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Welcome to my Blog! I hope you enjoy my posts! I'll be writing about buttons and ways to enjoy them.

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"V" through "Z" Buttons

9/26/2017

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For October 16, 2017 meeting of Hernando County Button Collectors Group
Below is a list of categories from which you can choose your favorite "V through "Z" button(s) to bring for "Show 'N Tell." If there is not a website link with the description, you can try  google-ing the term and add the word "images" to find photos of the type. Also look for Vegetables, violets, Women, Yellow, etc..
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Van Wart, Sons & Co. Buttons: Made uniform buttons in the 1860s. Name can be found on their buttons.
Vegetable Ivory Buttons: Made from the nuts of the cores or tag palm. The vegetable ivory name was used to distinguish this nut “ivory” from tusk ivory. Nuts are about the size of a large egg and irregularly round. The nuts are kiln-dried for about 10 days and then the bark is removed by tumbling and hand cleaning. The best slices of the nut for buttons was closest to the bark. Buttons were dyed in vats and for multi-colored buttons, they were but on conveyor belts and dyed in succession.  Vegetable Ivory buttons were decorated by embossing, stamping, crying, stenciling or with transfer designs. Large buttons are scarce and more valuable. www.buttoncountry.com/VI-1.html
Venetian Glass Buttons: These buttons somewhat resemble Venetian beads. A cane of glass is twisted over a glass button and generally, a wire shank is applied. Cone or dome-shaped tops. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Paperweight-Buttons-Venetian-Art-Glass-Roses-Mica-Green-Pink-Blue-/282648478592?hash=item41cf298380
Vest Buttons: In the 19th century, men’s vest buttons were made smaller than buttons used in the 18th century. Sometimes set with jewels, but more commonly decorated with molded glass, printed pictures under glass, etc. Shanks on men's buttons were usually larger than buttons worn by women (called jewel shanks). www.buttoncountry.com/GlassInM1.html     www.ebay.com/itm/3A-Lot-3-Stunning-Waistcoat-Buttons-Pearl-w-Turquoise-Weskit-Glass-in-Brass-/263213449416
Victorian Buttons: Denotes a variety of different types of buttons made between 1850 and 1900. Molded glass buttons with raised designs and a lot of gold. Because too many buttons were made in this period, the term is not very effective and it is not used as often anymore.
Victorian Jewels Buttons: Large jewel buttons with glass centers that were made mostly for coats. Most have wire shanks; very few with self-shanks. Identical smaller versions of these buttons were also made so it can get confusing.
Volute Shell Buttons: These are now called Pinna Shell Buttons. Pinkish-brown in color and finely incised with line designs on their flat polished surface, which has been filled with silver, old or white paint. Made in the 19th century. 1/2” to over 2”. Can be scarce. (See photos from Button Country (NBS site)
at end of list.)

