Here's something you don't see every day. With their spherical wads of uncountable rhinestones, these sparkly and unusual buttons are four dashing monarchs of rare ostentation (from the 1930's). The bases are deeply ruffled chunks of creamed spinach Bakelite and these are not petite buttons. They are, in fact, stocky and substantial with enough heft to shock this collector when I discovered them some years ago at an antique plaza in Boston. So deep are those thick Bakelite folds that they do pack more patina than I prefer on my buttons, but I'll get to cleaning them someday—once I'm done marveling at their spectacular features. Visible in this photo, the top button is corroded with a yellow infection plaguing the metal piece that grips the gemstones. Still and all, this set of four is the grandiose finale of my week-long celebration of Bakelite+bling.
-Sherbert McGee
Here's a button that might as well come from the Land of Oz. Sweep your eyes over this wonderfully extraordinary find! The base is a sort of blob-shaped marvel in bright apple juice Bakelite. Hovering above it rests a metal star escutcheon, ornamented with rhinestones and a truly immaculate pearl. So dramatic and exciting, the whole shebang resembles a priceless object, culled from the boudoir of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Circa 1930.
-Sherbert McGee
Put this button in a slingshot and you could take down a Mastodon. Chunky, chunky chunky! Did I mention that this button is considerably chunky? Made for a sturdy fabric, it's a coat button in fiery creamed tomato Bakelite with fine veins of yellow mixed into the bright red tone. What's difficult to photograph about this button is its wedge-like girth, as this baby is truly sizable. The deep carvings going around the button are reminiscent of a stylized sunburst and what's more, the button is girded in a metal belt that's dotted in rhinestones. Inasmuch as this rugged beauty goes back to the 1920's, some of the stones are missing. But a few lost gems are nothing compared to the hearty magnitude of this Bakelite wowzer.
-Sherbert McGee
Here we are on Day Two of my "Bejeweled Bakelite" week and today I'm presenting this large coat button in licorice Bakelite with carved rings and a majestic outer circle of gemstones. The jewels are rhinestones, bezel-set in brass; and there are 34 of them. It's a queenly button from the 1920's with a little bit of patina to offset that halo of glistening riches.
-Sherbert McGee
Last month I posted a button with a big rhinestone riding its center and announced that "coming soon" I'd be posting a week of bejeweled Bakelite. As promised, that week has come and today we begin with this major sparkler in butterscotch Bakelite. Adhered to the button, I count 55 rhinestones and if that isn't fancy enough, the piece is flower-shaped and carved with textural embellishments between the gemstones. See how she glimmers! It appears that someone has dropped a diamond necklace into a butterscotch whirlpool. So reflective are the jewels, I had to tilt this button away from the sun to get a photo that wasn't engulfed in light. This beauty was made in the early 1940's.
Get set for a whole week of Bakelite studded with delicious bling!
-Sherbert McGee
Yin and Yang buttons are nothing new on this blog. I've posted several, but this one takes the cake. It's absolutely magnificent. A sizable Bakelite coat button going back to the 1930's, the colors are a brightly smooth licorice against a golden butterscotch—carved with scales and a flower. Such is the strange loveliness of this button, it looks like a koi fish dancing cheek-to-cheek with an inky tadpole. Just stunning!
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BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
Okay, let's get something straight. There's been a lot of confusion about Catalin and what it is in contrast to Bakelite, but that's the problem. Stop comparing apples to apples! Catalin is a specific brand of phenol formaldehyde resin (pfr) and so is Bakelite! Bakelite, however, is the go-to word for pfr and that's the general rule according to book publishers, fashion experts and vintage plastic know-it-alls. When the Bakelite patent expired in 1927, the Catalin Corporation stepped in and began their own manufacture of the plastic. They may have made some in-house developments or experimented with the original Bakelite recipe, but from a collector's perspective, there's no point in discriminating. A perfect example of the Bakelite/Catalin confusion can be illustrated with this extravagant pair of buttons in shiny black licorice with apple juice midsections. When I walked into an antique bazaar last year in Mesa, Arizona, I casually asked the saleslady if there was any Bakelite in the shop. "No," she said, "but I do have some Catalin buttons stashed away in a curio cabinet." HELLO! It's all the same, peeps! Here are those "Catalin" buttons in all of their dusted-off glory—and yes, they tested positive for Bakelite. Remember, Catalin is just a more specific way of saying Bakelite, just like you might refer to your car as a Ford or a Chrysler. There's a lot I don't know, but this is one area where I have some legal and historical knowledge. Have a nice day and class dismissed.
-Sherbert McGee
Every now and then I like to roll out a necktie and use it as a backdrop for a button. Here's my new navy blue fashion piece, topped with an enormous jawbreaker-of-a-button in creamed corn Bakelite. This button is absolutely humongous!!! A major butter ball, it measures at least an inch across with fantastic carvings that alternate between a leaf design and a patch of textured nubs. Harking back to the 1920's, this is one helluva Bakelite orb!
-Sherbert McGee
How could I resist these bulbous gems? I bought them earlier this year from an antique vendor in Leavenworth, Kansas. Made of apple juice Bakelite, these buttons sport bits of red and yellow paint at their bottoms. Round as gumdrops, I flipped one of them over to show the metal shank and also a clearer view of the paint, which was applied to faintly carved etches in the Bakelite. These buttons have the look of amber bubbles. They go back to the 1920's.
-Sherbert McGee
All this year I've been posting rocker buttons once a month and here's the latest: a set of two large sized and one that's a wee bit smaller—adding up to a family of three. Fine & Dandy (and Dandy Junior), these rockers are bright red with creamed corn tops and an exuberant shine. Made in the 1920's, buttons such as these are a decade shy of turning a century in age. And they wouldn't be pictured on this blog if they didn't test positive for the desired plastic. You guessed it. These rocker buttons are 100% Bakelite.
-Sherbert McGee
