Regular readers of this blog know that one of my passions is collecting antique buttons. (You can see some of my own buttons by clicking on "The Button of the Month" on my side bar.) This past weekend, I went to a button show hosted by the Florida State Button Society. Collecting buttons has become a hugely popular hobby, and if you had seen the amazing displays that I saw, you wouldn't be a bit surprised.
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| Millicent Safro | Tender Buttons |
For sheer size and glitz, the most dramatic buttons are probably those called "Victorian Jewels." These buttons usually measure 1½-2" in diameter and were once used by Victorian ladies on coats and capes.
Most dealers display their buttons on thin cardboards, like the one above. The button you choose can be easily removed from the board.
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| Millicent Safro | Tender Buttons |
The show featured a lot of copper 18th-century buttons, also in the 2"-diameter range.
I was introduced to a style of buttons known as "Jacksonians." These were popular in the early 1800s, and were used on waistcoats. Though they were produced by different makers, they were all made from brass, had the same distinctive rims, and measured approximately ½". They were worn on civilain clothes, despite looking rather military.
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| Betsy Ciffone | Heavens to Betsy Antiques |
Betsy Ciffone of Clinton, Tennessee, stores her buttons in jewel displays, and antique buttons are indeed often little gems. One of her buttons that caught my eye is the tintype portrait below. Such photographic buttons were a popular genre in the mid-1800s, although this was the first one I'd seen.
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| Betsy Ciffone | Heavens to Betsy Antiques |
This is a framed display made by John C. Hepler, a tailor who started collecting in the 1850s. Mr. Hepler is famous among button collectors because in the 19th century he had the largest collection in the country, numbering over 78,000!
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| Jerry DeHay | The Buttonpusher |
Button dealers buy large collections and often have lesser buttons in quantity. Some will put their excess in a large tray and sell them for a flat price. They call such trays "pokes," and this is what a one-dollar poke looks like.
I'm a neophyte at all this, but I'm having fun. I'll be sharing my purchases with you each month on the side bar, but in the meantime, here's a little sub-grouping of Victorian buttons I've collected that appeals to my love of things Neoclassic. I call this grouping "gods and heroes."
What an interesting hobby. I never knew buttons were so diverse, or popular.
ReplyDeleteHello, Archguy - I have been told by several button dealers that buttons are the third most popular American collectible, after stamps and marbles, and before coins. I've tried to verify that through Google searches, and have thus far been unable to do so. But the show was a very crowded affair!
DeleteI'll bet you bought the green Greek key button for $1. Those buttons at the show are all fantastic. They combine history, age, design, workmanship, and a personal quality, are affordable (at least at the entry levels) and best of all, they are small! A perfect collectible.
ReplyDelete--Road to Parnassus
Dear Mark – that is a whole new world which I know absolutely nothing about, but I can see why you have a fascination for them. If I could have a go at the one-dollar poke, my eye immediately goes to the Egyptian one with such lovely detail. I wonder if you bought the one with the Greek Key design?
ReplyDeleteDear Rosemary,
DeleteYou and Parnassus both picked up on that Greek key button, but unfortunately, my eyes were in a glaze by that time. More correctly, my eyes were focused on what I would call "brass cameoes," and I missed that one (I was looking at thousands of buttons). Too bad, it would have made a nice addition to the next of my Greek key series!
Hello, Parnassus - You are absolutely right about buttons being a perfect collection, for all those reasons you mentioned. I would add another, and that is (unlike collecting U.S. stamps, for example) it's a collection that's pretty open-ended. No one looking at a display of 20 Jacksonian buttons is going to say, "Hey, you're missing a few!"
ReplyDeleteActually, that's exactly what they just might say (my friends, anyway).
DeleteLove the neoclassic ones! slightly related -i've taken to replacing the boring plastic buttons on sweaters with leather woven ones. Even with my severly handicapped sewing skills (thank you boy scouts!) I'm able to sew on a button!
ReplyDeleteI have upgraded different articles of clothing with better buttons, as well. Something tells me you would have enjoyed the beautiful buttons made from horn.
