Category: Uncategorized

These small plastic buttons on their original card were made in France. They are hand painted with what I think is meant to be a vase of flowers. At first I thought the blue at the bottom was some kind of Oriental writing but that didn’t make much sense on French buttons. I may be wrong. They are sew through type and measure a little under 1 1/2cm.

Here are five plastic children’s buttons. Are they from the 1940s or maybe 1950s ? I have just acquired them. I find old children’s buttons hard to get. These ones are painted with a picture of what I thought was a rabbit but upon further scrutiny I think they must be a mouse as they have a long tail. Am I right? They are cute anyway.

Here are three coconut shell buttons which I have just acquired. They are modern and vary greatly in their design and colour. The black floral and the orange geometric ones I think are painted. I am not sure of the one that looks like red tulips; it could be a transfer. I have quite a few coconut shell buttons and they have a variety of designs and techniques which make them interesting.

This button is new to my collection. It is of a smokey light brown colour with an amber/brown coloured facetted glass centre. It is a realistic flower button and has a metal six segment rosette shank so I think quite old. It measures 4 cm.

Here is a modern button in purple, black and various colours. The triangular shape makes it different and I think quite striking. It would make a real statement on the right garment. I can’t place my hands on it at the moment to measure it but it is quite a nice size I know. I have thousands of buttons in my collection and can’t remember where they all are.

These three wooden buttons are modern and have different owls depicted on them. They are transfer printed I think but are quite good impressions. I can’t think what type of garment one would use these buttons on so I just consider them a collector’s item. Maybe a neutral coloured home spun woollen knitted cardigan ! They are a sew through type and measure just under 3 cm.

These colourful ceramic buttons were made by Jennifer Warburton from Phillip Island, Victoria in 2012. She trades under the name Embellish a Little. Each of these buttons has a design impressed into them and some have a touch of gold to enhance them. They have a certain handmade look about them which makes them unique.

This bone button is modern and probably comes from Nepal or India. It is a realistic flower shape and has some carving on it which doesn’t show up too well in the photo. It is very shiny and smooth and measures 4 cm x 3 1/2 cm so is a nice size.

Here are two modern bone buttons, one being carved and the other dyed and a design drawn on it. Is it meant to be a face? The other heart shaped button is of horn and has three brass bands inlaid. I like the handmade look about these buttons and they were made in India. Maybe they are cattle bone and horn.

Here are two Satsuma porcelain buttons depicting a Geisha Girl holding a flower. You can tell they are hand painted because if you look closely you can see slight variations in the image. They must use such a fine brush to get the fine detail. It would be interesting to watch one being made. I think these buttons are fairly old with the black border and lots of gold work.