Monday, October 8, 2012

The Curious Case of Beautiful Button... Cards.


They just don't make them the way they used to.
I'm talking about button cards.

 Who designed these mini works of art from days gone by?
"Hi, What do you do for a living?"
"Oh, I'm a button card illustrator."


Button cards of today couldn't be plainer,
but cards of the past sometimes gave us a hint at their era...
like this one tells us mid 1920s by the hair and clothes!


This beautiful card shows us how the freshwater clam shells
were harvested from the Mississippi  River
before the buttons were stamped out of them.


Though tattered and old, this beautiful card is like an etching.


 The colors and tropical influence tell me this is from the late 40s.


I'm not so versed in children's fashions, but this card seems like 1920s, too.
Does anyone know why pearl buttons are always sewn onto foil backing?


These gold painted wooden buttons and card
seem like they're from the 1890s.
What do you think?


The hat, the hair... 1930s?


The illustrator of this card is suggesting these
tiny pearl buttons are for children's clothing.

I say we bring back creatively illustrated button cards.
Let's start a petition or something!


Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Novelty of It All


Talk about thrift store scores! I recently purchased two very kitchy, very cute cocoa colored novelty prints at my favorite resale shop a few weeks apart.

 The subject of the first novelty print is bowling.
4 yards of 35" cotton.


Back in the 50s when I suspect this fabric was made,
bowling was HUGE!


Need confirmation that it was the 50s?
Check out the names on the scorecard.
Charles, Alec, George, Tom and Bob...
...could have been one of my dad's leagues back in the day!


 The second novelty print depicts outer space.
Almost 2 yards - 38" wide.
Probably meant for curtains or comforter with the huge repeats.


 The first lunar expedition.
Little did they know the actual first lunar landing
was less than 20 years away!


 Spacewalking with satellite equipment.


 Piecing the space station back together?


 Looks like an Estes toy rocket.


 Another 50s fabric for sure.  Check out the diagram.
I think I need a frenetic stabilizer or a dual magneto. 


 Forget about NASA - we were the United States Space Force!
 Happy landing!

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