Marshall Levin was known among the collectors in his community for being passionate. He started collecting in 1960 by signing up as a member of the American Political Items Collectors and had amassed a significant button collection before he died in 2000. In addition to buttons, Levin also had large collections of books (many first editions) as well as classical and jazz LPs.
Image Caption: Marshall Levin at a protest march
Levin lived for most of his adult life in a rent-controlled apartment close to the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village. Levin was a night owl— known to sleep from 6 a.m. to 12 pm. He worked for many years as a freelance journalist and writer for medical journals which allowed him to keep these strange hours.
Marshall Levin fostered connections in the antique and collectibles community that allowed his collection to thrive. He made inroads with local button dealers and manufacturers to get first looks and the best discounts. Levin would frequent political candidate events, protests, and demonstrations to gather buttons to add to his collection. In fact, when it came to buttons related to social issues and causes, Levin's collection was considered by fellow collector Phil Shimkin to be "probably the finest and most comprehensive [button] cause collection ever assembled." As he amassed a larger and larger collection of buttons, Levin struck a deal with the newsstand around the corner from his apartment where they gave him empty cigar boxes. He would use those boxes to store buttons in his overflow collection that didn’t fit into the filing cabinets he owned.
Image Caption: Just some of Marshall Levin's cigar boxes of buttons
While others spent time trying to turn a profit on their acquisitions, Levin was purely a collector: never buying or selling to make money, but occasionally trading for new items. Even years after his death, parts of his full collection is still being sold today through auction. A deep researcher, Levin's well-kept and thorough notes—particularly his list of acronyms—continue to be an asset to collectors in the field today.
Trying to decipher an historic club or organization acronym? Check out the acronym list compiled by Levin now available on our site!