Dimensions
247 x 217 x 22mm
Madeleine Albright was the first female Secretary of State of the United States and, at that time, the highest ranking woman in U.S. history. Like most women, she had occasionally worn pins before entering public service, but it was when she took office as America's Ambassador to the United Nations, and then as Secretary of State, that she came to understand how powerful a symbol a simple piece of jewelry could be. When she wore a snake pin after Saddam Husssein's press called her a serpent, and then a pin of a doomed bird after Cuban-American pilots were shot down in international waters, the world's press took notice, showing that while the pin is an expression of femininity and fashion, it can also be a badge of individuality, a vibrant and witty vehicle for telling a story, and can be a diplomatic tool for delivering messages to world leaders, politicians, the public, and beyond.
Distinctive pins became Secretary Albright's personal signature, with politicians and the public alike keen to see what she would wear next for any meeting of significance. During and after her years in government she assembled a collection of several hundred pieces, some fine jewelry, some antique, many of the costume variety (on the occasion of her 65th birthday, she received 65 costume pins, none costing more than $3). The collection has often been described as democratic in that it spans more than a century of jewelry making across the globe, and is eclectic in materials, styles, and places of origin. One of the most loving acquisitions has been a beautiful pin from the family of a woman who failed to survive Hurricane Katrina, who wanted Secretary Albright to have her most cherished piece.
Intimate and revealing , READ MY PINS offers a whole new side of Secretary Albright, one of our most beloved public servants.