Wafer Buttons: Wafer-thin buttons were made with flat glass fronts, metal backs and loop shanks. Between the glass and metal was usually a design — paper cutouts, tinsel, silver paint. 1/2” to 1”.
Waistcoat (Weskit) Buttons: In the 18th Century, mens’ waistcoats (vests) were heavily embroidered, buttons, as well. Buttons used on the trouser were the same size as the vests’ ones, so it is hard to tell where they were sewn on. However, very few embroidered buttons were used on pants. Shanks on 18th century buttons were heavier than what was made in the 19th century.
Wanamaker, John W. Buttons: Wanamaker was a merchant and his employees wore uniforms on which five different styles of buttons were used over the years. The name Wanamaker is on the back.
Washington Inaugural Buttons: Buttons made special for delegates to wear to George Washington’s inaugurals. Highly coveted! Hand-stamped coat buttons were large (in the fashion of the day) and made of copper, brass or Sheffield silver plate. Small buttons also made of those materials. Twenty-two different patterns have been found, five which were small. www.georgewashingtoninauguralbuttons.com/
Watch Crystal Buttons: Buttons with a glass face as thin as a watch crystal. Usually convex with a reverse-painted circles or flowers (rare with birds). Backs were flat metal disks with loop shanks. On the inside of the back, a cream-colored cement holds small pieces of pearl shell, which enhanced the overall effect.
Watchcase Buttons: A two-piece gilt button shaped similarly to the hunting case of a watch. They have a flat top with a very low-relief design. Backs are a little larger than the fronts.
Waterbury Button Company Buttons: Began in 1812 when Aaron Benedict began making bone and ivory buttons in Connecticut. In 1944, the company took the Waterbury Companies.
Waterbury Manufacturing Company Buttons: This firm was organized in 1814. The buttons have high relief designs and are of fine quality of workmanship and material…also very rare.
Waterville Manufacturing Company Buttons: (Waterville is a section of Waterbury). Fine sporting buttons marked on the back with the company name.
Wedge Shank Buttons: The flat or wedge-shaped shanks were cast or handwrought with the body of the button and then a hole was drilled by hand. Found on bronze, brass and white alloy buttons made in the 18th century. www.buttoncountry.com/BackTypes2.html
Weinman, Frank X. Buttons: Glassblower who began making paperweight buttons in the 1940s. Most were flat, slightly domed or cone shaped. The buttons were advertised as Aventurine Glass Art and are very rare.
Wessel Buttons: 1950s and 60s.Harry Wessel made enameled stainless-steel buttons with designs that were enclosed by glass. Tiny objects, flowers or pictures were put inside often almost like 18th century habitat buttons.
Whistle Buttons: Started with small two-piece chinas with a hole on top and two on the bottom. Now includes one-piece buttons with a hole on top and two on the bottom. When the button is sewn on, the thread becomes recessed, therefore protecting it from daily wear. Whistle buttons can be found in a wide variety of materials. Small china whistles range from less than 1/4” to nearly 1”. 1creativeone.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/fridays-favorite-whistle-buttons/
William Eaves & Sons Buttons: Mostly found are one- and two-piece gilt sporting buttons with the name on the back.
Williston and Knight Company Buttons: Mrs. Samuel Williston started making buttons with bone and wooden molds by hand  in 1826. The company grew and expanded until it ended in 1922. Machine made buttons have been found with Samuel Williston and S. Williston on the backs.
Wire Mesh Back Buttons:  Commonly called Screen Back Buttons, they were patented in 1873. Hot glass used in making the buttons was squeezes into the holes of the mesh, which made the glass stronger.  The mesh is still obvious. Mostly used for black glass button making.
Women’s Land Army of America Buttons: Worn on the uniforms of officers of the Women’s Land Army of America, 1918-19. In the center of the round bronze buttons was a raised shield design in the shape of a “V” for victory. It enclosed WLAA in a banner motif over a sheaf of grain resting on a sickle. Rare.
Wood Buttons: Almost every type of wood has been used to make buttons since at least the 18th century. As buttons age, it becomes harder and harder to determine what type of wood they were made from unless they are cut. 18th century wood buttons were plain and often featured pin-head shanks. in the 19th century were decorated more — inlaid with other woods or materials, carved, painted or trimmed. www.buttoncountry.com/Wood-1.html
Work-Clothes Buttons: Worn on jackets and coats called “jumpers,” which were made to wear over overalls. Sometimes called overall buttons. The button face is brass and the backs were usually made of iron, with black lacquer and a loose wire shank. Many have designs, names or slogans.

Zodiac Buttons: In the 20th century, zodiac symbols and signs have been very popular on buttons. www.buttons-boutique.com/sign-of-the-zodiac.html


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"T" & "U" Buttons for September 18 Meeting

