All things buttons & more …
I do like Enamel buttons. Many were made in the late 19th and early 20th Century of which these are three examples.
The green round button has gold scrolls surrounding some small flowers. The oval one, also green has a floral design and a scalloped border. The square button has red and white background enamel and a nice small floral design which shows up nicely on the white.
Here are more buttons on their original cards. Actually, one is a buckle.
The art work on them is very appealing and would have been a good advertising tool in their day. I love to have buttons on their original cards. It just adds another dimension to them and can help date them.
Buttons depicting heads can be very interesting.
This group of buttons are all so different. There is one lady wearing a hat which I think may not be as old as the others. One has a border of cut steels. Another one has a very fancy head dress which must be native to some country of which I do not know. These buttons are all under 1 1/2 cm.
These three wooden are all fairly large, the smallest being 3 cm.
They all have a pattern pressed into them and have been painted black. One is a sew through while the other two have wooden shanks incorporated in the back.
Here is an interesting small Italian sample card of buttons.
They are a bright gold metal (maybe gilded!) with different coloured painted centres.
Part of the writing on the back translates as “Free Sample, Of Modest Value, Unique Colours” I guess the date is 6.10.78.
Firstly I show a small MOP buckle and some tiny shanked buttons on their original card.
A large round MOP buckle ( being 6 1/2cm ) is depicted in the second picture as well as some buttons ( some with brass shanks and rings ) . Mother of pearl has been used to make thousands of buttons even to man’s common shirt button.
Glass makers can create such great items.
Paperweight buttons are a fine example. This one is a beautiful bright blue with a small bouquet of flowers. It has a metal loop shank inserted into the back. As the name suggests these buttons replicate a glass paperweight.
What a lovely contrast of colours in this button making it quite stunning.
Orange and purple are good complimentary colours and the yellow outer ( I think it is Celluloid!) is a great foil. I think the centre may be painted brass. It has a japanned back. I really like it.
These button cards are all original and also all the buttons are made of glass. Three lots are made in Czechoslovakia.
The cards are lovely with their gold lettering and have a certain charm about them. They are so different to the cards of buttons in the shops today. Advertising has changed such a lot in the way things are displayed now.
This is a very unusual button although I would suggest not very practical.
I believe it may be bakelite ( not sure!) and has a plastic coated wire wound around it as a trim on the realistic seahorse. It is maybe from the late 1940’s and measures 4 1/2cm X 2 1/2cm.