Buttons made fromseashell were used by the Indus Valley Civilization for ornamental purposes by 2000 BC.[5] Some buttons were carved intogeometric shapes and were pierced so that they could be attached to clothing with thread.[5] Ian McNeil (1990) holds that "the button was originally used more as an ornament than as a fastening, the earliest known being found atMohenjo-daro in theIndus Valley. It is made of a curved shell and is about 5000 years old."[6]
Egypt'sEighteenth Dynasty left behind ornate wig covers, fabricated through sewing buttons formed of precious metals onto strips of backing material.[7]
Leatherwork from the Roman Empire incorporates some of the first buttonholes, with the legionary'sloculus closed through the insertion of a metallic buckle, or button into a leather slit. A similar mechanism would later feature in early medieval footwear.[8]Buttons appeared as a means to close cuffs in theByzantine Empire and to fasten the necks of Egyptian tunics by no later than the 5th century.[9]
It has been proposed that the EuropeanCrusaders brought the innovation of the button loop back from the Middle East, allowing for more fitted garments for men. About this time, theVikings were also using buttons, which they had come across through their trading partners.[10]: xix Prior to the introduction of the buttonhole, two pieces of fabric were butted together, rather than overlapped, and toggles, belts, or lacings were used.[11]: 9 [12]: 19 Buttonholes to fasten clothing first appeared in 13th-century Germany.[13][14] The growing importance of buttons was marked by the establishment of button makingguilds in the 13th century. Initially,King Louis IX of France included button makers in the establishedrosary makers guild, but later regulations categorized button makers in three categories: those who worked in horn,bone, andivory, those who used metals, and makers who used precious metals and glass.[12]: 19–20
a doublet, a close fitting men's jacket worn in the Renaissance
The fitted fashions of theRenaissance required buttons to achieve their shape. For example, the tight-fitting jacket known as thedoublet required rows of many buttons. An additional opportunity to use buttons came with the incorporatinon of detachable sleeves into garments. This practice had been in use in Florence since the 1200s. Sleeves could be switched out to be washed or to be replaced by fancier sleeves demanded by particular settings.[12] Women's fashion that this time still used lacings, and thus buttons on their clothing were generally decorative.[11]: 9
Buttons were also impacted by the elegant culture of the Renaissance courts. They were no longer seen as simply utilitarian objects, but rather as luxury items that could reflect wealth and status. These buttons, some of which were made of precious metal encrusted with jewels, be seen as jewelry.[15]: 14 Because their owners might want to move these valuable buttons from one piece of clothing to another, they often were not sewn on with thread. Rather, their shanks were pushed through the fabric and were held in place with metal strips inserted through the shank.[16]: 8 At the time, wood, bone, brass and pewter made it possible for less expensive buttons to be produced.[16]: 8
Silk buttons on a late 16th century jerkin from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute
Fabric-covered buttons and embroidered buttons became popular in Europe in the 17th century. These were often small, and served a decorative, rather than functional, purpose. The early 17th century shortjerkin, wide breeches and cloak may have been adorned by dozens of buttons, and with so many, they needed to be lightweight.[10]: xx The mid century French-originated knee-length coat, thejustaucorps, had buttons from the neck to the knee, buttoned sleevecuffs, and buttoned flaps on thepockets.[12]: 24–25 [17]
French law, concerned with protecting the silk industry in Paris and Lyons, required buttons to be covered in silk. On the other hand, England did not allow fabric buttons in the late 1600s and early 1700s.[16]: 9 Tailors could make fabric-covered buttons with leftover fabric, which threatened the guild of button makers.
Since at least the seventeenth century, when box-like metal buttons were constructed especially for the purpose,[18] buttons have been one of the items in whichdrugsmugglers have attempted to hide and transport illegal substances. At least one modern smuggler has tried to use this method.[19]
Because buttons have been manufactured from almost every possible material, bothnatural andsynthetic, and combinations of both, the history of the material composition of buttons reflects thetimeline of materials technology.
Nowadays, hard plastic, seashell, metals, andwood are the most common materials used in button-making; the others tending to be used only in premium orantique apparel, or found incollections.
Three plastic sew-through buttons (left) and one shank, fabric-covered button (right)
*Flat or sew-through buttons have holes through which thread is sewn to attach the button.[32] Flat buttons may be attached bysewing machine rather than by hand and may be used with heavy fabrics by working a thread shank to extend the height of the button above the fabric.
An assorti ofshank buttons
Shank buttons have a hollow protrusion on the back through which thread is sewn to attach the button.[33] Button shanks may be made from a separate piece of the same or a different substance as the button itself, and added to the back of the button, or be carved or moulded directly onto the back of the button, in which latter case the button is referred to by collectors as having a 'self-shank'.
Plastic studs for bedclothesShirt studs
Stud buttons (also push-through buttons or just studs) are composed from an actual button, connected to a second, button-like element by a narrow metal or plastic bar. Pushed through two opposing holes within what is meant to be kept together, the actual button and its counterpart press it together, keeping it joined. Popular examples of such buttons are shirt studs andcufflinks.