9/2/2017

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For September 18, 2017 meeting of Hernando County Button Collectors Group
Below is a list of categories from which you can choose a favorite "T" or "U" button(s) to bring for "Show 'N Tell." If there is not a website link with the description, you can try  google-ing the term and add the word "images" to find photos of the type. Also look for Teacups, Trees, Tigers, Tabbies, Underwear, etc. Look especially for "sew-through" buttons for our card  activity.
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Tagua Nut Buttons: More familiarly known as Vegetable Ivory buttons. The tag nut, which is about the size of a large egg, comes from the tag or cores palm. www.buttoncountry.com/VI-1.html
Tally-Ho Buttons: Refers most commonly to sporting buttons, more specifically, hunting.
Tapa Cloth Buttons: Buttons made from this soft bark of the paper mulberry tree or bread nut tree that grow on the South Sea Islands. Most sold at tourists shops. Shades of brown and size ranges from 1/2” to an inch.
Tapestry Buttons: The woven cloth found on buttons that are sometimes called “Tapestry” were made on Jacquard looms.
Teardrop Buttons: The teardrop refers to the small mound on the top of mostly molded “Reflector” glass buttons. The mound is also called a dewdrop. www.etsystudio.com/listing/265911088/chartreuse-fancy-dew-drop-czech-glass
Thread Back Buttons: Crisscross black, brown or white threads are wound over the cup-shaped back to create a shank. Then a stiff cardboard was inserted under threads to keep them tight. The button front was secured to the back with a roll or rim. Buttons types with thread backs include: tole, crystallized tin, stamped gilt, inlay, glass, metal pictures, beaded fabrics and lithographs. Made from 1820 to 1900. Threads are old now and are extremely fragile or gone.
Thread Center Buttons: Buttons with center design made of threads. Found mostly in glass and vegetable ivory buttons. www.etsystudio.com/listing/281392930/5-green-buttons-with-thread-center
Tin Buttons: Tin was used to cover the fronts and backs of buttons in the 19th century to help prevent rusting. Very thin coating often has worn off.
Tingue Buttons: Glass buttons (of all colors) with a small piece of gold or silver set into a cavity created for it on the top of the button. A faceted piece of clear glass that had been “flashed” with red, blue or green coloring, was placed overtop. The button bodies are usually faceted, too, and all have self-shanks. Ball, domed, octagon and square shapes. (Senator) Tingue Button Collection: 90,000 buttons made in the 1800s were given to Senator Tingue through a promotion in 1886. Now all reside in Connecticut State Museum.
Tinsel Trim Buttons: Shell, vegetable ivory, composition and glass buttons were drilled to make cylindrical holes that were then filled with adhesive and then powdered with fine tinsel, which sunk below the level of the button where it was somewhat protected. Many are now found without tinsel or tinsel that lost its shine.
Tintype Buttons: Button discs were covered with a ferrotype “print” and then rimmed. First made around 1860. Men wore the picture buttons of their mothers, wives or sweethearts. www.thebuttonmonger.com/tintype-post-mortem-1-1-2/
Toggle Buttons: Known as “Link Buttons” the shanks include an attached round link, which commonly was used to link buttons. Mostly worn on European mens’ coats and breeches beginning in the 1700’s.
Tole Buttons: Tole means “ sheet iron” in French, which now in button “talk” refers to buttons having metal disks that were first tinned and then decorated with lacquered designs and finished with a brass rim to hold the front and back together. Sometimes collectors call all metal buttons treated with lacquer, toles. Often found badly scratched.
Tombac Buttons: Tombac is a variety of brass from which mostly large, one-piece buttons were made. Some were hand-stamped and some were cast in domed or concave shapes. Others were decorated with gilt or brass designs. r.ebay.com/lMrO2c
Tortoiseshell Buttons: Shell that comes from hawksbill turtles. Tortoiseshell is harder and more brittle and less fibrous than ordinary horn. All these buttons were handmade through a laborious process involving scraping, layering numerous pieces and heated under pressure. Very few made in USA. Tortoise shell has also been used to decorate other buttons. www.etsy.com/listing/226437060/antique-buttons-made-of-tortoise-shell?show_sold_out_detail=1
Townsend, Irma Buttons: Ms. Townsend hand-shaped ceramic buttons with molded raised designs. They were sold by George E. Adams, consequently they are also called “Adams” buttons. Very few have her initials.
Transfer Buttons: Refers to adding a design to a button like adding a decal to an object. Porcelain and shell most commonly are seen with transfers. They can resemble fine painting, if done well.
Transportation Buttons: Buttons made for uniforms, including coats, vests and sleeves. Some stock patterns were used (brakeman’s, trainman’s, conductor’s, gripper’s, baggageman’s) that could be used by any company but most companies had their own designs. www.ebid.net/us/for-sale/british-railways-uniform-buttons-set-of-3-vintage-buttons-163251307.htm
Transportation Design Buttons: Modes of transportation depicted on buttons. Automobiles are most common. Age of vehicle does not necessarily relate to when button was made. Buttons of many different materials.
Trifles Buttons: Buttons that were made of a cheap grade of pewter.
Tunbridge Tunnery Buttons: Polychromatic woodwork used in 20th century to make buttons.  Tunbridge is a small town in England. M.E. Brown, of California, was later able to duplicate the process to create inlay buttons similar to the early Tunbridges.
Turn-again Buttons: Describes a design that is the same when it is turned. (Like an ink blot bleed when a paper is folded.) The designs are scare and the term is seldom used.
Turner Buttons: Buttons designed with four reputations of the letter “F” — the sign of health in Germany — Frisch (fresh), Fromm (loyal), Froh (happy) and Frei (free).  Made around 1911 for an athletic/gymnastics group. Some found on black glass.

Underglass Buttons: Metal buttons with glass centers and designs under the glass. Mostly made in late 19th or early 20th centuries. These cuplike buttons were usually made of brass and had self-shanks or wires. The transparent, clear or colored glass was sometimes domed or flat with built-up sides. The designs under the glass can be made of a variety of materials.
Uniform Buttons: The range of uniform buttons for collecting is extensive. It includes military, government, transportation, protection, societies, institutions and more.
United Confederate Veteran Buttons: These buttons have a Confederate flag in the center and the initials U C V with “1861-1865” at the bottom. get.google.com/albumarchive/117553755650519583461/album/AF1QipNo7la3oBXfO6J85ECPrwatGxlzQ-6SPnxitUZn


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    Sylvia Liszka Durell, Author

    Owner of HoleyButtons.com and a founding member of the Hernando County Button Collectors Group in Florida.

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