Barely over a half a year removed from the inaugural J. Doyle Dewitt Collection Americana and Political Signature Auction that reached nearly $1.9 million, nearly 700 more lots from the extraordinary collection will be made available in Heritage Auctions J. Doyle Dewitt Collection Part II Americana and Political Signature Auction on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 and 16. J. Doyle DeWitt was a giant in the insurance industry, stated Curtis Lindner of Heritage Auctions. But within the collecting world, he is known as a student of history who compiled one of the finest collections of American presidential material ever assembled. His collection is as impressive in quality as it is in quantity, and many of those rare presidential items will find new homes through this auction. Among the highlights is an Abraham Lincoln Belfast, Maine, Wide Awake parade banner, which is widely accepted as one of the top five items in the DeWitt collection. Measuring 41-by-35 inches, the handpainted, multicolored, double-sided, shield-shaped textile proudly proclaims, Victory is Ours/ Belfast Wide Awake Club. The reverse is inscribed with the legend, Lincoln/ 1860. It is pictured on page 154 in Herbert Ridgeway Collins Threads of History. The Wide Awakes were a youth organization and later a paramilitary organization cultivated by the Republican party during the 1860 presidential election. A James Buchanan yellow Rally! No Popery! satiric broadside is considered among the greatest political broadside in the hobby. It measures 12-by-19 inches and is printed on yellow paper. Unlike conventional broadsides, this magnificent piece does not announce a mass meeting or political rally at a real, specified location. Instead, using negative campaigning, it ridicules the opposition, in this case, Republican John Frmont, know-nothing Millard Fillmore and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. It mixes legitimate slogans (Freedom National! Slavery Sectional! and Put None but Americans on Guard to-night.) with cynical, sarcastic versions (All North! No South! and Fremont, Free Love Free Fight!). Its true origins and intent are evident in the concluding paragraph, which states: All those who are opposed to the Election of James Buchanan to the Presidency, and are willing to Let the Union Slide... are requested to meet at the Powder Mill, now known as the Fremont Hut on Thursday, Aug. 7th, at 8 oclock, P.M. It is thought quite possible that the meeting place existed only in the mind of a Buchanan partisan, the author of this graphic piece of campaign demagoguery. An Abraham Lincoln Wide Awake marcher wooden parade ax includes a contoured handle, one side of which has black stenciled lettering that reads: Lincoln & Hamlin. 1861. The date presumably refers to the presumptive election of the Republican ticket and the year in which Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin, his candidate for vice president, would assume office. A muslin fabric Ulysses S. Grant large graphic 1868 campaign flag is unlisted in Collins Threads of History but has several features that generate considerable appeal. The graphic and unusual flowing font is large and interesting, taking up most of the flags field. The imposing size, 22.5-by-33.5 inches, is a feature that immediately attracts attention. Also important is the appealing 36-star arrangement in the canton, a very unusual pattern resembling an arrangement found in a similar but much smaller flag in the Ralph E. Becker collection at the Smithsonian. Heritage Auctions experts believe a John Adams and James Madison important founding fathers tea caddy is the last surviving example. Measuring 6.25 inches high, the powder blue tea caddy features portraits of Adams and Madison, one on each side, and the sentiment, Kindly Take This Gift of Mine/ Full of Love For Thee and Thine. It likely was issued ca. 1796-1800, if not earlier. Those who collect political campaign ribbons will be drawn to a Lincoln & Hamlin jugate ribbon that is considered the ultimate in Lincoln and Hamlin jugate ribbons. The 7-inch silk ribbon boasts rustic portraits of the 1860 Republicans superimposed on a panoply of draped flags, inscribed Lincoln, Hamlin, and Liberty. Protection to American Industry. Images and additional information can be found by visiting www.HA.com/6266. Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions.