1,000 Days of Buttons!

This fabled mustang is one of the Holy Grails of Bakelite buttons. Once upon a time, my hunt for this button could not be tamed. For many years I searched for it until this one finally found its way into the stable of my safekeeping. A fantastic example of old-time plastic, this sought-after superstar has been featured in books on Art Deco and Bakelite. For me it epitomizes the ostentatious world of the 1920's and 1930's like no other button. A butterscotch horse profile resting in a rootbeer dish, it's got loads of style, scads of charm, a beautifully buttery color and that special Bakelite panache that is indescribable. The art deco horse head: Legendary! And on that note, here's to the end of an era. Consider this debonair horse a last hurrah and a grand finale. This button concludes my blog.

Since 2015 I have I enjoyed this hobby of photographing buttons and uploading them for the world to see. While I would love to keep going, the time has come for me to pursue other projects. Today marks my 1,000th post and I'm ready to move on. A special thank you to my good friend Doreen for being my #1 button supplier and co-adventurer in the pursuit of vintage buttons. Thank you also to the staff of River Market Antiques in Kansas City, and to the National Button Society. It would be remiss of me not to express my gratitude to Leo Baekeland, the chemist who invented Bakelite in 1907 at his laboratory in Yonkers, New York. Last of all, thank you to all who have followed my blog over the years. For better or worse, I leave it now to the unknown fate of the internet. 

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC

And that's a wrap!
-Sherbert McGee 

Bakelite w/ Goofus Glass

Twenty years ago I purchased this button at a little antique shop across the street from Coney Island in New York City. While the main gist of the button is made of creamed corn Bakelite, the pretty centerpiece is made of goofus glass or "goofy glass" as it is sometimes called. A type of intaglio, goofus glass is a style of carnival glass that goes back to the early 1900's. The glass was painted and put through a chemical process that gave it an opalescent quality. A popular household decoration, it was mass marketed and sold as ornamental plates, bowls and lamps well into the 1930's. Appreciated for its iridescent quality, the glass was sometimes formed into jewelry—as is clearly evident with this yellow flower button. I count this keepsake as one of my favorite antiques. The Bakelite was carved beautifully into eight petals and the goofus glass depicts five different flowers in a splashy assortment of bright colors. A Depression-era trinket button, circa 1935.

-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

Pure Prystal

Prystal, a transparent variation of Bakelite, is an interesting subcategory of the famously charming plastic. Here are three examples of Prystal buttons: 1. a chunky drum in a bright shade of red that I like to call cherry juice. 2. an apple juice "trinket button" in the shape of a bowling pin. 3. a large and glowingly rare orange button (and the only example of orange Prystal that I've ever seen, courtesy of my friend Doreen). All of these buttons exude a shimmering clearness. They are extraordinary.

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC

-Sherbert McGee

The Trinket Craze

 

 

Here's a zany hodgepodge of trinket buttons from the 1930's and 40's. The trinket trend or gadget fad came into existence during the Great Depression and lasted through WWII with all manner of playful doohickeys in the forms of pins, brooches, bangles, pendants and buttons brought to life in the forms of everything from penguins to pineapples. Pictured here are eight buttons surrounding a zipper-pull. (I couldn't help but include this jolly good fellow, even though he isn't a button). Notice the range of colors and the variety of shapes. Each button has been painted as part of their design. Very collectible, these little novelties fetch high prices in the vintage jewelry market. All are Bakelite. 

 

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC

-Sherbert McGee

These Buttons are Bananas!

Over the years, I've collected a small stash of banana buttons made of Bakelite—and here they are. Four bright yellow bananas of varying shades and styles, the lowermost button is a pressed design. The other three buttons were painted with a light smattering of brown spots and lines typically found on this popular fruit item. The largest button shown here is a Martha Sleeper creation that's been resin washed or dyed. Many of Martha's signature trinkets underwent a colorant process that altered or enhanced the original tone of the Bakelite. This bunch of buttons goes back to the 1930's-1940's.

A fun part of my button collection has been the gradual acquiring of these fruit & vegetable trinkets. All of these bright and shiny buttons have appeared at one time or another on this blog with the exception of the pumpkin (shown to the right of the strawberry), which I've not shared until now. Studying their curves and textures, each button here bears the appropriate carvings for veggie skin and fruit rinds with little bumps, dimples, lines and cleavage. Most of these buttons have painted details. They are all made of Bakelite, exemplifying the gadget jewelry fad that peaked after WWII.

-Sherbert McGee