DeleteI'm mad about your Victorian 'Gods and Heroes' collection, Mark. Simply gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI also love the buttons used on livery. I felt a sad twinge when I looked at them - to think that that sort of luxury (family crest buttons on servants uniforms) was once not unusual at all. See: DOWNTON ABBEY. :)
But now gone the way of the dinosaur I suppose.
Hello, Yvette -
DeleteGlad you like the "gods and heroes" collection, and the livery buttons. Closely associated to the livery buttons are the buttons that were used by hunt clubs. They're often reprsented by very elegant depictions of dogs, foxes or horses.
Hello Mark:
ReplyDeleteYou have revealed a brave new world to us here as we had no idea that buttons could be so collectable. Your 'gods and heroes' selection looks most intriguing and we can well imagine that the activity of collecting buttons can become quite addictive.
Hello, Jane and Lance:
DeleteNot only is button collecting addictive, but even those one-dollar buttons can add up! One of the things that's striking at a button show is seeing the love and care that once went into the design of something as simple as a button. For example, I was amazed to see how handsome the buttons from 19th-century overalls were!
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteFresh out of college, my first job as a garment designer was for a high end fur manufacturer. Very few buttons are seen on fur coats (usually hooks & loops), but when there were buttons involved in the design, only the best suppliers of buttons were involved. I was so young and did not fully appreciate what I was dealing with, but I remember being so impressed. This post brought it all back.
That photographic portrait button was quite a surprise to me, but I guess it makes sense coming from the Victorians.
Anyes
XX
Hello, Anyes,
DeleteYour first job out of college sounds fascinating! It also helps me better appreciate an older posting you published. Readers of this comment should treat themselves to a beautiful project Anyes worked on this past Halloween — go to this link for a delightful surprise:
http://thedustyvictorian.blogspot.com/2011/10/contess-papera-ephemera-halloween.html
It might get ugly if we went together to one of these shows! Our taste is pretty similar. I am dying over the "gods and heroes" and that Millicent Safro one is quite nice! Good thing they do not have these shows near me!
ReplyDeleteHi, Theresa - I think we could actually work it out. We'd start in the opposite corners of the room nad work past each other. Then at the end of the day, we'd have show-and-tell, and maybe do a little bartering. Yes, you are lucky the shows aren't near you — I spent 10 hours over two days at this one!
DeleteI was just looking for buttons to use in my TEFL class with young children. I need them for the eyes and nose. Now I know where I can get them:) I am following you from Rome, Italy!
ReplyDeleteHi, Francesca! I have spent time in Florence and Sienna, but have yet to get to Rome — maybe someday ...
DeleteYou could have some great Victorian buttons for your class! At this recent show I visited one dealer who was selling a huge assortment of the buttons that went on Victorian shoes (the type that required a button hook). They would make great eyes!
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteFirst on my list tonight is to check out your post. Button, button, . . . who's got the button? Why does that phrase linger in my mind? I must be losing my mind, because I know its from my childhood, but cannot remember what. You are the wizard, so I hope you will tell me.
Thanks for giving me the tour of buttons--a subject I really know nothing about, but facinating as you present it. I like your posts best, because I always learn from you. Will you come visit sometime, and we'll construct a vest for you. Please bring buttons!
Hi, Linda - Wow, a vest with antique buttons would be pretty exciting! I'd have a hard time choosing which buttons to use. Maybe I'd have to go out and buy a collection of Jacksonians.
DeleteButton, button, who has got the button. That was an indoor children's game in which children stood in a circle with their hands clasped together. One child with a button would go around the circle and drop the button into someone's clasped hand. He or she would continue around the circle so that no one except the recipient would know who had the button. Then the children would have to take turns guessing, after saying "Button, button who has got the button?". Not as much action as today's video games!
Being a collector of buttons who restyles them into hair accessories, I am always fascinated by the intricate detailing artisans used in their creation. My favorites are pierced metals, luster glass, moonglows, rhinestones, vegetable ivories...oh - is there a button material I DON'T like?
ReplyDeleteI visited your site and enjoyed looking at your creations. Isn't it interesting how these lovely miniatures can be so contemporary?!
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