I collect vintage buttons and sometimes use them when I reimagine an item for my etsy shop. I especially love mother of pearl buttons which is actually abalone shell. Therefore, they are already reimagined when they come into my hand because once upon a time they were a sea shell and now it is a button. My favorites are the carved ones.
These are the pictures I took at the library...............................
There were lots more in the button exhibit but difficult for me to get photos of with two books, a cup of coffee and my purse in my hand in addition to the camera/phone. I saw so many buttons that I also have in my collection. Mainly celluloid. Here's a brief history of the celluloid button.
http://www.tedhake.com/viewuserdefinedpage.aspx?pn=buttonhistory
Enjoy a little peek of some of the buttons in my own personal button collection:
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| A great variety - carved metal turtle, cloisonné, a RailRoad conductor's button- jet glass among them |
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| All on cards - love the graphics - and the prices - 10 cents and 25 cents
They are a very rare "find" today. I used to find "Mom's button tin" at estate sales years ago. The entire tin would be about $5.00. But not any longer. Now the sale manager removes the buttons from the tin and separates them all out into small plastic bags. The valuable and special ones are packaged and sold individually !!! I'm so glad I got my stash many, many moons ago.
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Thanks for sharing. That's a pretty good collection of bakelite buttons. I am a button collector too and I have quite a stash that I use on my Hanky Dresses.
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun to see antique and vintage buttons! While digging in a barn with my three boys a couple of years ago for vintage treasures, my youngest son spotted a large tin and asked if I was interested in it. It was really beat up and rusty, so I told him "no". He was determined, so climbed into a tight spot of the barn to get at that tin. It was pretty heavy, but he managed to get it out. His eyes were sparkly as he was imagining what could be inside. Buttons! LOTS of buttons! About 8 pounds of buttons! He thought this treasure was so cool! That huge tin of buttons taught me to never pass up a box or tin or other container without looking inside first!
ReplyDeleteGood lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteI love your button collection. I am the proud owner of three cards of vintage mother-of-pearl buttons I won in a Burdastyle contest. They are my treasure. This was a great post. NellywithWings. As an aside, I love the new blog background.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nelly.
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