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Here are two enamel buttons which are a little different to some I have in my collection. The colours and the open work and that they both have cut steel decoration makes them so. I would suggest that they are from the Art Nouveau period.

Here is a group of simple fabric covered buttons from a few years gone by. It is interesting to compare these fabrics to the fabrics in the shops currently. I think they have got bolder and brighter as the years have gone by. That is the way of fashion I guess.

This pair of buttons are of a rich red thread wound around a mould which is probably wood or bone. Four diamond shapes form a square in the middle which I think is stitched. There is no actual shank and you sew through the threaded back. They are only small measuring under 1 1/2 cm. I guess they are fairly old.

Here is a group of modern bone buttons of various shapes and sizes. They have all been carved in simple designs. They also have been coloured in sepia and rubbed back to just leave the colour in the crevices. I think these buttons also were made in Nepal. I think I bought them at a Melbourne Buttonfest many years ago. They would enhance a garment made of natural wool.

This bone button is modern and in the form of a flower. It is nicely carved and curved. I think it was made in Nepal and probably is cattle bone. It measures 3 1/2 x 4 cm so is quite large. I guess it would be suitable for an overcoat.

Here are my only two realistic Beatrix Potter character buttons in my collection. They are of course Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddleduck. The Peter Rabbit one is exactly the same as the illustration in the book. I admire Beatrix Potter; she was a very imaginative and talented lady. Her books are still available today. I have a few books about her life. She did well having had no encouragement from her mother.

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Here are two modern mother of pearl buttons. They have been dyed a bright colour and then etched back to reveal the natural shell colour forming a flower design. They are very thin, are sew through type and measure just on 2 1/2 cm.

These two buttons are from the Opp Shop which I check out frequently. They are of a blue/grey plastic with a silver coloured diamond in the centre which in a way resembles cut steels. Plastic can imitate many different materials. They would be quite striking on the right coloured dress.

This is a button from an Opp Shop jar from a few years back. It is modern and some type of plastic and is an unusual shape. It ranges in colour from white to grey and black. I think it would only be suitable for a coat as it is too chunky for a dress. It has a nice smooth glossy finish.

These three buttons were made by Lea Stein and are typical of her work. They are layered and then cut back to reveal all the colours. The colours are more distinct than the photo shows them.