Boot jack, William McKinley, 1896
notes: label: Description
content: A boot jack is a tool which facilitates hands-free removal of boots. One of the most common 19th-century boot jack forms was a cast iron cricket where the antennae provided the space to place the heel of the boot being removed. This boot jack cricket promoting William McKinley’s 1896 campaign was a nod to the “gold bug,” the nickname for Republicans who supported the gold standard. Although this one is black, some McKinley cricket-shaped boot jacks were covered with gold paint for an additional visual reminder of McKinley’s preferred economic policy. McKinley defeated his Democratic opponent William Jennings Bryan, a supporter of the silver standard.
topic: label: used
content: Political Campaigns
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, Campaign Collection
label: See more items in
content: Government, Politics, and Reform
label: See more items in
content: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
label: Exhibition
content: American Democracy
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2015.0200.102
label: accession number
content: 2015.0200
label: catalog number
content: 2015.0200.102
objectType: label: Object Name
content: boot scraper
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 1/4 in x 10 in x 4 1/2 in; 8.255 cm x 25.4 cm x 11.43 cm