My love for buttons dates back to childhood. As a teen I called them “pins” and collected them from bands, museums, and campaigns.
The other day my mom asked, “Do you want to see your first button?”
Pictured is the badge my parents received in 1985 from the hospital when I was born. It’s a sentimental keepsake that measures just 2-inches, which makes it easy to hang on to in a memory box.
Mette Hornung Rankin rediscovered her button collection and wondered, “Would they reveal anything about my childhood that I had forgotten? Would they say anything about my current state, 20 years later?”
She answers this and more questions with an autobiography told through buttons on the Bureau of Betterment website here. Highly recommended!
Button Collector Alex Winter
Alex Winter is a life-long collector of “cultural artifacts,” and he works at the right place to acquire the most interesting and rare buttons— Hake’s Americana and Collectibles.
Alex shared hi-res photos of the most choice buttons, and answered these four questions about how he started collecting the pin-nable pop-culture relics.
Busy Beaver: Why did you start collecting buttons?
Alex Winter: I have been a collector of pop culture artifacts as long as I can remember. Even as a young child, I made sure I kept the boxes to my toys and never got rid of anything, no matter what. A pre-teen pack rat was not the norm among my peers, but was standard protocol among the elders I found myself in constant contact with.
I grew up around very serious collectors of all types of items, so rooms full of display cases showing off their treasures was what I exposed to from a very early age.
I found this extremely fascinating and soon became a rabid collector myself. This started with comic books in the late 1970s. Around the same time I really got into music, with Kiss becoming the first band I followed, and actually tying in with my love of comics as Marvel printed the first Kiss comic book in 1977.
Alice Cooper Flasher By Vari-Vue From 1977 Featuring His Trademark Face Make-up and Tipping His Top Hat
By the early 80’s I was a hard rock/heavy metal junkie and that is where buttons came into my life. My jean jacket became covered with buttons for AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and countless others. It was at this time that I got involved with collectibles as a business, going to and working at flea markets and toy shows. This greatly expanded the types of items I collected with new interests popping up all the time.
Figural Celluloid Eight Ball Pin Relating To War Time Production Of Aircraft “A Plane Every 8 Minutes”
I started collections of vintage material relating to superheroes, Halloween/skeletons, dice, eightballs, smiley faces and more. With each collection came pin-back buttons among many other types of objects. Then, in 1985, I got a part-time job at Hake’s Americana & Collectibles. That opened my eyes to the collecting world in a life changing way and became my career (with 2010 marking my 25th anniversary with Hake’s).
Over the years I have had direct contact with tens of thousands of buttons and have seen some truly incredible pin-backs, along with so many others pop culture artifacts. Because of this, I collect buttons that appeal to me regardless of theme or genre. If it catches my eye it has a chance to make my collection.
Mephisto Tools Showing Satan Using A Hand Brace Bit Drill circa 1920s
My expanded list of collections now includes buttons featuring cats of all types, devils, civil rights/black panther party, St. Paul Winter Carnival, 1939 New York World’s Fair and unique buttons with attachments.
Busy Beaver: How many buttons are in your collection?
Alex Winter: I’ve never really counted but it is probably in the neighborhood of 500 or so. If I did not collect so many different types of things, this number would be higher, but I love paper, figural pieces and more, so I try to diversify my various collections.
Busy Beaver: How do you store and display your buttons?
Alex Winter: Many are in riker mounts, others are in display cases mixed in with other types of items and then there are those that I wear, or remain pinned to the jean jacket I wore as a teenager (the Metal Gods won’t let me part with it).
Busy Beaver: What is your favorite button?
Alex Winter: Because of the diversity of my collection picking just one if very difficult so here are some of my favorites covering different themes-
Bostock Circus Early 1900s Famous Animal Trainer Real Photo Button
Dustbane Cleanser Advertising Button Featuring Black Cat circa 1910s
Los Angeles County “Crystoglas” Technique Button circa 1915 (one of only a few buttons to utilize the high cost process of colored foil papers beneath the celluloid covering and over the design embossed backing metal)
WW2 Era Uncle Sam “Let’s Pull Together” Hitler Hanging Mechanical Button On Original Card
Historic 1963 March On Washington Button From Day Of MLK Jr.’s I Have A Dream Speech
It’s a pleasure to see so many rare buttons from a spectrum of eras and topics, all in one collection. You can learn more about what Alex Winter does for a living on Hake’s Americana and Collectibles.
