Posted 11 years ago
kindy
(56 items)
I recently bought a huge collection of buttons and these very unusual pieces were in there. I've never seen anything like them before, have you? The ones with the round links are stamped with GILT on the back and have a purple stone in the centre. Then there is the ones with the strange bobby pins on them (which are removable, they just appear to be there to keep the button safe... not sure), well, they appear to be made from mother of pearl. There are a few others there that appear to be brass. They're really quite interesting. Does anyone know anything about these? Is it possible that they are really, really old?
There's an article here on 'shirt studs':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirt_stud
Thanks vetraio50. I've since learnt that the pins were put there to keep the buttons safe while the garment was being cleaned. I'm still researching to determine their age, though. I believe the GILT ones are from the 1800's. :)
Thankyou so much for the information, AR8Jason! Other than sewing them on a shirt, I've never really thought much about buttons and their history until now. It's quite interesting :)
My apologies Vetraio50, you were correct afterall :)