Madeleine Albright: Read My Pins

Madeleine Albright, the first women to serve as U.S. Secretary of State (1997 - 2001), is known for her pins. On September 30 the New York Museum of Arts & Design opens an exhibit of Albright's pin collection, accompanied by her new book Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box. Albright came to wear pins not for their gem value, but for their messages, getting the "read my pin" idea from the first President Bush who said about no new taxes, "Read my lips." For example, she told Katie Couric on Sunday Morning that after Iraq President Saddam Hussein called her a snake, she began wearing a snake pin anytime she had meetings concerning that nation. She also said that every Valentine's Day she wears a pin her now grown daughter made her at age five. Much of her collection is comprised of mass-produced, inexpensive pieces she acquired during her travels as secretary of state. "Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection" is on view in New York until January 31, 2010. It will then travel to several still undetermined U.S. cities.

More Information
Madeleine Albright's Read My Pins Author Tour
Madeleine Albright's brooch collection on display in NYC (USA Today)