Planetary Wonder Button

By Jupiter! What in the world is this cosmic thing? Ladies and gentlemen, have a good look at my four-tone galaxy button made of circular Bakelite inlays. I see three planets here in green, red and creamed corn, each piece set in a spacey black background (and even the black background was precision-cut to fit inside the larger red frame of the button). Look at the skill and the artistry that went into this unique knockout. Surely, it took a master plastician to create this tour de force of style. A rare Bakelite solar system, this button was made in 1927 and it's likely the most valuable button in my collection. An absolute showpiece.

-Sherbert McGee

Tricolored Objet d'Art

True Story: Several years ago I met a lady in Cleveland, Ohio who was working as a curator for a museum and who was in charge of dismantling pieces of the museum, which had decided to close its doors. Part of them museum featured an exhibit of "American Industry" items and this included several examples of Bakelite. As the museum downsized before closing, this particular lady was responsible for auctioning off certain historical objects and works of art. This button was part of the auction and I was able to place the winning bid. It is a very large button that goes back to the year 1931. Brightly eye-catching, it's made of three pieces of Bakelite in the colors green, chocolate and custard yellow. The three sections form this carved flower with sloped petals and a thin smattering of barely visible patina. The button is also an example of art deco, perfectly blending geometry with a stylized floral motif. Of course, all Bakelite buttons belong in museums on account of their rarity and vintage significance. But this one really did sit for a while inside of a museum in Ohio. I count it among my very favorite buttons.

-Sherbert McGee   

Checkered Wowzer

My friend Doreen sold me this button a few years ago and I've got to say it's one of the most SPECTACULAR buttons I've ever seen. Sixty-four pieces of Bakelite comprise this checkerboard button. Count them! That's a whopping 64 pieces of yellow and maroon Bakelite—all fitted together to form this masterpiece of extraordinary craftsmanship. This is a large button, likely made in the 1930's or 40's. The work that went into a simple button back then is astounding compared to the chintzy, run-of-the-mill  buttons we see today. If there was ever a button that illustrates the ornate style of last century's bygone fashions, here it is. A grand harlequin of Jazz-Age flair.

BONUS BUTTONS: Here's another pair of two-tone buttons that I thought I'd share today. The button to the left is an art deco zinger made of apple juice Bakelite that was cut diagonally after a sinfully bright piece of red Bakelite was added to the top. The angularities of the cut designs give this button a vogue splash that honors the glamour of 1920's flamboyance. Can't you just imagine a juicy row of these buttons on the blouse of Tallulah Bankhead or some other actress in the 1930's? The button to the right reminds me of a bell. An orange Bakelite ball dangles under a Bakelite arch. If this isn't a button it may very well be a charm from a larger piece of jewelry, such as a necklace.

BONUS BUTTONS II: More buttons! This assortment is too delicious and I'm totally spellbound by every piece. The apple juice square might be my favorite with striped carvings beneath each of the pointy corners. What a hoot! The rectangular button is orange with a carved leaf design that was filled in with turquoise paint. That's turquoise on orange and what a color combo! The green toggles remind me of stubby toadstools and they exude positive vibes. Lastly, the burgundy button sports a fantastic carving of a flower and leaves. All of these buttons are made of Bakelite and they all hark back to the 1920's/1930s's. I love the saturated colors and the hearty juju of genuine Bakelite.

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC 

-Sherbert McGee

Philly-Style Bakelite

Philadelphia Bakelite is a style of Bakelite plastic that every collector aspires to get their hands on. Deliciously colorful and elegantly structured, it exemplifies all the addictive qualities of Bakelite with its vivid tones, smart design, tight craftsmanship and vintage magnetism. Going back to the sixties, there's an interesting story behind Philadelphia Bakelite. To learn how it got its name, please scroll back to my post on September 16, 2017 in which I shared two Philadelphia Bakelite buttons and explained the background of this most interesting variety of Bakelite jewelry. 

Today's button comes from another antique shop that I visited nearly twenty years ago in New York City. To my amazement, the button came with a matching buckle; and the set is absolutely stunning. Five heavenly colors of Bakelite form these items. On the button, a circular base made of orange juice Bakelite was decorated with a band of more Bakelite constructed out of pointy stripes in the colors butterscotch, green, espresso brown and orange. The buckle is built with the exact same Bakelite colors, but with a design all its own. This set of Philadelphia Bakelite was made in 1933.

-Sherbert McGee

Plants and Animals

Look at some of the finest Bakelite button collections, including illustrated books of the subject, and surely you will discover some of the rarest and most highly sought-after buttons, which were made in the shapes of plants and animals. This pair of buttons comes from the extraordinary button shop of my friend, Doreen. At right, a bundle of leaves (or perhaps a posey) makes for a fetching button carved out of red Bakelite. At left, a button made of creamed corn Bakelite is shaped like a single bud above a stem and two leaves. These fine and flowery old buttons go back to the 1930's.

