Collecting Some collectors collect every kind of button they can lay their hands on; others limit their collections to certain kinds. Among the favorite categories are: the old pewter and brass buttons of the early American manufacturers (hard to find, but also fun to find and rewarding to trade); buttons from uniforms of all kinds; metal buttons; buttons covered in various fabrics; porcelain buttons; buttons made from unusual materials such as nuts, horn, hoof, and vegetable ivory; buttons of interesting shape, and even campaign buttons. Yes, the latter category is fair game for the button collector.

As with any other hobby, the more you know about the subject, *the more you will enjoy it. An excellent book on buttons is The Complete Button Book, by Lillian Albert and Kathryn Kent, published by Doubleday and Company in 1949.

Much of the pleasure of button-collecting lies in tastefully mounting your tiny treasures. You may wish to sew them on to appropriate backing materials, or store them in a series of lined boxes, or even mount the finest of them on black velvet and set them off with a frame; but no matter how you store and display them, you will want to be able to show them off to their best advantage and talk knowledgeably about the materials and history of each. After all, a good part of the pleasure of a hobby is in sharing it.




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July 5, 2008