Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin Presidential Campaign Lantern, 1860

Late-nineteenth-century political parties rallied their supporters by holding torchlight parades. In the evening, marchers lit up the street carrying torches, lamps and lanterns. Many of these political lanterns glowed with the names of the candidates, slogans and patriotic symbols. Supporters of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin--the Republican ticket in 1860--would have carried a lantern like this during the nighttime festivities.