National Button Week 2014 Part IV “The Ladies” (backmarks of Paris)

Today’s topic for National Button Week is lady buttons with
interesting backmarks.  Some collectors like to specialize in
the BACKS of buttons and how they’re marked. . .

I find it interesting, too, and when I was looking for buttons with
ladies for a subject, I found that two of my buttons had PARIS
backmarks.

brass button of a lady with a Paris backmark
AP & Cie ©booksandbuttons

My first button is a brass one of 3/4 inch in diameter and features
a woman with a large fancy hat.  The border ring is pretty with
two different designs embellishing the center figure.

The back of the button has an interesting SHANK or back
attachment, known as a triple bar shank.  The button might
date to the Victorian period.  Ooh, it’s dark–click to enlarge!

AP and Cie Paris backmark on triple bar shank ©booksandbuttons

The AP and Cie Co backmark stands for Albert
Parent Company.  The other two “arms” read
Depose (which means patented or filed) and Paris.

My other button is I THINK of a lady (!) which is
interesting because it is made of many layers.  It
has a white glass profile of a figure set on a layer of
tin, then surrounded by a narrow bank of brass, set of
another ring of brass, surrounded by a fuzzy fabric
of some kind, and finally ringed and backed with
another circle of brass.   All for one button!  This
button is about 5/8 inch in diameter and might be
from the late 1880s.

early button with white glass profile, TW &W Paris backmark ©booksandbuttons

This button has a backmark of TW&W Paris
which stands for the Trelon, Weil and Weil
Company.

two Paris backmarks ©booksandbuttons

That Peggy Osborne book I’m trying to persuade
you to buy (Button, Button) has several pages about
backmarks.  They would be fun to look for, don’t you think?

Tomorrow we’ll continue our study with just two buttons
that feature different backgrounds–ladies that are affixed
to velvet and leather.  The hours will drag til then, right?