Month: March 2024

I find this an interesting button and very natural looking. It is very large at 5 cm. It does not have a gloss finish and is just dull. The pattern on it suggests fern leaves and a hessian like background which has been pressed into the clay. It has been coloured brown in areas giving it a variation of colour. By the look of the back it appears to have been fired on hot ashes as there are smoky stains on it. All in all I just find it a fascinating button and it would really suit a natural homespun fabric or woollen garment. Anyway it is a nice collector’s piece and is very tactile and pleasing to the eye.

This perspex button is the only one of it’s type that I have. Purple, green and yellow are three of my favourite colours so it appealed to me. It is square and angled down to the back. The little flowers are embedded in the centre. It has a brass loop shank.

I like the simplicity of design of this enamel button with the contrasting black and white backgrounds. The tiny pink flower shows up nicely on the white while the flower also stands out on the black. It is an Art Nouveau style button and I have had it for many years. It is of white metal with a loop shank and measures a little over 2 cm.

This glass paperweight button is quite colourful with it’s orange and green swirly pattern against the cream background. I do not know who made it. I have just a few paperweight buttons and love the colours in them and their shape as I love actual glass paperweights too.

This black glass button is backmarked ONYX, Czechoslovakia and has a metal four way box shank. It depicts a red flower and has a decorative border in gold lustre. I think it is a reproduction. It measures a little under 3 cm.

Here are two modern Horn buttons with a bone centre piece. They both have been carved in simple straight lines. They are quite large at a little under 4 cm. I wonder if they may have been made in India.

This Studio button was made in 1989 by Shirley Shaw from USA and is signed and dated on the back. It is of Oriental ladies and a Cherry Blossom tree and is transfer printed with gold highlights done in paint. The colours are beautiful and stand out nicely on the cream background. It is very large measuring a little under 6 cm. It has a crazed surface resembling a Satsuma button.

These two Celluloid buttons are a similar grey and cream colour and both with a brass trim. One has a brass square in the middle embossed with a flower. The other one has nine tiny squares with a star like pattern on them. They both have a japanned back and measure a little under 3 cm.

This Celluloid button is quite striking with it’s zebra like design. It is cream and grey with a yellowish tinge and black outlines. It looks nicer in reality. It is set in a brass rim and has a japanned back. It is quite large at 4 cm.

Here is another group of Bakelite buttons. Some are carved, some have a metal decoration and others are inlaid with different materials. Once again I believe they are mainly coat buttons. I have most of my Bakelite buttons mounted in two large black frames.