You won't find buttons like these too easily. According to the antique merchant who sold me these Bakelite cookie buttons, these are among the hardest cookies to find. A highly uncommon batch, they're green, black and orange with four buttonholes apiece on creamed corn midsections. But it's the square shape of these buttons that makes them so different and so special. Square cookies are hard to come by. Who knew? These hark back to the 1920's.
-Sherbert McGee
Lovely, isn't it? This old
button from the 1930's must've hung once on something extraordinarily
chic. It's a Bakelite button in a stunning tone of black licorice. The
Bakelite is etched with a fancy design reminiscent of French lingerie.
Adding an extra flourish, the button is wrapped twice in a metal belt.
As if all of that weren't enough, this button possesses a mirror-like
shine. Just dazzling.
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
In case I haven't made it perfectly clear, I love perfectly clear buttons. And on that note, check out these large and luscious apple juice buttons in tested Bakelite. I purchased these buttons earlier this summer from my favorite antique shop in Leavenworth, Kansas. But get this: these buttons were thrown together in a Ziploc bag with the word "celluloid" written on a price tag—the price for all three buttons being $1.50! I took one look and the buttons, jiggled them around, heard them click together and said, "Nope. These are definitely Bakelite." Had they been priced accurately, these buttons should've been tagged at $10 each. So test your buttons, peeps! Bakelite isn't your average plastic. This AJ trio goes back to the 1920's.
-Sherbert McGee
Here's an interesting trio of enormous sweater buttons from the 1920's or 30's in a color that's hard to identify. In my view, these are a brownish toffee tone when laid out in the daylight and more of a brownish green-apple indoors. They're also a bit more green looking in person, but that's Bakelite for you—often unwilling to be accurately photographed. What's more, these buttons are designed with wide, triangular buttonholes that look like hourglasses if not eyeholes on sinister masks.
All in all, a smart and hipstery set!
-Sherbert McGee
Why not celebrate for the sake of celebration? If it's your birthday today, Happy Birthday; and if it's not your birthday today, Happy Birthday anyway. The world needs more joy and here's a joyful button. It's a scalloped party favor in creamed corn Bakelite, speckled with greens and reds and maybe even some rare bits of blue. An end-of-day button from the Roaring Twenties. Enjoy!
-Sherbert McGee
Locusts are large tropical grasshoppers that are mentioned throughout the Bible in connection to plagues. Aristotle studied them. John the Baptist ate them. And Egyptians famously carved them on their tombs. As part of the art deco era, this glamorous cherry toggle is carved into a stylized locust that harks back to the Egyptian craze of the 1920's and 30's. It tested positive for Bakelite.
-Sherbert McGee
Here's a stunning button in the art nouveau style. While we're on the subject, let's get a definition of art nouveau since this style and the art deco style are often confused and warrant clarification:
Art Nouveau (ärt no͞oˈvō)
"A style of decorative art, architecture and design prominent in western Europe and the US from about 1890 until World War I and characterized by intricate linear designs and flowing curves based on natural forms."
Today's post features several hallmarks of an art nouveau masterstroke, not so much with the black Bakelite that provides the base for this highly ornate button, but with that marvelous escutcheon—a chunk of old metal detailing three snaky frills that grip a central orb. Look at the textural specifics of this meticulous construction! The effect is almost Celtic with its emblematic stateliness. Getting back to the Bakelite, the black plastic is carved with striped cuts and twelve shallow etchings, all of which enhance this button's already very exciting visual appeal. Before this year is through I'll be posting a full week of art nouveau buttons. Consider this an advanced teaser.
Visit Doreen's online store:
BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC
-Sherbert McGee
