A "Unicorn" George H.W. Bush-Signed U.S. Senate Chamber Pass!

A U.S. Senator Chamber Visitor's Gallery pass with a George H.W. Bush-stamped signature, circa 1985-1987. Image Credit: Collection of the Author.

 In the realm of Vice-Presidential Gallery pass collecting, you sometimes come across so-called "unicorns" - highly unusual passes that are either seemingly out of place or don't make sense. I recently acquired this fascinating example of such a piece - a U.S. Senate Chamber pass from the 99th Congress signed (via signature stamp) by George H.W. Bush. This pass - dating from the January 1985 to January 1987 time period - is interesting on a number of levels. First, as Bush never served as a U.S. Senator, it is somewhat odd to see his name on one of these passes. In addition, Bush was known to use the official/more formal "cream and gold" Vice President's Gallery passes during his tenure. Such an example is in the U.S. Senate Collection. It is therefore odd that this Visitor's Gallery pass (meant for issue by a U.S. Senator) would have been issued, particularly during Bush's second term as Vice President.  

I have seen similar U.S. Senate Visitor's Gallery passes signed by sitting Vice Presidents, so there is certainly precedent for their existence. One explanation for their use is that new Vice Presidents who hadn't had their formal Vice President's Gallery passes made yet may have used regular Visitor's Gallery passes as a temporary fix. This would have made sense in particular for sitting U.S. Senators who became Vice Presidents (like Dan Quayle or Al Gore) as they would have already had Visitor's Gallery passes available for use. Also interesting are such passes being signed by Vice Presidents-elect, which seemingly makes more sense as they would still have been sitting U.S. Senators at the time of pass issue. I have such an example from Hubert Humphrey in my collection. At any rate, this unusual George H.W. Bush pass is certainly a fascinating piece of U.S. Senate-related memorabilia!  

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