This is a white glass button with a very colourful design. I think it represents a blue butterfly and a yellow flower. It is rather “abstractish” and is a cheery button. It has a metal loop shank.
GLASS BUTTON
MOSAIC BUTTON
This is a lovely floral mosaic button from Italy. It is very colourful and is set in silver. They certainly do a great job of setting all these tiny pieces of glass into a button. It would be fun to watch one being made.
METAL PICTURE BUTTONS
Here are two small metal picture buttons depicting children. They are illustrations from children’s books by Kate Greenaway who was popular in the late 1800’s in England.
PLASTIC BUTTON
This button is probably from the 1930’s. It is black (possibly bakelite) with a metalized plastic rose in the centre. It is quite effective but a fairly common design.
IVORY BUTTON
Here is a carved ivory button featuring a dragon which is a common subject for Japanese buttons. I was lucky enough to find it in a tin of old dirty buttons given to me so it was my lucky day. It measures 3 cm.
CERAMIC BUTTONS
Here is a nice set of small Ceramic buttons. They are hand painted in bright colours depicting various fruits and are outlined in black which makes them stand out. I bought them in a craft shop a few years ago.
MOTHER OF PEARL BUTTON
Here is a Mother of Pearl button with a metal escutcheon showing a Japanese or Chinese symbol. I wonder what it means. It measures 2 cm.
ANTLER BUTTON
This Antler button is quite large at 4 cm in diameter. It has been left in it’s natural state with the roughness of the outer “bark” showing. It is a sew through type. It would suit natural fibres giving a homemade look.
CELLULOID BUTTONS
These three Celluloid buttons are new to my collection and were a present from my friend Sandra. They are all bubble tops and have a japanned back.
PLASTIC BUTTON
I think this button is probably Bakelite and has an embossed brass central disc featuring a horse rider. It has been painted black and rubbed back which shows up the details. It is a light brown colour but there have been several other colours made up in this design. It measures 3 1/2cm, I think it may be from the 1920’s – 30’s.