Articles

Button Shanks

Whether the buttons we fall in love with have beautiful or silly designs, they don't often tell us much about when the button was made, or what the material is. For the first few issues, we'll focus on learning more about what the backs of buttons can teach.

18th Century Metal Buttons

For most Americans, thinking about the 1700s brings to mind the American Revolution, and the struggling infancy of the country that was being forged out of a wilderness. But in Europe, The Age of Enlightenment was dawning, and people were spending more time trying to learn about the world around them in scientific terms. Fashion became very popular, as the middle class had more wealth and education than ever before. Upper-class French people reveled in the rich artistic life, and porcelain from Sevres began to overtake the popular German factories of Meissan and Dresden.

Buttons were evolving as a big part of fashion. Usually, only men worn buttons as fasteners, and those women who wore buttons wore them as ornament, not as practical items. It was during this time that some of the most elaborate buttons, such as Habitat Buttons, which contained real bits of flowers, moss or twigs, and perhaps pebbles or feathers under a glass dome. Time-consuming techniques were used to make enamel buttons. Some buttons were coated with white enamel and then fired, and layered with black enamel, and fired again. Artists carefully removed some of the black enamel, creating a design -- often very lush pictures of cupids or couples -- all in black and white, which is referred to as "en grisaille" or "in grays." Gilding such as ormolu was developed during this period as well, and various alloys of metals were developed, as metallurgists experimented with metals found in colonies around the world.

As a result, many of these metal alloys found their way to button manufacture, and these result in some of the more common examples of 18th century buttons, which are sometimes ignored by collectors today in favor of their more decorative contemporaries. Still, for a perspective on the history of buttons, they are invaluable.

For example, the backs of these buttons help modern collectors to understand the changes in the shanks of buttons. Shanks then were very large, usually a fairly thick piece of wire that was bent into a circle, with the bottoms then soldered to the back.

Examples of Tombac buttons, front and back.

A floral design on a Tombac button.

One metal alloy, Tombac, was an import from Malay, where the root of the word meant copper. It was used in some cases to imitate gold, because the rose color of the copper was softened to almost yellow by the addition of zinc, tin, or other metals. The shanks of these buttons were often soldered in place with a sort of cone-shape buildup of metal on the back. This conical base at the shank is not exclusive to Tombac, however. The color of these buttons ranges from almost aluminum to almost a brassy color. Brass is also an alloy of copper and zinc, but the copper content is much higher in brass, so it is never a "white" metal.

These relatively inexpensize Tombac buttons are rich in historical significance.

Tombac, like most metal buttons of the time, were generally large buttons, with some designs etched into the front. Hunting scenes are more rare, and would be considered to count as more exceptional in competitions, as would more elaborate floral designs, or shapes other than round. Motifs of the French Revolution are also sometimes seen on Tombac, though that is at the tail end of the 18th Century.

Copper buttons, also, were quite popular, and most were given a white metal coating, or were sometimes painted. Ovals are more unusual, as are those that have retained their original paint. The shanks on copper buttons are again large wires, soldered to the back.

A slight design in a copper button and its shank.

Some metal buttons from this period are known as "Rebus" buttons. They sport writing, though usually just letters or syllables, and often make a play on words, sometimes as a symbol between lovers. Rebus buttons were also made in pearl, and other variations of more elaborate materials of the 18th Century.

Pewter, originally an alloy of tin with lead, sometimes including other metals, was also popular as a button during this time, and through the 19th century. It is a softer gray in color (more lead makes the buttons a duller gray, more tin lightens the color), and pewter buttons will usually leave a mark similar to a pencil’s when it is turned on it’s side, and draw across paper.

Not all metal buttons of this period were made in two pieces, the button front and the soldered-on shank. Some buttons were made in one piece, and a hole was drilled into a flat part that stuck out from the back. Sometimes these holes are not centered, as the drills were somewhat imprecise. Again, some buttons were finished by etching designs onto the front.

Two examples of 18th Century buttons with drilled shanks.

Manufacturers also began using more backmarks to advertise, a practice which rapidly became a standard.

An early backmarked button.

Since many vaired materials were used to make alloys, it is difficult to tell from just looking at a button what its composition might be. And in some cases, such as the backmarked "Sherlock" button, one metal, such as brass, might be used for the front, but the attached shank can be a different material, in this case, due to the rosy glow, perhaps copper, or an alloy with higher copper content. Steel, brass, silver and other metals were used during this time, and it is usually the large loop of the shank that tells its history.

These buttons can vary in price from as little as $10 to as much as $400 for an oval copper with a nice design. But their story is much deeper than their often simple designs.

A parting look at a few 18th Century metal buttons The one in the center is a hallmarked silver button from the Netherlands.

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