Material: Hollow-cast white metal, probably a spelter or zinc-rich alloy, with bronzed finish; alloy untested.
Dimensions: 7.25 in. high; base 2.25 in. deep × 2⅞ in. wide; shoulders 4.5 in. wide
Weight: 666.2 g
Form: Political portrait display bust; campaign-era production plausible but unconfirmed
Provenance: Purchased in person by the dealer at the Stratford Antique Center, Stratford, Connecticut, in June, 2026. Earlier ownership history is not documented.
Condition: Surface wear, uneven darkening, patina, and finish loss consistent with age. A small hole is present at the rear crown. The alloy has not been tested. Please review all photographs closely for surface condition, casting, and underside detail.
In 1896, presidential campaigns entered American homes through objects as much as through speeches, newspapers, and rallies. Buttons, ribbons, canes, plaques, and portrait busts gave voters a way to place a candidate’s image in offices, shops, and private rooms.
This hollow-cast bust of William McKinley belongs to that world. This bust presents McKinley in formal dress on a classically fluted pedestal, with “WM McKINLEY” cast across the front. The side carries an integral mark: “COPYRIGHT BY N.N.S. & CO. 1896 / 2238 / N.Y.” 1896 was the year of McKinley’s first presidential campaign. The mark securely dates the model or design. It does not, by itself, establish the casting date of this particular example.
The 1896 copyright places the model within the visual culture of McKinley’s first presidential campaign, although the production date and original purpose of this particular casting remain unconfirmed. The 1896 campaign set McKinley against William Jennings Bryan in one of the defining political contests of the Gilded Age. Whatever the casting date of this particular example, the copyrighted model belongs to the visual culture of McKinley’s 1896 candidacy, when his political identity was being carried into everyday American spaces.
Date: Copyrighted 1896. The construction and surviving bronzed surface are consistent with an early casting, but the present record does not establish whether this example was made during the 1896 campaign or at a later date from the copyrighted model.
Origin: United States
Maker / Markings: N.N.S. & Co., New York; model no. 2238; 1896 copyright cast into the model
Material: Hollow-cast white metal, probably a spelter or zinc-rich alloy, with bronzed finish; alloy untested.
Dimensions: 7.25 in. high; base 2.25 in. deep × 2⅞ in. wide; shoulders 4.5 in. wide
Weight: 666.2 g
Form: Political portrait display bust; campaign-era production plausible but unconfirmed
Provenance: Purchased in person by the dealer at the Stratford Antique Center, Stratford, Connecticut, in June, 2026. Earlier ownership history is not documented.
Condition: Surface wear, uneven darkening, patina, and finish loss consistent with age. A small hole is present at the rear crown. The alloy has not been tested. Please review all photographs closely for surface condition, casting, and underside detail.
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