This is an original 7” x 9” Associated Press News photo of Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, the 1952 Democratic nominee for president, showing a hole in the sole of his right shoe that became emblematic of his campaign. It has been signed in black ink by Stevenson in the lower right margin. Also included is a lapel pin produced for the Stevenson campaign that was inspired by this famous photo.

At a campaign event on Labor Day 1952, Bill Gallagher, photographer for the Flint Journal¸ noticed a hole in the bottom of Adlai Stevenson’s shoe. He quickly took a photo which later won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize. The image generated many shoe-themed campaign items for and against the Democratic candidate. Stevenson’s supporters thought the worn shoe made him seem more approachable. Stevenson quipped, “Better a hole in the shoe than a hole in the head.”

The full story, as told by Gallagher himself can be found on the Pulitzer website: https://www.pulitzer.org/article/photographer-common-touch