Monday Mood Board: Historical

Today I am in the "historical" style - mood (chosen from the styles at Etsy). So, here some more or less serious historical items from some of our European Street Team sellers on Etsy.

For more monday mood boards see Estella and Esther's blog.

1. avgustvarjanja
2. reveriefrance
3. cloveristanbul
4. niftyknits

Flickr Favourites: Traditional Costume of Urk, Holland

Today in the Flickr Favourites it's the turn of the traditional costume of Urk in The Netherlands. Urk is a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Urk was in the past an island in the Zuiderzee. In 1939, a dike from the mainland to Urk ended the town's island status, just as the Afsluitdijk project was changing the salt water Zuiderzee surrounding Urk to the less saline IJsselmeer. Later in the 20th century, sea-bed areas surrounding Urk were reclaimed from the sea and became the Noordoostpolder. Urk is still a fishing village and religious life has also traditionally been very important to Urk's inhabitants. The kraplap (i.e. bodice) is in Urk made of beautiful coloured silk with embroidered flowers on the front (called the "hartje" or "small heart"). The silver head iron that holds the lace cap with yolk coloured trim, is the oldest type in The Netherlands. The striped apron is the same as the one in Volendam.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.


1. Urkerdag 2010, 2. Urkerdag 2009, 3. Urkerdag 2010, 4. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago

And two picture postcards from my own collection.

Buttons : Metal

(from my own collection)
Buttons can be made from lots of metals; copper, steel, brass, pewter, silver, aluminium, etc. Most metal buttons are stamped in dies (like coins); the more expensive ones were engraved or chased by hand.

(from my own collection)
Looking at the history of buttons, metal is the most common material used. They were probably first made in the 13th or 14th century from less-precious metals. Later jewellers began making buttons in silver and gold. During the renaissance, golden buttons were the rage of european royalty, often decorated with jewels.

(from Annette Wilzbach und Martina Wilzbach-Wald. Knopf Design)
In the 18th century large copper buttons with geometric and other non-pictorial designs were the fashion in men’s clothes.

(from Nancy Fink and Maryalice Ditzler. Buttons: A Collectors Guide)
During the Victorian area, metal buttons with pictures of people, animals, flowers and other objects were in fashion.

(from Annette Wilzbach und Martina Wilzbach-Wald. Knopf Design)
Another type that was popular for women’s clothing in the 19th century were the brilliant shiny cut steel buttons, made of many tiny faceted steel pieces.

(from Annette Wilzbach und Martina Wilzbach-Wald. Knopf Design)
Coins were often used for making buttons. They are often found in traditional folk costumes all over the world.

(from Annette Wilzbach und Martina Wilzbach-Wald. Knopf Design)
Brass and pewter were the most used metals for mass produced buttons, and also for uniform buttons. I found this funny story about soldiers in the beginning of the 19th century: their buttons were of the same material as their bullets, so many soldiers carried molds in which they, after melting their buttons, could cast their buttons into bullets if they ran out of the latter ones.

(from Nancy Fink and Maryalice Ditzler. Buttons: A Collectors Guide)
I did a search for metal buttons on Etsy, and was surprised to find some really great specimen:

1. antique metal and fabric from AmandaShellnut
2. Sterling silver from MarieCristine
3. Copper from SteppingStones
4. gunmetal from ILoveVintagePatterns
5. pewter from thebeadlady2004
6. silver from melissajlee
7. antique metal and plastic from jen1
8. sterling silver from NinaGibsonDesigns
9. pewter from treasurecast
10. pewter from mamacitabeadworks
11. silver from UraniumCafe
12. pewter from Roosterick

I would love to try making my own metal buttons; after some surfing I found the following how-to's:
Bottle Cap Buttons (from Sparkle Jars)
How to Make Bottle-Cap Buttons for Knit Slippers (from Lee Meredith on craftstylish)
DIY Coin Buttons (from Chrisjob)

Based on:
Marilyn V. Green. The Button Lover's Book (Creative Machine Arts Series). Chilton Book Co, 1991. ISBN 978-0801980107
Annette Wilzbach und Martina Wilzbach-Wald. Knopf Design. Deutscher Fachverlag, 1990. ISBN 3-87150-315-0
Nancy Fink and Maryalice Ditzler. Buttons: A Collectors Guide. Quintet Publishing, 1993. ISBN 1-56138-215-9

Buttons : Mother of Pearl

(from my own collection)

There were quite some old-fashioned white mother of pearl shirt buttons in my grandma's button box; they always fascinate me. They have a nice cold solid touch, a beautiful shiny and iridescent appearance and often a very interesting rough backside, they are all different and they are heavier than plastic buttons. I learned that there are actually two types of mother of pearl buttons; those made from freshwater mussel shells and those made from ocean shells, with the latter having more brilliance. Round blanks are cut from the washed shells, polished and drilled.

