Sign of the Times: Tobias Carroll and Christen Carter

Join us for an event with Christen Carter and Tobias Carroll in celebration of their new books Button Power: 125 Years of Saying It with Buttons and Political Sign.

The event will stream here starting at 7 pm CT: https://youtu.be/wIOagi8Ymoo

In an election year, political signs can be impossible to avoid. They're in front yards, on bumper stickers, and in some places you might never have expected. In Political Sign, Tobias Carroll chronicles the permutations and secret histories of political signs, venturing into the story of how they came to be and illuminating how the signs around us shape us in ways we often fail to appreciate.

From the campaign trail to the rock tour, Button Power collects a people's history of American culture told through the pin-back button. Lively commentary from two of America's foremost button experts, Christen Carter and Ted Hake, shows how the small but powerful button reveals the events and movements that outraged, amused, and inspired us over time, from the solo flight of Charles Lindbergh to the Black Power movement.

Tobias Carroll is the author of three books: Political Sign; the novel Reel; and the short story collection Transitory. He is the managing editor of Vol.1 Brooklyn and writes the Watchlist column for Words Without Borders.

Christen Carter is the founder of Chicago-based Busy Beaver Button Company and has produced more than 30 million buttons for bands, artists, political campaigns, and more. In 2010, she started the Button Museum, dedicated to revealing American history through pin-back buttons. Visit Busy Beaver at: busybeaver.net/