It's a hot day outside, but this lump of chocolate won't be melting too soon. It's Bakelite! A huge old coat button from the 1930's, this hardy chunk is a special find. The large carvings at the top of the button form deep folds while the lighter and more shallow carvings depict three hearts, somewhat reminiscent of a shamrock. Feels to me like a charmed button. c. Depression era.
-Sherbert Mcgee
One of the reasons I never get tired of collecting Bakelite is because just when you think you've seen it all, something unexpected appears. Here's a great example: a red Bakelite button that's streaked with yellowish veins. The streaks are swirled throughout the Bakelite so extensively that this shade of Bakelite is known as creamed tomato. And why not? With other Bakelite colors designated as creamed corn and creamed spinach, there's plenty of room for other variations of soup-hued plastic. So here it is, folks: An especially zingy and truly unusual soup of the day.
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
Check out this extravagant puddle of stylized Bakelite. The apple juice rim is a stairway leading to a rootbeer swimming pool. Dive in! Isn't this button grand? From the 1920's, this two-tone eyeful wins me over with its bold albeit simple style. Clothing-wise, I'm convinced this button could've been an art deco focal point on a ritzy coat going back to the Herbert Hoover administration.
-Sherbert McGee
Like something dredged up from an octogenarian's boudoir, here's an old button from the early 1930's. Topped with an elongated ruby, which has since darkened to a bleak shimmer, this austere button is made of black Bakelite. Notice the 12 gouges that go around the faux gemstone and the shallow patina that's gathered therein. Owing to its fussy elegance, this button always makes me think of a priggish matron or maybe even a diabolical governess.
-Sherbert McGee
A grand button all around, this two-tone wonder reminds me of planets moving into alignment with a chocolate moon getting ready to stand in front of a giant orange juice sun. If my button stash has a horoscope section, this pretty gem could be the center of the universe. Is Mercury in retrograde? The impactful simplicity of the geometric design is a fantastic example of art deco. This is a large coat button from the 1930's. Both colors tested positive for Bakelite.
-Sherbert McGee
It's been a while since I've posted a button made of Prystal Bakelite, so here one is. The border of this strange magic is apple juice Bakelite. The centerpiece is what's especially unusual: a big chunk of spacey and shimmering green Prystal Bakelite that's been carved at the base. The carving shines through to the top surface, a weblike nexus of lines as intense as gathered-up lightning bolts! This button's been in my collection for years and years, but I have no memory of where I picked up such an eerie oddity. Maybe it was gleaned from an otherworldly dream?
-Sherbert McGee
Pretty as Corvettes, these art deco buttons tested positive for Bakelite. Candy-red and totally undimmed, despite their age, this perky pair wouldn't look misplaced on top of a frosted cupcake. Going back to the late-1920's, these spiffy keepers are designed with upraised grooves that remind me of the vouguish stylings on a super chic automobile at the height of the Jazz Age. So happening!
-Sherbert McGee
One of the sub-categories of Bakelite buttons is Bakelite buttons that incorporate elements of Lucite—a type of transparent plastic, which is related to Plexiglas. Usually the Bakelite portion of these buttons is black or tortoise; and on that note, here's a tortoise Bakelite button with a gorgeous Lucite centerpiece. As if looking through a kaleidoscope, the Lucite is resting over a metalized plate of fragmented stars. I don't collect buttons in this style, but since the tortoise section of the button is Bakelite, I purchased this one to round out my collection. That said, it's a beauty. circa 1940.
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
Here comes a pair of buttons in creamed corn Bakelite with etched designs adorning the tops like starry Mexican Christmas decorations. Over the years, I've seen buttons just like this pair many times in antique shops and in the collections of Bakelite junkies like me; and one thing is always the same: the stars on the buttons are consistently painted blue or pink, just as they are in this photo. Adding subtle details to the buttons' visual appeal, notice that small, angled pieces have been cut from the rims—giving the buttons a petaled shape. circa 1928.
-Sherbert McGee
So bright and shiny, this wonderfully smooth pileup of colors is actually a Bakelite button. Not your run-of-the-mill find, this is one of those apple juice varieties that's been painted (yellow, red, white and green) at the base. As seen from the top, the painted underside pretty much takes over the whole button and—viola!—here we have this nifty little dollop of four colors. From the 1930's.
-Sherbert McGee
