Unusual Buttons of Shell or Mother-of-Pearl

Mother of pearl buttons are beautiful old buttons and
are especially interesting when they have unusual
embellishments or adornments. I’ll share a few with you
today.

Button collecting is a nice hobby because it’s something
you can do—sort and mount your collection on days when
the thermometer is registering in the nineties.    Today I’m
organizing some “shell” or “mother-of-pearl” buttons that
have some kind of additional trim.  Most of the photos have
a background including a green one inch square.  Let that be
your guide to sizes of the buttons.

I’ll start with my “fish-hooks” that look like some in Loic Allio’s
book Boutons on page 167.  The ones in the book were made by
designer  Francois Hugo for Elsa Schiaparelli.  They have slightly
different sizes of hooks, under glass, and have molded self-shanks
of pearl.  A brass rim is the border.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next are these two wise guys—heavy paint decorates these
old buttons, with not quite the same back (self-shanks) but
probably done at the same time.  Do you know anything
about them?  (Help!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love these old anchor buttons!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two pearl with brass embellishment are nice, too:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These next three are different: the large one has
unusual striation within the shell, and a large
embedded brass shank, the medium button has
a floral engraving and is a sew-through.  The small
button has sweet little engraved stars and an early
brass loop shank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This large button, almost 1 1/2″ in diameter,  has
an early loop shank on a brass base, and —no, it’s
not your eyes———–it once had something
interesting in the middle of it!!  what?  looks like we
can see the base of a flower?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, the next three are nothing to get excited about so
go ahead and get a snack if you like . . .
If the one on the right looks blurry, it IS your eyes.  I
wouldn’t have taken a blurry photo!  It’s probably the
newest of any I’ve shown today–simple brass self-shank,
two piece construction.  The one in the middle—the broad
expanse of shell with a brass border has one of those
shanks that looks like they made a slit in the brass in the
back and then lifted it up.  Button on left has a nice strong
loop shank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you back?  This final button (always welcome words,
eh?) is a very nice example of a shell button with an Art
Nouveau brass applied design.  It has an old tin back with
self-shank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!