Featured Antique buttons, I have no clue!

Hello all, apologies if this isn't the best forum to put this in! I pick up various older buttons at an auction recently and although I love them, I know very little about them. I'm hoping more knowledgeable minds can help me out with era (some Edwardian some Victorian maybe?!) material and if any of them would be considered interesting or special comparatively. Any and all info appreciated

 

I don't know the first thing about buttons, but the ones that look like a millipede curled up are kind of cool, creepy & distinctinve.

 

Ha, yes you're right they are super weird

 

This is s nice collection!
You might frame them in a shadow box.

 

Haven't worked with buttons in several years and all my books are packed away, but I can probably give you a bit of info. The majority of these buttons likely date from around the 1920s into maybe the '70s.

In the first group, the 1st button in the 2nd row is a mirror-back/twinkle, probably 1940s-50s, could be a bit earlier (despite often being described as 'Victorian', they're much later).

The 2nd button, 2nd row, along with the set of seven with the 'purling' motif (likely from a cardigan) in the 3rd and 4th rows, and the two 'worm' motif buttons in the 5th row, are all metallized plastic, probably mid 20th c.

The horse-head and armorial buttons, gilt brass or brass-plated, were likely on sport coats or cardigans, and the other metal buttons, whether self-shank or sew-thru (with exception of the last button in the 4th row), are probably all mid 20th c., but some might be earlier.

The 1st two buttons in 5th row look to be some kind of plastic, and the last two in the 6th row, though it's really hard to tell, might be vegetable ivory (tagua nut), probably right around the 1920s.

The 1st set in the 2nd group are dyed and pressed vegetable ivory (tagua nut), circa 1920s.

The 2nd set in the 2nd group, along with the last button in the 4th row of the 1st group, with their japanned steel backs and wire-loop shanks, look to be 'Austrian tinies' (you've given no sizes, but they should be about 1/2" in diameter or smaller), they'd date from the late 19th to early 20th century.

Just off the cuff, that's all I've got...

~Cheryl

 

Wow that's a lot of great information, thanks so much for taking the time to do that!!

 

Here are two Austrian tinies flanking a large picture button that I framed for my late Mom in the '80s-'90s:




A grouping of swan buttons:



An artisan scrimshaw on antler from around the same time, framed another with a lion on a crown slice by the same artist (Wahaba) for my late brother, now lives with his best friends:




Been quite a while since I framed them, but they're all mounted on thick cotton velvet glued to cardboard, the shanks through holes or slots, secured with whatever worked best (coated wire, a bit of toothpick, etc.)


~Cheryl

 

Oh, I love this! A great way to show them off!

 

Just beautiful!

 

What a lovely bunch! Interesting re: the 1st button in the second row. There were 8 or so in my Great Grandmother's button box that are very similar. They are the same filigree brass... but have Mother Of Pearl showing through. I always thought they were circa 1880.
I love the framing ideas!

 

Can't tell much from your image, but a stamped brass button set with pearl would be a typical of the late 19th century, they're sometimes quite large, and often French in origin. Has little to do with the OP's 'twinkle' button, which is typical of mid 20th century production, they might be all brass, a brass top with steel back, or all steel with gold, brass or silver plating (have even seen them in aluminum) - the reflective discs are usually polished steel and subject to rust. There are earlier 'mirror-back' buttons (including Austrian tinies), but they differ in quality and execution- the reflective bits sometimes polished brass (and might be silver or nickel plated), and sometimes the 'mirrors' are textured (to my thinking, negating the 'mirror-back' description, but who cares?)

Here are some similar to the OP's on their original cards:










~Cheryl