A toast to apple juice Bakelite! What I love about this button is the carved undercurrent with all the engraved lines at the bottom of the button flowing in opposition to the carved lines at the top. The effect is a busy eyeful that throws light everywhere. Added to the fact that this fancy Lou-Lou is crowned with a big fake pearl and what we have here is a gleaming superstar of heritage plastic right out of the 1920's. Purchased at an antique shop in Buffalo, New York, I was told that this button comes from the estate of nearly-forgotten "Annie Edson Taylor" who famously went over Niagara Falls in a barrel in 1901. It wouldn't be the first time a fib was told between seller and buyer in the midst of semi-precious clutter. Several years ago, a lamp vendor in SoHo once tried selling me a candelabra that formerly "belonged" to Andy Warhol. But I digress... No synthetic material has quite the seasoned glare of apple juice Bakelite and here's a button that proves it. This dusted-off keepsake may resemble a tired relic off of Barbara Bush's church blouse, but back in the day this old prize might've been the attention-grabbing jewel on a promiscuous flapper's most daring party dress. All I know for sure is that this is Bakelite and it's beautiful. Bottoms up!
-Sherbert McGee
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