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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 4382345, member: 101855&quot;][ATTACH=full]1104352[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1104353[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I have been looking for an example of this piece for a number years. This piece was issued during the Columbian Exposition which opened in 1893, and is listed in the so-called dollar book as HK-214. It is listed as an R-6 in that series with an estimated surviving population of from 21 to 75 pieces. I would estimate that the number of surviving pieces is much closer to 75 than 20, but finding one does involve some vigilance and effort. It is also listed in <u>American Political Badges and Medalets 1789 – 1892</u> by Edmund B. Sullivan.</p><p><br /></p><p>On June 2, 1886, Grover Cleveland, 49, a lifelong bachelor, married Frances Folsom age 21 at the White House. He was also the only president ever to be married at the presidential residence. The difference in age would have been enough to get start more than a little gossip, but the story gets juicier. Frances Folsom was the daughter of Grover Cleveland&#039;s law partner. When he died in a carriage accident Frances was a baby and Grover Cleveland became her legal guardian. He even purchased her first baby carriage. Over the years a relationship developed between the two that ultimately blossomed into love. After Frances finished college they were married.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some of Cleveland&#039;s opponents tried to make their marriage into a political issue. There were claims that Cleveland was an over bearing brute who beat his bride. The Clevelands suffered through these lies for a while, but ultimately Frances, went public, refuted the charges and described their marriage as a totally happy one.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1104360[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1104361[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>The Cleveland re-election campaign issued these two pieces during the 1888 campaign. Given the age difference between Grover and his bride Frances, their marriage might have been viewed as a scandal. The reality was quite different. </b></p><p><br /></p><p>In response the public embraced the Cleveland family, and First Lady Frances Cleveland became immensely popular. In fact she and their growing family became a major political asset for the Cleveland presidency. Their first child, Ruth, was born in 1891 at a time when Grover was looking to regain the White House. Cleveland had lost his bid for re-election in 1888, but came back to win the White House in 1892 thus becoming the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. at the White House.</p><p><br /></p><p>It has been claimed that the Baby Ruth candy bar was named after Ruth Cleveland. I do not agree with that claim. Ruth Cleveland died of diphtheria at age 12 in 1904, much to the sadness of her aging father. The claim that a candy company would use the name of a presidential off-spring 17 years after her death and 24 years after her father left office lacks credibility. The real story is a bit more devious.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1104374[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1104375[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>This is Babe Ruth&#039;s 1961 Fleer baseball card. I have a couple of better condition ones somewhere, but couldn&#039;t come up with them. And, yes, my mother didn&#039;t throw my cards away. </b></p><p><br /></p><p>By this time baseball player, Babe Ruth, was coming into his prime. In 1920 Ruth set an astonishing record by hitting 54 homeruns in a single season. He was becoming the toast of baseball, and an endorse using his name was value. Instead calling their candy the &quot;Babe Ruth Bar&quot; the candy company called it &quot;Baby Ruth&quot; instead and thus avoided paying any royalty fees.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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