Button fabrication (from Stephanie Hackstein. Buttons. History and Production)
Freshwater mother of pearl buttons were made from 1892 to the 1960s along the Mississippi River in the USA. Because at the end of the 19th century, the ocean shell buttons were very popular but expensive, a German immigrant button maker started to create buttons from the freshwater shells. It was a great success; a huge clam button industry was the result. Almost every man, woman and child along the Mississippi River was working somewhere in the button industry, families camped along the shores, catching, cleaning, drilling, polishing, carding, etc. It is said that the smell was really aweful in those areas. Finally they could not compete anymore with the cheaper and more durable plastic buttons, and the freshwater mother of pearl button industry died out.

(from Iowa Pathways; The Pearl Button Story)
Beautiful ocean mother of pearl buttons were made in the 18th and 19th century, often carved, engraphed, dyed, embellished with jewels etc. They were made in France, Germany and the UK, but the shells came from the Philippines, Japan, Australia, Panama, Egypt, etc. Those first two countries are still today's main ocean shell button suppliers.

(from The Keep Homestead Museum, Monson MA)
The most expensive shell is the white macassar from the East Indies, and the most pupular ones are probably the abalone with its striking colours and the smoked black Tahiti shell, but buttons were also made from cowries, helmet shells, pinna shells and conches.

(1. abalone from annkelliott on flickr, 2 white macassar from Miyoshi, 3 pinna from wildsingapore, 4 helmet from c70iang on flickr, 5 black Tahiti from Southern Paua Ltd., 6 tiger cowrie from pieceoflace on Flickr, 7 conch from Debi123 on Flickr, and 8. yellow sand shell from Freshwater Mussels of the Upper Mississippi River System; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

Based on:
Marilyn V. Green. The Button Lover's Book (Creative Machine Arts Series). Chilton Book Co, 1991. ISBN 978-0801980107
Muscatine Pearl Button Museum
Stephanie Hackstein. Buttons. History and Production. Markstein Verlag, Filderstadt 2007. ISBN 978-3-935129-40-4
The Keep Homestead Museum, Monson, MA

Hats : Tubeteika

I managed to buy 2 skull caps from Uzbekistan for my traditional hat collection. I have always been in love with those colourfull exotic skull caps from Central Asia. They are called tubeteikas (tubete means top or peak in Tatar) and are worn by men, women and children. Tubeteikas are different between regions and vary in shape (round or squared), ornament, colour, embroidery, fabrics, decoration etc. They are made of two or more layers of fabric quilted and fixed by silk or cotton threads. Most often, black satin or velvet are chosen for men's caps, and silk, velvet, and brocade for women's caps. They can be embroidered in silk, decorated with beadwork, gold and silver threads, beads and metal pieces, and the decoration is full of symbols.



The first cap is for a man from Chust, and is the most common one. It is black with four white patterns in the shape of a chili pepper flower capsicum (called "qalampur"); these flowers are supposed to protect a man's health from four sides, while the sixteen small patterned arches, located along the edge of the cap, mean a wish to have a big and friendly family with sixteen children.

The second cap is for a woman from Surkhandarya and has a very colourful embroidery in creed stitch (called "iroki"). Young Uzbek women often complete their modern clothing with a bright elegant scull-cap.


You can see some beautiful examples of Tubeteikas and read more about them here:

Tubeteika suits everybody
Hat Collection from Central Asia
Duppi-A Teapot cover? No, it is national headdress!

Buttons : Antler Buttons

(from Fischer-Antics in Germany)

In many cultures lots of early buttons were made from antler (the "horns" of deer). Antler buttons were often manufactured by individuals working at home with simple tools. They are especially very beautiful and typical for the european Alp-countries. After the "Trachten-boom" in the 70s and 80s only a few manufacturers still make antler buttons by hand in the Alps.

