All things buttons & more …
Beatrix Potter the English Children’s story writer had lots of different characters in her books, many based on animals and pets she had as a child. I have many buttons featuring these characters.
Here I show six buttons produced between 1989 and 1993 made of plastic. They all have a glossy surface and are 17 mm in diameter.
Beatrix Potter was a famous English writer of Children’s story books.
She was born in 1866 and died in 1943. Her very first book was about Peter Rabbit. She was a very talented artist in both nature and landscapes as well as her colourful little characters. I am a lover of her work.
Here I show a group of twelve buttons depicting the characters from her story books. They are matte finish plastic buttons all being 1 1/2 cm in diameter and were produced between 1977 and 1979.
I also show two individual buttons namely Benjamin Bunny with Tam and Mrs. Tiggy Winkle.
These buttons both have a head incised into the glass.
One is plain while the other one has a fancy border. They both have a metal loop shank and are just a little over 1 cm in diameter. They were part of a small private button collection that I bought in November, 2017.
Here is an old plastic realistic hat button.
It is decorated with some coloured flowers and has a sort of Tyrolean look about it. I think these were made in various colour combinations but this is my only one.
This button is enamelled brass and has a modern design in purple, red and green which is a little different. I actually have three of them.
I bought them at an opp shop and was pleased to find them. They are 2 cm in diameter.
This button has a disc of white glass set into a brass cup.
The glass has a textured surface ( there is a name for this type of which I do not know ) and flowers painted on it which are a little worn. It resembles Petit Point stitchery ) It is really pretty anyway. It measures a little over 2 cm.
I think these two buttons may be Bakelite and from the 1940’s.
They both have a metal centre; one a spiral pattern and the other floral. They are domed and measure 3 cm The backs are rather interesting.
These wooden buttons were painted by Ross Morgan from Mooroopna. He is descendant of the Yorta Yorta tribe of the Shepparton area.
He had a little gallery in Shepparton and I took some blank wooden buttons in and asked him if he would paint them for me. These buttons are the result. They were done in 2016. The large one with the turtle is 5 cm. The others are 3 – 4 cm.
When I visit my nephew Graeme in Melbourne he sometimes finds a button shop for me. He took me to The Button Shop in Brighton where I bought these buttons in 2011.
The two wooden buttons have been painted, one has a lady with flowers, the other pictures a couple. They measure 2 1/2 cm.
The other button is really colourful with a house in the hills pictured on it. It is a sort of childlike drawing and is a bit of fun.
Many glass buttons were made by the Bimini Company in England in the 1950’s.
This button is a nice example being a lovely greeny/blue colour with a gold lustre which was also common on these buttons. There is a brass round plate and shank applied to the back with a MADE IN ENGLAND backmark.