Here are some buttons from the 1940’s period. The metal centres are sort of embedded into the plastic outer rim which is decorated with rings.
PLASTIC AND METAL BUTTONS
CLEAR GLASS BUTTONS
The charm of these buttons is in the cutting of the glass in various patterns. This shows up in nicely against the dark background.
GLASS AND METAL BUTTONS
The unusual shape of these buttons makes them very appealing. The glass is a beautiful purple/cyclamen colour which blends them nicely with the brass setting. The group picture is the truest colour.
MICRO MOSAIC BUTTON
This button is small being 1 1/4 x 1 cm. It has multi coloured pieces of glass set into which has then been set into brass. The side view shows the pretty scolloped edge. It has a backmark of T.W. & W., PARIS.
PLASTIC NEEDLE CASES
This type of needle case was very popular. Many had the little spools of cotton inside where you could take off the tiny lid to reveal the little compartment for needles. What a very compact and great item.
SEWING KIT AND TAPE MEASURES
The sewing kit with petit point flowers on a black background is very effective and pretty. The two tape measures have been done in a similar manner. Didn’t they make things well in the earlier years. Am I getting old!!!!
METALISED PLASTIC BUTTONS
These buttons have been coated with metal making them look like metal buttons where in actual fact they are plastic. They were popular in the 1950’s like those shown in the first picture which were made by Beutron. They all have a disc of plastic inset. The other two pictures show just the gold coloured buttons in various shapes and sizes.
ANTLER BUTTON
At 1 1/2cms, this button is small. The base is antler with a silver escutcheon added showing an acorn and some oak leaves. It is really a rather nice button.
CARVED IVORY BUTTONS
The art of carving intrigues me whatever the article being made or the material used. These ivory buttons are no exception. What intricate work on such small items. Dragons and flowers are the subject matter on them. The largest dragon button ( No. 4) has a self screw in shank which is very unique.
How I got this button is interesting. I went to Rushworth (a tiny old gold mining town) for an outing. The opp shop there is only small but I always go in. I asked the assistant if they had any old buttons and a customer behind me wanted to know why I wanted them. I told her that I was a collector and she said that she had lots of old buttons at home that she didn’t want and would I like them. To cut a long story short, I went to her home and she rummaged in the bottom of an old dirty tin trunk where all the buttons were loose. She put them in a container and home I went full of anticipation. What fun I had after tea sorting through the hundreds of very dirty old buttons. “Millions”of shirt and trouser buttons and quite a lot of old plastics. What a surprise I got upon stumbling across this Carved Ivory Dragon button. It looked much better after a little water and cotton bud treatment. Recently at the Melbourne Buttonfest I saw an identical button for $100. Luckily it had survived the mess and dirt and made my day. So you never know where or when you may find a treasure!! Just keep your ears and eyes open.
LEO POPPER BUTTONS
These lovely small glass buttons were made in USA by Leo Popper & Sons in the late 1890’s or up until 1915. They are the only three that I have in my collection. They are always colourful and glitt ery in the Button books. They have a metal loop shank. The yellow one was a real find for me as I rummaged in a small dish of dirty old buttons in a junk shop and for $2 got it and a few old plastic buttons. I didn’t know at the time exactly what it was but knew it was glass. When I got out of the shop I couldn’t stop smiling.