All things buttons & more …
Here are two horn buttons inlaid with silver and mother of pearl in a floral design. They are both rectangular and are whistle buttons which makes them a little different. Whistle buttons have one hole at the top and two on the bottom so when you sew them on the thread is down in the top hole and can’t be rubbed.
Here is a group of old metalized plastic buttons. They are of various shapes and sizes. The flower shaped ones at the bottom were very popular and I even have buttons of bakelite with the same flower as a centre.
These buttons were made in Australia in the 1950s by Beutron. They are metalized plastic with a coloured plastic disc in the centre. I have a Women’s Weekly magazine advertisement showing these buttons.
Here are three nice glass paperweight buttons. They are so different and very colourful. I only know that the last one was made by Mary Gaumond of USA. They all have a brass loop shank.
These lithograph buttons are men’s waistcoat buttons and probably would have been part of a set of six buttons. They feature ladies in very large hats. They are set in gilt metal.
Here are two groups of black glass buttons which all have silver lustre. The group on the left are probably Art Deco design so not as old as the other group. I have a nice lot of black glass buttons but unfortunately they do not photograph well.
Here are two metal picture buttons made of brass. The first one shows a lady on a balcony waving her handkerchief. The second one shows a lady with an umbrella. Under the border is a white metal rim and the background has been painted black. Waving Goodbye measures 3 cm and Fanny Davenport measures 2 1/2 cm and they both have a metal loop shank.
These fabric buttons are made by women of Cambodia so it is good to support them. The fabrics are quite different to ours which makes them interesting.
These three brass buttons have nice designs mainly floral. . They are all Paris backs, that is they have backmarks stating that they were made in Paris. One example is T.W. & W. , HM, Paris, Brevete. They all measure 1 1/2 cm so are not very big.
I like these pressed plastics of the 1930s. I love their subtle colours and the simple patterns that are pressed into them. The colours of todays buttons are much stronger and brighter.