Animal buttons are among the hardest Bakelite buttons to find; and they are by far the most costly. Over the years, on this blog, I've highlighted an elephant, a horse, a turtle, a couple of birds, several sea creatures and even a bright orange butterfly. Today I'm unveiling two more animal buttons and here they are: a green Bakelite coyote with a glass eye and a swordfish sculpted out of rootbeer Bakelite with a painted eye. Be sure to look at the chiseled, rough-hewn texture on the wild dog. I forked out a pretty penny on these Bakelite beasts and I'm happy to house them in my vintage zoo.

Nature obviously inspired a lot of these old buttons and here's two more of them in the shapes of a spotted bug and a lovely acorn. What exactly is this insect we are looking at? Is it an exotic beetle or maybe a termite? I'm not a fan of vermin-shaped buttons, but this one doesn't creep me out too much. It's made of clear and glimmering apple juice Bakelite. The acorn is made of creamed corn Bakelite and displays the variability of this olden-day plastic with a smooth area and a lumpy crown. That's all for today. Thank you for looking at some of my all-time favorite biological specimens.

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC 

-Sherbert McGee

Beglittered & Bejeweled

BEGLITTERED: Perhaps the most eye-catching of all Bakelite buttons are the ones infused with a New Year's Eve party. Here are two of those buttons and they are not to be missed. Nor could you miss them since they are impossible to not see. Flooded in gobs of glitter, these oblong wowzers are ovular with capped ends. Everything is Bakelite. The bulk of these babies is apple juice Bakelite. The more highly pictured button is blessed with burgundy bumpers (Bakelite), while the lower button is decorated with curvaceous side-panels in a rare shade of dark blue-green teal (also Bakelite). When Bakelite swallows glitter, the result is a champagne blowout: Ritzy. Excessive. Jubilant.

BEJEWELED: While glitter is fun, perhaps diamonds are where that fun turns luxurious. Here we have three sensational ball buttons made of apple juice Bakelite, and these roly-poly beauties are not merely fun. They are downright extravagant. Measuring just under one inch across, they're chunky orbs with more rhinestones riding their hides than I care to count. The sun took a literal shine to these fancy globes; and would you look at the firelight caught in all three of their shadows. The antique dealer who sold me these buttons claimed to have purchased them from the estate of Lizabeth Scott—a smoky-voiced actress most known for her film noir pictures of the 1940's. 

BEGLITTERED and BEJEWELED: Today's post ends with a bling instead of bang; and here's a grand finale that refuses to be ignored. There are two buttons here: a gigantic belt-buckle sized showstopper made of orange juice Bakelite that was studded with twenty rhinestones, and a smaller button made of apple juice Bakelite with two inlaid black Bakelite circles set in just the right position to make the buttonholes look like googly eyes. What more, this button was glittered with a golden hailstorm decorating its translucent interior. Normally I wouldn't set one button on top of the other for a blog photo, but that massive slab of orange Bakelite was just begging to be treated like a stage. And that's showbiz!

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC

-Sherbert MCGee   

Bakelite+Wood: Jackpot!

After many years of collecting Bakelite buttons, I've accumulated a slew of them that were made with wooden bits. They are most unusual in that these two materials couldn't be more dissimilar. Bakelite is a type of plastic made of synthetic elements. Obviously man-made, it is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin. And wood is wood. Put them together and the result is a peculiar combo of the organic and the inorganic. Nature meets plastic. And just look at this vivid variety of Bakelite buttons produced with lumber components. The big button at the center depicts an art deco design. Beneath it, the eye-shaped button is made of apple juice Bakelite over wood. The two pieces are ridged where they connect at the center—giving the button a striped texture. The topmost button pictured here is made with a wood base and then two tones of red Bakelite, which are clearly visible with a pinkish red sandwiched under a maroon layer. What else can be said of these quirky half-breeds? When timber and Bakelite get married, they indeed bear some fascinating children. 

This pair of buttons has been in my collection for approximately one hour. I purchased these buttons earlier this week from my friend Doreen and they literally just showed up in my mailbox. Not too long ago, my collection of Bakelite/wood buttons seemed complete. But when I saw these two buttons in Doreen's shop, I had to snatch them up on account of their unique style. I don't find buttons like this very often with the Bakelite framing the wood—and with such excellent precision. The round button shown here was carved with a dramatic set of lines that run seamlessly over the circular midsection of wood as well as the apple juice Bakelite. The square button was built similarly, but the wooden area runs smooth with all the carved details whittled into the black, Bakelite border. Bakelite buttons are peculiar enough by themselves, but get some wood involved and they become truly eccentric.

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC 

-Sherbert McGee