Snap fasteners (also pressure buttons or press studs) are metal (usually brass) round discs pinched through the fabric. They are often found on clothing, in particular on denim pieces such as pants and jackets. They are more securely fastened to the material. As they rely on a metal rivet attached securely to the fabric, pressure buttons are difficult to remove without compromising the fabric's integrity. They are made of two couples: the male stud couple and the female stud couple. Each couple has one front (or top) and rear (or bottom) side (the fabric goes in the middle).
Illustration from 1908 Chambers's Twentieth Century. Toggle, n. (naut.) a short bar of wood, tapering from the middle towards each end, placed in an eye at the end of a rope, to keep the end from passing through a loop or knot.
Toggles are stick-like, with a cord attached at the center. They are passed endways through a hole and then rotated sideways.
Magnetic buttons, as the name implies, are buttons that attach to each other by being magnetic.[34] The buttons can be attached either by sewing or snapping them into the fabric.
Covered buttons are fabric-covered forms with a separate back piece that secures the fabric over the knob.
Mandarin buttons orfrogs are knobs made of intricately knotted strings. Mandarin buttons are a key element inMandarin dress (Qi Pao andcheongsam inChinese), where they are closed with loops. Pairs of mandarin buttons worn ascuff links are calledsilk knots.
Worked or cloth buttons are created byembroidering orcrocheting tight stitches (usually withlinenthread) over a knob or ring called aform.Dorset buttons, handmade from the 17th century to 1750, and Death head buttons are of this type.
The size of the button depends on its use. Shirt buttons are generally small, and spaced close together, whereas coat buttons are larger and spaced further apart. Buttons are commonly measured inlignes (also calledlines and abbreviatedL), with 40 lines equal to 1 inch.[35] For example, some standard sizes of buttons are 16 lignes (10.16 mm, standard buttons of men'sshirts) and 32 lignes (20.32 mm, typical button onsuit jackets).[36]
Hammond Turner & Sons, a button-making company inBirmingham, hosts an online museum with an image gallery and historical button-related articles,[42] including an 1852 article on button-making byCharles Dickens.[43] In the US, largebutton collections are on public display at the Waterbury Button Museum ofWaterbury, Connecticut,[44] the Keep Homestead Museum ofMonson, Massachusetts,[45] which also hosts an extensive button archive,[46] and in Gurnee, Illinois, at The Button Room.[47]
Classic clothing has the button on the left side for women and on the right side for men. The reasons for this are unclear, but the choice for men's clothing is usually attributed to the need to draw weapons from the left to right; the weapon would then not catch on opening of the clothing. For women's clothing the common reason given is that in times when upper-class women's clothing was quite elaborate, servants were needed for dressing, and the left placement of the buttons was more convenient for right-handed maids.[48][49][50] Some Jewsreverse this, following statements in the Torah that favor dressing first on the right side, or from the Kabbalah, in which the right side denotes goodness.[51][52][53][54]
The mainly American tradition of politically significant clothing buttons appears to have begun with thefirst presidential inauguration ofGeorge Washington in 1789. Known to collectors as "Washington Inaugurals",[55] they were made ofcopper,brass orSheffield plate, in large sizes for coats and smaller sizes for breeches.[56] Made in twenty-two patterns and hand-stamped, they are now extremely valuablecultural artifacts.
Between about 1840 and 1916, clothing buttons were used in Americanpolitical campaigns, and still exist in collections today. Initially, these buttons were predominantly made of brass (though horn and rubber buttons with stamped or moulded designs also exist) and had loop shanks. Around 1860 the badge orpin-back style of construction, which replaced the shanks with long pins, probably for use on lapels and ties, began to appear.[57]
One common practice that survived until recent times on campaign buttons and badges was to include the image ofGeorge Washington with that of the candidate in question.
Some of the most famouscampaign buttons are those made forAbraham Lincoln.Memorial buttons commemorating Lincoln's inaugurations and other life events, including his birth anddeath, were also made, and are also considered highly collectible.[58]
^abHughes, Elizabeth; Lester, Marion (2010).The Big Book of Buttons: The Encyclopedia of Button History, Design, and Identification (2nd ed.). Haworth, NJ: St. Johann Press.ISBN9781878282712.
^abFink, Nancy; Ditzler, Maryalice (1993).Buttons: the collector's guide to selecting, restoring and enjoying new and vintage buttons. Philadelphia, PA: Courage Books.ISBN978-1-56138-215-6.
^abcdGodoroja, Lucy (2023).All Buttons Great and Small. Chatswood, Australia: Exisle.ISBN9781925820836.
^Australian Government (12 November 2009)."heroin concealed in dress buttons". Australia: Customs and Border Protection Communication and Media. Retrieved11 March 2010.
^Peach State Button Club (2010)."Studios (Section 23-11)".Button Country. Georgia, USA: Peach State Button Club. Archived fromthe original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved11 June 2010.
^The United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Paper and Stationery Trade of the World, Government Printing Office, 1918
Edwards, Nina (2012) (2012).On the Button: The Significance of an Ordinary Item. London, UK: I. B. Tauris.ISBN978-1-84885-584-7.ASIN1848855842.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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