Here we are, nigh on summertime and I feel inclined to post a handful of buttons that are especially good at glistening in the sun. Quench your thirst on four lime juice buttons, all Bakelite and pretty rare on account of the fact that lime juice is not an easy color to come by in Bakelite World. Owing to bits of pale green stirred into apple juice (or transparent Bakelite), the result is a refreshing and citrusy splash of 1929!
-Sherbert McGee
Such a fascinating oddity, just look at this large coat button going back to the 1930's! A thick and chunky hunk of pure Bakelite, it's the carved details that really made me sit up and take note of this unusual treasure. Like arcane symbols on a map, I see round points that remind me of juggled balls, several indentations and slopes, a vaguely triad shape and what appears to be three sailboats converging in a whirlpool. It's almost like a Rorschach test. What do you see?
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
With so many subcategories of "yellow" Bakelite, you'd think all the bases were covered. But here comes a Bakelite button so pale and rare, I'm sure I'd be wrong to call it creamed corn. So what is it: margarine? creamed potato? eggnog? I'm amazed by the tone of this gorgeous discovery, which might've been a stark white button back in the day before oxidization darkened it to this supple shea buttery hue. In fact, that's what I'm calling this color of Bakelite: Shea Butter. At any rate, it would be a sad mistake not to notice this button's other features. The flowering design presents us with the art deco style, carved here and there with exemplary elegance. The button is large, perhaps all that remains from a extraordinarily vogue poncho or a dashing fur coat, circa 1924.
-Sherbert McGee
A steal of a deal, I
purchased this major charmer last year from a Californian vendor who sold
this lovely button for a price that was shockingly low. Why so cheap? It's a
two-tone antique in cherry red Bakelite and apple juice Bakelite with an
art deco carving. So how on Earth was this archetype of Bakelite not a
costlier find? Moreover, this is not a small button! I love the sharp
contrast between the bright red and the transparent coloring and the bit
of purplish glue oozing up from the connective borderline. A dried bit
of visible glue isn't uncommon on two-piece buttons from the 1920's,
30's or 40's. And to be honest, I kind of like the look of the stuff.
Buttons with birthmarks are better buttons, with or without a discount.
-Sherbert McGee
Like the robotic innards of a steampunk rainbow, check out this array of workable cog buttons! At the time of purchase, I wasn't on the lookout for these gears since I already have so many, but when I saw the arrangement of this colorful selection in my friend Doreen's button shop, I just had to snap up this gamesome set. Toy-like and full of lively fun, the buttons go back to the 1930's (if not earlier) and they are simply amazing. Arranging them for this photo, I twisted the black one at the end of the tail and they all began to turn and function like on-duty elements of a playful contraption. As might be expected, these buttons did indeed test positive for Bakelite.
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
Here's a great big rootbeer button with a fudgy hub! Both colors tested positive for Bakelite and the rootbeer piece has twelve rings chiseled around the chocolate eye. Drenched in sunshine, you can really see the swirls upon swirls of magic happening in the rootbeer Bakelite whereas the smoothly upraised middle section is a nontransparent hunk of rich, rich brown. A token of the past, this button harks back to the infamous industrial slump of the Great Depression, circa 1932. Times were tough, but the buttons shone on and this one looks like a bubbly sundae.
-Sherbert McGee
What if flowers came in black? Mother Nature might not make them, but here's a factory-made blossom of some sort that comes from the 1930's. It's a Bakelite button, ridden with patina in the carved texture of the flower mid-bloom. Notwithstanding its shapely elegance, there's something a little macabre about a black tulip or a licorice crocus. Still and all, I think this baleful bud is sublime.
-Sherbert McGee
These toggles, just poured out of my toggle box, are a bit scuffed and tarnished owing to their age as I believe these go back to the 1920's. No matter, they are in good hands and I've been careful not to add to their weathered decline. At any rate, what makes this trio of toggles different from so many others is that these are fitted with metal rings at the ends. Hemmed in steel, the effect gives these Bakelite babies a durable distinction and a striking advantage. Stay tuned for more buttons that bear metallic frills. Later this month, I'm going to post a full week of Bakelite/metal buttons.
-Sherbert McGee
What must it have been like to be in charge of designing and carving Bakelite buttons back in the 1920's, 30's and early 40's? Some of my favorite antique buttons are the ones that illustrate the art deco style in heavily sculpted formations of leaves and flowers. This button is just the thing. Below the design of three leaves, the greatly carved circular section could be a fashionable cactus plant, unless it's a pineapple rind. Whatever the case, isn't it snazzy? The make is Bakelite and the color is creamed corn. From the 1930's.
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
Five rocker buttons all spread out in the sun, this flawless set goes back to the 1920's or 1930's. Rocker buttons are prime samples of the art deco look and these are no exception, each made of apple juice Bakelite with a dose of green plopped in the center. It's hard for me to choose a favorite style of button, but the nifty shapes & colors of these rockers puts them among my choice delights.
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
