In the mid-20th century, Americans had a great enthusiasm for all manner of keepsakes and mementos cast in bronze. On 17 October 1960, the National Hot Dog Council presented this life-size hot dog cast in bronze on a marble base to Republican vice-presidential candidate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. The presentation letter read, “A million miles of hot dogs will be consumed in the United States this year and we hope that every one of these hot dog lovers casts a vote for you and Dick Nixon.” In the blur of events during the hard-fought presidential campaign, Lodge came to think that he had received the unusual gift during a visit to Nathan’s, the famous hot dog emporium in New York City.