Coudal Partners is a advertising, design, and interactive firm located in Chicago that makes buttons for innovative projects like Pinsetters and Field Notes.
It was awesome sharing the Busy Beaver Button-making process that results in one-inch buttons and the video above. You see Pinsetters in action between scenes!
Learn more about Coudal Partners here.
Busy Beaver: Why did you start collecting buttons?
Tiber Scheer: Early on as a youth, in the 70′s I was pretty sucked in by any kind of graffic art. My dad had a cork board that was always a revolving display of images which included a couple of buttons; a ‘no bozo‘s’ pin, a pot leaf, some political buttons. Those were probably my first introductions into wearable art.
I probably started collecting sometime in the 80′s, a prolific time for the tiny punk/new wave button. There were vending machines around that had these horribly rad enamel pin back buttons. I had this one Billy Idol one that looked nothing like him, it was great. During the 90′s while playing in bands, I wondered why no one did buttons anymore.
A friend told me about a place called Li’l One Inch Button Co (which later became Busy Beaver Button Co.), I made some buttons and it kinda re-ignited my love for buttons. I’m always on the lookout at second hand stores, estate sales, wherever. I enjoy giving choice finds to friends too.
BB: How many buttons are in your collection?
TB: Probably around 250 or so, I have more but they don’t currently fit or are permanent fixtures on clothes.
BB: How do you store and display your buttons?
TB: They’re on a kinda felted presentation board, not quite cork but I need to move them to something larger so I can display them all. I best like to display them by wearing them.
BB: What is your favorite button?
TB: Probably a three way tie between: a Ramones button with C. Jay instead of Dee Dee cause it makes me look like a poseur and everybody has a Dee Dee button, a Joe Jackson pin from the Night and Day album and any of the buttons of my kids. I make buttons of them for their birthdays, friends and family love them.
KnifeFight Button Collection launches tonight
Tonight is the night to collect limited-edition KnifeFight 24-karat gold-plated buttons by A.P. Smith in SoHo with a serious party and live musical guests. Check out KnifeFight here!
Cameos by Busy Beaver Button Co.
Want to dress up your button collection? Check out the new Busy Beaver Cameo Buttons available on Etsy. It’s a cool way to use the oval shape, which is a historic button size offered by Busy Beaver Button Co. Click here to buy a Cameo.
Joel Carter "The Collector of Collections"
Renaissance man Joel C. is the Busy Beaver Production Manager and an avid button collector. His enormous Chicago loft hosts collections of vintage musical equipment, mid-century furniture, beer cans, Y2K memorabilia, and of course, buttons. Here’s what Joel has to say about his amazing display of badge/button/pin-love:
Busy Beaver: When did you start collecting buttons?
Joel: I probably had a small collection as a young kid, but I started collecting more seriously about 7 years ago.
B: How many buttons are in your collection?
J: I probably have over 1,000 buttons.
B: Where do you store and display your buttons?
J: The main button display is in my kitchen. The whole wall is tiled with cork and almost completely covered. I probably have 700 on that wall alone (see photos).
B: What is your favorite button?
J: It’s hard pick a single favorite, but some I really like are a Mitch Hedberg button we made years back. I also collect Soap Box Derby buttons we’ve made over the years. Some older ones I have are some humorous Jimmy Carter peanut farmer buttons, Howard Stern ’94 run for NY governor buttons, I also had a random “naughty” button collection that were unceremonious removed when my wife moved into my apartment with me. I like many kinds of buttons. If it’s a cool design, funny or weird, count me in!
Pope Pin-backs from 1979
There’s a collection of nine vintage Pope buttons for sale on Craigs List Illinois! According to the post, the commemorative pin-backs range in size from 2.5-inches to 5-inches in diameter. Since the Pope visited Chicago in 1979, it’s possible these were produced by Parisian Novelty on the south-side. There’s a ton of papal buttons on eBay too.
The buttons must be pope-ular.
Make your own custom buttons at www.busybeaver.net
