Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!

by Laurie Tucker, Collections Committee

A large and interesting collection of buttons was donated to the museum, thanks to Jane Schuelein, a volunteer with the Fox Island Historical Society and Museum. Jane bought a box of buttons years ago, and was told that they had belonged to a woman on Vashon Island. It seems that a group of Vashon women belonged to a button club, and they exchanged cards of buttons with other Vashon collectors, as well as friends across the country. They signed the card and often gave information about where the buttons originated. The cards were sometimes cut from boxes that display the names of Vashon shops. The variety of buttons is wide, with many dating back to the 1800s.

Button collecting became popular during the 1930s because it was an inexpensive hobby that was affordable during the lean years of the Great Depression. Recognition of button collecting as an organized hobby came through the founding of the National Button Society in 1938. This organization holds an annual national convention. Today there are button clubs all over the United States, button dealers, state and local shows and conventions for button collectors, and even an online button club. The Washington State Button Society will have its annual show in Arlington this year, September 14-16. If you are a button collector, check it out!