Thousands of different Mao badges were made during the Cultural Revolution. Every propaganda unit across China produced them and many more were made to commemorate campaigns, meetings, visits by Mao, even Mangoes were commemorated with a badge. Some were tiny, others were huge, some were plastic, some ceramic, most were coated metal. Some bore scenes of Mao's birthplace or Tiananmen or Daqing or the sea or masses of flags. All had Mao's head, sometimes with a hat, sometimes as a young man, but always in profile, looking left.

We interpret as many of the more interesting badges as we can, researching their imagery and the words stamped on the reverse. Mao badges are an art unto themselves, well worth a closer look.