Buttons - Collecting

Button collecting is a comparatively new hobby, but one that is rapidly growing in popularity.

Buttons have been made at least since 1337 A.D., when they were mentioned in Piers Plowman, published in that year. Buttons, often made of precious metals inlaid with semi-precious stones, were originally used solely for decorative purposes. It was not until about the end of the fourteenth century that a button and buttonhole were employed to fasten garments. Even today, buttons still serve as decorations on women's coats, suits and dresses, and on the sleeves of men's coats and jackets.

Among the many materials of which buttons have been made are metal, pewter, brass, gold, silver, ivory, leather, wood, porcelain, glass, buffalo horn, mother-of-pearl, bone, paper, celluloid, plastics, agate, and jewels. Although utilitarian buttons are known to have been made throughout Europe since the fourteenth century, it was not until the eighteenth century that they were made in the United States. The demands of the Revolutionary War, combined with the reduced flow of imported goods, prompted the growth of the American button industry. The first button makers bought brass kettles and pots, and transformed them into buttons. When they had exhausted the local brass supply, they bought pewter mugs and plates until there was little pewter to be found in the colonies except in the form of buttons. The War of 1812 gave a fresh boost to the native button industry and placed further demands on the ingenuity of the makers. In 1827, covered buttons began to be manufactured in Massachusetts; a few decades later, brass buttons came back into vogue with the Civil War. After that, the local manufacturers began experimenting with celluloid and composition buttons, which permitted them to offer the buying public a new selection of attractive buttons in a wide variety of finishes and colors. The next step was the production of inexpensive and colorful buttons from a great number of newly developed plastic materials. These are the buttons most commonly used today.

Page 1 2 3

Home > Collecting > Buttons