The Albert and Angela Feldstein collection contains presidential campaign buttons, newspapers, campaign and political posters, as well as memorabilia from political rallies, campaigns, conventions, and inaugurations. Along with several items from the elections of 1888 and 1892, over 1800 buttons document presidential campaigns beginning in 1896, when buttons first came into use, up to and including the 2020 primaries. Items of campaign memorabilia range from the early 20th century to 2016, including a variety of materials used to promote campaigns. Souvenirs from several Presidential inaugurations are included, notably those of Ronald Reagan (1981), George H. W. Bush (1989), and Donald Trump (2017). The collection of approximately 180 posters falls into two categories: presidential campaigns (from the early 20th century to 2016) and social causes. The causes date from the 1970s (for example, labor and women’s rights issues) to 2019 (for example, racial justice, 2nd amendment, and environmental issues). The newspaper front page collection primarily consists of election results from the first half of the 20th century. Other newspaper headlines include assassinations and deaths of presidents. The collection also contains four political T-shirts used at protests and rallies (1978—circa 1988) and political buttons used at rallies (2004-2005)
Albert Feldstein (1949--) devoted his career to sustaining the region of western Maryland, whether he was working to secure funding for its economic development or documenting its history. He is recognized as local historian and an avid collector of political memorabilia, notably his collection of political campaign and issue buttons.
Mr. Feldstein was born in Cumberland, MD on June 7, 1949. He was the grandson of Lithuanian and Finnish immigrants who settled in Cumberland, MD. His grandfather Oscar Feldstein was a co-founder of Beth Jacob Anseh Hebrew Congregation in Cumberland, MD (1913). His father Joseph Feldstein, during the height of the economic Depression in 1932, established Metro Clothes, a successful clothing store in Cumberland MD.
Mr. Feldstein earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Maryland-College Park in 1971. During the ferment of the mid-to-late 1960s, as Feldstein’s interest in politics and public policy grew, he began to acquire political artifacts—such as campaign and cause buttons—which formed the basis for his extensive collection. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Administration at Frostburg State University in 1978.
Angela Feldstein was born on August 2, 1951. She grew up in Ridgeley, WV and worked as a loan officer at the County Thrift and Loan, a finance office administrator at the Ritter Finance Company, and an office administrator at Wolf Furniture Company. After earning her AA degree in Medical Office Technology from Allegany College of Maryland, she worked as a medical office secretary for a local physician and at Rehab 1st Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Services. She and Al Feldstein married on March 7, 1981. Al and Angela Feldstein have 3 children: Michael Mulligan (1970-), Natasha Tillie Feldstein (1984-), and Josinda Dorothy Feldstein (1986-). Angela Feldstein has accompanied her husband Al on many of his pursuits, whether attending the rallies and marches where he collected political memorabilia or walking through cemeteries and abandoned rail lines in search of local history.
Albert Feldstein’s career in local government coincided with a period of economic decline in western Maryland, as manufacturers of iron and steel, glass, chemicals, tires, textiles, and other products closed or left the region. Some of Feldstein’s most significant achievements occurred while he was State Program Manager for the Maryland Department of Planning (1978-2014). In this role he partnered with others in leading and coordinating efforts to promote economic development in the region, facilitating state and federal grant funding for western Maryland. As Greg Larry of the Cumberland Times-News wrote, “Feldstein’s efforts in securing grant funding have helped to bring businesses, jobs, access roads, buildings, water and sewer lines, educational programs and equipment, as well as technological advances to the area.” Feldstein was also State Program Manager of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), which partners federal state, and local government to invest in Appalachian communities. In 2018, he was elected to serve a four-year-term as Judge to Allegany County Orphans Court.
A historian of western Maryland, Mr. Feldstein has published over 40 books, prints, videos and websites which illustrate the history of Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties. Subjects include the Cumberland Floods, coal mining and railroads, local cemeteries, historic newspapers, and postcard histories of Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. Feldstein’s websites on WHILBR (Western Maryland‘s Historical Library) document western Maryland women’s and African American history as well as Feldstein’s collection of political buttons, featuring local and presidential campaigns. His 2003 political history poster entitled "Buttons of the Cause, 1960- 2003: The Events - The People - The Organizations - The Issues," has sold thousands of copies. In 2005 it was accepted for exhibit and sale at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History in Washington, where it remained a popular item until 2013. A 2016 African-American history poster entitled “A Black History of America in 110 Buttons” was accepted for exhibit and sale at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.
Mr. Feldstein’s extensive collection of Presidential campaign buttons, posters, and memorabilia as well as political cause posters has a national focus. As Mr. Feldstein has commented, “It has always been my belief that buttons are a most colorful and graphic depiction of our nation’s history, First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly, and visually characterize over 100 years of public policy and debate.” The buttons and other artifacts housed in the J. Glenn Beall Archives of the Lewis J. Ort Library allow a vivid glimpse of political decisions and social justice issues as they were—and in many cases still are—contested.