All things buttons & more …
Here is a metal picture button with a wooden background. I also have the same button with a black velvet background. It shows a bird with a sprig of flowers and leaves. It has a rather decorative border and measures a little over 3 1/2 cm.
Here are two moulded glass buttons one of which has been painted red on the back which shows through to the front. They both have been painted black on the back and have gold lustre designs on the front. I think they are modern Czechoslovakian buttons.
These two metal buttons have a realistic look both with a leaf. One has a frog on it and the other one an insect. Who knows what type of garment would be suitable for these buttons!
Here is a rather large metal picture button measuring a little over 3 1/2cm. It has a circle off centre with a brass flower in relief within it. The outer crescent shape has a white metal background with a small brass floral spray trailing around it. It’s detail is very good.
Here are two metal buttons inspired by Kate Greenaway’s children’s story book characters. She was an author and illustrator in England in the early 1900s. She drew lots of little girls in long dresses and bonnets. One button is brass and the other is white metal which is pierced and tinted purple.
This button has a regal look to me. It is of brass with a circle of blue paint and the very small centre is of cream celluloid with a brass wreath around it. It has a brass loop shank and measures 2 1/2 cm.
This trio of buttons are brass and have floral decorations with a little bit of enamelling which makes them quite pretty. The small square one measures 1 cm and the other two are a little over 2 cm. They make a nice little group.
I think that this black glass button is probably a semi mourning button from the early 1900s. It has a matte finish with a flower decoration in gloss. Black glass buttons do not photograph well. It has a brass loop shank.
This button is of brass and has a central disc of mother of pearl. It has a brass escutcheon of an Egyptian head in the middle which is in high relief. It is quite different and has a metal loop shank.
These black glass buttons are imitation fabric type. They are from the early 1900s and imitate silks and velvets and the like from that period. The photos don’t show them up at their best but they are rather nice.