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September, 2018 The Antique Shoppe Page 3
Antique buttons were produced using all sorts of
Another collectible Victorian original is the black
WHITLEY’S materials at hand, from stone and metal, to ceramics and glass button, which became fashionable after 1861,
AUCTIONEERS glass, to bone and antler. To collect buttons is to collect when the Queen’s husband, Prince Albert, died, and she

Button Up! the story of how we as a species have historically chosen took to wearing mourning black, leading to a rise in the
to outfit our persons.
popularity of black clothing and jewelry. The first black
Originally, buttons weren’t arranged in rows, but
Collecting Antique were used individually as stylish accents. buttons were made from jet, a fossilized mineral.
But the expensiveness of jet led to black glass
and Vintage These early buttons usually consisted of a being substituted.
flat decorative face that fit into a loop.
Between the First and Second World
Buttons (Reinforced buttonholes weren’t Wars, glassblowers from Bohemia,
dreamed up until much later, during now part of the Czech Republic,
By CLIFF DUNN the 13th century). produced another popular
Buttons, along with buckles, collectible type of glass button.
What is it about buttons that makes brooches, and pins, were used by The styles ran from Art Deco to
them collectible, and what drives the the ancient Romans as decorative buttons produced in the shape of
interest to collecting them in the first closures for complex garments. the objects they depicted, known
place? Among the earliest buttons as “Realistics.” After World War
Our connection to buttons begins were ceramic Satsumas from Japan. II, Bohemian artisans produced
almost with our earliest memories. It is a largely Made in the 17th century by potters, “Moonglow” buttons with opaque
unmarked yet still very satisfying rite of childhood these decorative buttons were painted bases and clear glass faces. Most of
passage when, around the age of four or five, we first in intricate detail, with depictions of these post-war Bohemian buttons
master the dexterity needed to button and unbutton for miniature scenes from daily life and Medium Signed Japanese were produced for export to Russia,
ourselves. the natural world. Satsumas didn’t find Repousse Silver and Enamel Floral as seen by the button cards written in
I wonder if that same primal sense of their way to Europe and North Cyrillic script.
accomplishment was felt by the ancient America until the mid-1800s, one reason they Also noteworthy are 19th and 20th century enamel
craftsman who created the first button: are highly collectible. buttons. Cloisonne buttons were difficult to produce
according to an Encyclopedia of the Also valuable are brass Victorian because the process required that tiny threads of wire be
History of Technology, “the earliest picture buttons, which were stamped soldered to a base. The cavities were filled with enamel
known button was found at Mohenjo- with images inspired by popular and the button was fired. Champleve enamel buttons
Daro in the Indus Valley [now Pakistan] entertainment, from children’s books are also beautiful, but generally less expensive to collect
… made of a curved shell and about to Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. because the process of creating them was easier than
5,000 years old.” Victorians who wanted to express with Cloisonne.
their fancy for an author or work Celluloid was the first man-made plastic, developed
would sew buttons decorated with in the 1800s from cellulose, a derivative of wood and
ABOVE: Large 20th Century Realistic scenes from the novel or play on their cotton fibers. Celluloid buttons became popular from
Arita Porcelain Clown from Japan. shirts or coats. Other picture buttons the late 19th century through the 1920s.
RIGHT: Extremely rare Large Gay 90 were adorned with images of flora and fauna, Continued on Page 13
Jewel with 3 Egyptian Heads astronomical bodies, and mythology.

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ARCADIA
Association
Voted
Members “Best Antiquing
“Come Spend the Day With US” Town in Florida”
20 ANTIQUE SHOPS IN 3 BLOCKS By Florida Monthly
Magazine
Bizarre Bazaar ........................863-456-5608
Miss Pearl’s Place ...................863-494-0232 @
Corey’s Antiques ...................863-494-5959 ORANGE AVE MONROE ST POLK AVE DESOTO AVE
OAK STREET
Maddy’s Antiques ..................863-494-2500
Yellow Brick Road ..................863-993-3000 !

MADDY'S ANTIQUES Antique Association Proprietors Dale & Sharon
NOW OPEN IN OUR
121 W. Oak St. of Arcadia NEW - LARGER LOCATION!

863-494-2500 www.ArcadiaFLAntiques.com YELLOW BRICK ROAD

Specializing in: MONTHLY BARGAIN Antiques & Collectibles
Country, Primitives, ANTIQUE FAIR 120 W. Oak Street
Vintage Sports (Every 4th Sat 8am-3pm) DAYS Arcadia, FL 34266
SEP 22 (2ND SATURDAY) 863-993-3000
Thur. & Fri. 12-4, Sat. 10-4 or by appt. OCT 27 • NOV 24
View our store at: Booth Info 863-993-5105 September 8 ALWAYS BUYING
maddysantiques.net 1 One Piece or Entire Estate 2