Last summer in June I posted a whole week of nautical-themed buttons in the shapes of fish, boats, seashells and anchors. This set of buttons was an option at the time, but I decided to save these for another day. Voila! Today's the day. Red Bakelite provides the backing for three brass escutcheons in the shapes of Italianate shells. Every time I look at these buttons I think of a sightseeing trip I experienced several years ago in Rome. While there, I could've spent the entire day staring at the baroque grandeur of Trevi Fountain—as featured in the films La Dolce Vita and Roman Holiday. The fountain is a limestone valentine to the lavish glory of Roman architecture and a must-see in the world of European art, but this isn't a travel blog, is it? Back to the buttons: With their old-world flourishes and a slightly tarnished maturity, these beauties remind me of the aforementioned, watery masterpiece. Plus, I absolutely love their cherry red gleam. At any rate, I've been posting buttons all this week with metal elements attached to true and tested Bakelite. This concludes the series.
Thank you and arrivederci!
-Sherbert McGee
Here's a studious looking button in brightly shined brass and a gorgeous slab of rootbeer Bakelite. The Bakelite is pinned to the rectangular metal foundation for a look that resembles a neatly framed shard of tortoise. Owing to the straps of brass that secure the Bakelite along the sides, the Bakelite appears to be shaped like a bow-tie (although it is not). Anyway, this tidy gem probably goes back to the 1940's. Considering its preppy vibe, I imagine it belonged to a spiffy jacket on a spiffy student. A collegiate relic!
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BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
All this week, I'm posting vintage buttons with metal components. Here's a big, black coat button from the 1930's. It's a Bakelite brute with interesting folds along the top and narrow slits cut around the perimeter. And then there's that brass chain running straight through the height of this sturdy bruiser-of-a-button. Definitely a substantial bad boy!
-Sherbert McGee
Every month I try to post at least one maroon button since maroon is a little more scarce than the other Bakelite colors and I simply don't have as much of it. On that note, here's the one and only maroon button I'm posting for this month and and since I'm also spending this week spotlighting buttons with metal accents, this button is wearing a silver barrette! What's more, the Bakelite is carved beautifully into a wavy pattern if not a raspberry sea—only to be crossed on that silver bridge. How perfect! Circa 1925.
-Sherbert McGee
Earlier this month I posted some toggles with metal hems and mentioned that I'd soon be posting a whole week of Bakelite buttons made with various metallic pieces. That week begins today with this incredible jade oddity. The button is made with a flat base and a perfectly round, ball-shaped topper nestled into the base (both sections tested positive for Bakelite). But most interestingly, the button is wrapped three times in aluminum wire—giving it a striped metal accent and making it look as if this button is behind bars. Although he's been in my button stash for years, I can't seem to recall where I found this jaunty jailbird.
-Sherbert McGee
Now here's what I call definitive ripsnorters. These buttons are as huge as they are gorgeous. With construction similar to the sunny AJ button in my last post, this pair of buttons consist of black bases with sun-cut edges. More impressively, the tops of the buttons are massive dollops of orange juice Bakelite. Plumply bulbous mounds, they sport carved details and tremendous heft. Majorly chunky, these buttons are almost baseballs! Studying their awesome shape and decorative might, I see a couple of two-tone suns, but these buttons could just as easily be a pair of behemoth flowers. What do you see? Purchased in New York City at a now-closed antique shop in Midtown Manhattan, the price tag on these had them listed as being made in the 1930's. Total classics, these really belong in a Fashion History Museum in a section devoted to early plastics.
-Sherbert McGee
A mighty serving of sunny Bakelite in two pieces, this large button is my way of ushering in the summer. Apple-juice Bakelite never shone so grandly! The bottom layer is a sun-shaped dish while the top piece is a truly whopping nugget—etched with softly rendered designs. The overall effect gives rise to a gorgeous ball of light. The sun!
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