(from Fischer-Antics in Germany)
Most of the antlers are collected by hunters in southern Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic. The stags throw their antlers each February and March; so they are not killed for their antlers, but their antlers are found left behind in the forest.

(from Inntaler Hirschhornknopf-Fabrikation)
Everything of the antlers is used. First the antlers are cut lengthwise into flat strips, then disks are cut as close to each other as possible to get as much buttons as possible; 1 kg antler produces about 100 buttons. The disks are then beaten out of the antler strips and the button holes are drilled. Finally they are polished and sometimes also carved. The antler tops are formed into toggle buttons and the rest, dust and chips, becomes biological fertilizer for gardeners.

(from Stephanie Hackstein. Buttons. History and Production.)
Every antler button is unique because every antler is unique. That makes these buttons so beautiful. There are lots of imitations made out of plastic on the market; they are all identical and they all have a snow white backside.

A: real antler buttons; B: plastic imitation buttons (from my own collection)
Some examples of beautiful handmade antler buttons I found on the internet:


(1 and 2 from Hirsch-Hornschnitzer & Hornschmuck-Erzeugung, 3 from Knopfparadies, 4 from rosenhexe31 on Ebay, 5 from ideenreichHandarbeitsbedarf on DaWanda, 6 from buchfink987 on Ebay and 7 from bokkerer on Ebay)

Based on:
Stephanie Hackstein. Buttons. History and Production. Markstein Verlag, Filderstadt 2007. ISBN 978-3-935129-40-4
Grüß Gott aus dem Raum Rosenheim: "Das Imitat ist unser größter Feind", Inntaler Hirschhornknopf-Fabrikation in der dritten Generation.

Buttons : Dorset Buttons

(My own Dorset buttons)

I have some tiny white buttons made of thread in my collection, and after some research I found out that they are called Dorset buttons. Here some history about Dorset buttons.
(from Dorset buttons from Dorothy Johnstone made by Eve Hale)
Dorset buttons are woven thread buttons, also know as needle-lace buttons. Initially the buttons were made from a disc of the horn of Dorset Sheep, those first buttons being called "high tops" and "knobs" (The high-tops were worn by gentlemen on their hunting waistcoats). The disc was covered with a piece of linen, which was then worked all over with fine linen thread to form a conical or knob shape depending on the type of button required. The diameter of the buttons ranging from half an inch (13mm) down to an unbelievable eighth of an inch (3mm). At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the introduction of metal rings, which were cheaper and quicker to use, transformed the craft into a village industry in Dorset. The wire was brought to the area from Birmingham by Horse and Waggon. It was made into button rings by being twisted on a spindle and the cut ends being dipped in solder. Thousands of people (men, women and children) worked in the industry; even prisons and orphanages were contracted to meet the great global demand for Dorset buttons. These buttons were commonly used on children's clothing, women's blouses and underwear. Hundreds of thousands of buttons were made annually. By the beginning of the nineteenth century there were button depots all over Dorset, providing the cottagers with a central place to market their buttons, and other businessmen who needed buttons for their products could buy them in bulk. The buttons were exported from Liverpool.
(from 50 Heirloom Buttons to Make, Nancy Nehring)
Varying types of buttons were made: cartwheels, baskets, honeycombs, crosswheels, bird's eyes, mites, Singletons (made from a linen covered padded ring), and some buttons were decorated with beadwork. The complete buttons mere mounted on cards for sale. The first quality for export, were mounted on pink cards, the seconds on dark blue cards and the third quality were mounted on yellow cards, these last two qualities being for sale in England. Any dirty buttons were boiled in a linen bag before being mounted. The buttons were sold at between eight-pence and three shillings a dozen, while the buttoners were paid an average of two shillings a day for making approximately six or seven dozen buttons. Compared with the nine-pence a day they might expect from rigorous farm-work, this was a real alternative for many women. It was therefore no surprise that poorer women flocked to join in this new cottage industry. It is said that expert buttoners could make up to one gross a day for which they were paid three shillings and six pence or three shilling and nine pence if the buttons were perfect.
(How to make Dorset Buttons)
A bitter blow struck the buttoners in 1851 with the introduction of the automated button machine. The cottage industry came to an abrupt end bringing poverty and starvation to the families of the buttoners. Many hundreds of families were forced to emigrate to America, Canada or Australia, whilst for others, especially the elderly, it was the workhouse.
(from 50 Heirloom Buttons to Make, Nancy Nehring)
The secret of making high-tops and knobs has never been solved, but the buttons made on wire rings are the types which are being revived. Here's a great tutorial for modern Dorset Buttons.
(from 50 Heirloom Buttons to Make, Nancy Nehring)
Based on:
Dorset buttons from Dorothy Johnstone made by Eve Hale
Button Making in Dorset
50 Heirloom Buttons to Make, Nancy Nehring
How to make Dorset Buttons

