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This design is said to be based on an etching by Peter Fiotner, a Swiss sculptor who lived from 1485-1546. It has winged beasties on a a boat & an oar whose end has a giant bearded devil with horns.
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Large figural brass button of Yum-Yum from the widely popular 1885 comic opera The Mikado by Gilbert & Sullivan. An English fascination for all things Japanese spread through the country as trade between Europe & Japan increased dramatically from the 1860s - 1870s.  This is one of my favorite buttons because of the intricate details in the panels of the parasol & on the kimono fabric.
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Found 2 full cards of these Paris Mode brand Edwardian buttons. They are nice, large (1 1/4"), and in good condition, even though the cards are quite stained & dirty. Not a horribly exciting design, a sprig of fern & basket, but ok nonetheless. This is the 1st time that I've seen a Paris Mode card that was marked "Made in Germany," at the bottom.
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Nice large picture buttons with a twinkle background. Found in England.
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Mr Shiney Sun. 05/20/2009
 
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Antique Victorian buttons with sun faces, made in Paris, France.
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Made in Paris. 01/31/2009
 

I live for this! Fresh, new, old stock antique buttons that are still on the card. Never used, many of these still have their original vibrant tint and need little or no cleaning. I've been lucky enough to find a button seller that has many different types of antique buttons in sets.



Multiples are wonderful to have on hand when designing jewelry pieces because they can be used in pairs for earrings, or larger groupings to establish a pattern for a bracelet or necklace.

Marked on the backs of the cards is the price for these 100 years ago, most sold for .07-.20 cents a piece. With so many different cards & types of buttons, I'm starting to feel like a haberdasher.

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Yesterday these great French sporting buttons arrived from St. Alban, France.  The seller wrapped them in French postcards from Les Karellis, Savoie and Toulon, so I was able to have a small virtual trip as well.These buttons are all equestrian themed. These were originally parts of sets of buttons that adorned the coats of ladies or gentlemen that belonged to exclusive hunting and riding clubs. Giddy up!

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The mother lode. 01/01/2009
 

A question that I am often asked, especially at craft shows, is "Where do you find these?" And to be honest , it's not the easiest question to answer. I hunt for the buttons, and get them from all over the world. Antique shops, button collectors, estate sales, and quilt shows; there isn't a day that goes by where I'm not looking for buttons somewhere.

I called this group of buttons, "The Mother Lode."  Sometimes I purchase a single button, other times, I'll buy them in large lots. Consisting of over 300 buttons, this was one of the largest groups of buttons I'd purchased together from an antiques dealer. This group had almost everything; perfume, picture, twinkle, mother-of-pearl, cut steel,  and pierced buttons.

This is the "after" photo. After dozens of hours and lots of elbow grease had been put into cleaning them up. I have used many of these, and sold most of the larger buttons after keeping one of each style. Selling the extras covered what I paid initially for this huge lot.  I list extra buttons frequently at http://www.OldeTymeNotions.Etsy.com

Not nearly as shiny or colorful, this is one of the "before" photos of this group of buttons.

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