Teeny tiny Czech glass buttons on original cards, c1920s. Buttons measure about 1/4". I imagine these trimming some gorgeous creation that flappers like Louise Brooks wore.
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I often wonder about the reasoning behind some design choices of button manufacturers in the 19th century. Some designs include everyday objects such as the corner of a lacy handkerchief, dice, horseshoes, buckles, bows, tassels, wreaths, fringed pillows, shells, medieval weaponry, umbrellas, plant containers, vases & more. The design on the large unused buttons of this card are a decorative box on a fancy lace doily.
A bit too plain for jewelry, these lovely silk buttons are perfect for costuming & re-enactors. The 2 cards at the top have a subtle stripe, while the set at the bottom has a braided center. The braided buttons are in a hard setting, most likely vegetable ivory. All have padded backs to sew through. Because these buttons would be more permanently attached by being sewn on, they were probably made for garments that weren't laundered as often such as coats & vests.
Nearly a full card of pierced brass buttons with floral designs. Four different flowers among swirling leaves.
In the Victorian era, people enjoyed the use of symbolism in their everyday objects to provide additional meaning & transmit secret messages of love & friendship. There was entire "language of flowers," in which different floral arrangements conveyed certain feelings & messages. Even the placement & direction of a stamp on correspondence could convey a secret message of the heart.
One might expect anchors to represent the navy or military. In fact, the anchor was often paired in Victorian jewelry, accessories & buttons with a cross & heart. This trio represented faith hope & charity (or love), with the anchor meaning hope. This card was made in Paris, France & the buttons still have their bright gold finish. I love having a large lot of buttons to pick through. This grouping had all kinds of buttons including pictures, storybook, twinkles, pressed pewter, Czech glass, waistcoat, black glass, plain brass, mother of pearl & velvet perfume buttons.
3rd picture from the top is a storybook button with a design known as the "Easter Boat Ride." It depicts 2 birds towing a 1/2 shell boat with 2 figures inside. Several, like the navy twinkle buttons & those with a strawberry design have worked their way into bracelets, while others have been sold. A charm string or memory string was a 19th century pastime which consisted of collecting buttons & other small mementos & stringing them together.
Young women of the 1860s-1900s would have parties in which they would exchange buttons & stories associated with them, Rules dictated that buttons couldn't be purchased for the collection & had to be gifts from other collectors, suitors, friends or family. The gift of a button was considered lucky & the stringing of the buttons on a string enhanced good luck. Strings were often left in view of visitors in order to encourage donations as well as conversation starter by serving as a memento & reminder of past events. The string became a physical reminder of the button owner & times associated with that person. Lore has it that girls who collected 999 buttons would meet her true love after adding the 1000th. Other stories claim the addition of the 1000th would doom the girl to spinsterhood. One thousand button strings are rare & most were much smaller. This one has about 150 buttons. Small ball shaped buttons with hear shapes cut out of the top that allow the interior reflective twinkle aspect to shine through & provide additional brilliance.
Another great haul of buttons still on their original cards. or just barely still on the card as is the case in the last photo. Top buttons are much more detailed than I'd originally noticed & have an early Art Nouveau floral design over a green background. Gray buttons have a tiny butterfly in the design. bottom card of twinkle buttons with tinting.
Full cards of unused antique Victorian & Edwardian buttons; a great way to motivate me to create more jewelry.
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