Buttons : Zeeuwse Knoop or Button from Zeeland

(from detuin and from Juwelier Minderhoud)

This fascinating form of button was developed in the Netherlands, where 18th century male residents of Zeeland wore it as part of their traditional regional costume. The "Zeeuwse knopen" are convex cannetille filigree buttons made using coiled and twisted gold and silver wires. The golden ones were worn at the neck to close the shirt at the top. The bigger silver ones were trouser buttons to close the long flap trousers of black velvet or wool on the front. Those who could affort wore "gold under the throat and silver on the belly". Boys and poor men wore trouser buttons made of coins.


(from my own postcard collection)

Today there are almost no people left who wear this traditonal dress. While young people do not wear it anymore, there are only a few older people who wear it occasionally. However, there are still quite some families who own (parts of) this traditional costume and you see them wearing it at summer festivals, feasts and other cultural festivities. Lots of these traditional buttons have been saved and transformed into necklaces, broches, earrings etc., to begin a second worthy life.

(Pieter Verhage from Heemkundige Kring Walcheren)

(from Ebay: Zeeuwse broche)

For some young Dutch Jewellers it's a new source of inspiration; see the stunning work of Willemijn de Greef (go to "Zeeuwse knopen" at the bottom).

(from Zeeuwse knopen, study, 2005)

There's even a plant that 's named after this "Zeeuwse Knoop" (Astrantia).

(from "Astrantia" of Petal Wijnen and "het zeeuws knopje" of Jan Vermeij)

Buttons : London's Pearlies

(from wikipedia)
This week's button fact I want to share with you is about the Pearlies from London, also called the Pearly Kings and Queens. The Pearlies are raising money for charities and can often be seen around London participating in various Parades and Carnivals, and the most striking thing about them is that they wear clothing that is fully covered with mother of pearl buttons. The magnificent suits, hats and dresses, are handed down from generation to generation as well as the Pearly King and Queen titles.

(Photo from The London Pearly Kings and Queens Society)
The tradition started in 1875 with an orphan called Henry Croft, roadsweeper from profession, who wanted to help those who were more unfortunate than himself and realised that in order to collect a lot of money he needed to draw attention to himself which was quite difficult for the very small man as he was (less than 5 feet tall). So as Henry swept the market streets he started to collect all the pearl buttons he found that had fallen off of the clothes of people visiting the market, and when he had enough he started to sew them on his cap and then continued until his entire brown wool suit was filled. The idea he got from the clothing of the London costermongers that had pearl buttons sewn on the piped seams of their trousers and waistcoats. They distinguished themselves from the other market traders in this way. It is said to have sprung from a Japanese cargo ship that lost its cargo of pearl buttons in the Thames in the 1860's. The costermongers looked after each other if they were sick or in need by organizing a collection. Traditionally, costers elected "Kings" to lead them against bullies seeking to drive them from their pitches. Henry Croft was in so much demand for his charity work, as many of London's hospitals, workhouses and orphanages needed help, that he turned to the costermongers. Many of the costermongers became the first Pearly Families. There were 28 families, one for each of the London boroughs, one for the City of Westminster, and one for the City of London.

Carole Jolly, Pearly Queen of Crystal Palace, with the statue of Henry Croft, The Crypt at St Martins in the Field.
Each outfit can hold many tens of thousands of buttons on it and can weigh as much as 30 kilograms or more. There are two types of suit - a Smother Suit and a Skeleton Suit, the former having very little cloth showing and totally covered in buttons (those are the oldest costumes), and the latter having far fewer buttons, often decorated with mystic symbols, like stars, moons, suns, flowers, diamonds, Trees of Life, Eyes of God and fertility designs. Some of the early costumes are still worn today.

(from Citynoise)
Modern re-inventions of the pearlies concept:



Based on:
Wikipedia
The London Pearly Kings and Queens Society
Citynoise
The Button Lover's Book (Creative Machine Arts Series) by Marilyn V. Green