Now To Lay It

Black text and illustration on white background with red and white checkerboard edge

Johnson Smith & Company began in Chicago, Illinois in 1914 as a mail-order novelty and gag gift supplier, settling in Racine, Wisconsin in 1926. Johnson Smith & Co. or Johnson Smith Company sold an array of toys including pinback buttons with suggestive slogans meant as ice breakers.

Comic Motto Buttons, as they became known sometime in the 1940s (previously known as Comic Celluloid Buttons), hailed from Johnson Smith & Co. catalogues and became popular in the early to mid-20th century. Recognized by their iconic checkered border and featuring salacious slogans and witty banter, the catalogue promised, “Get acquainted – wear these comic celluloid buttons. Slip one or two of these buttons on your lapel and then wait for the wisecracks to begin. The girls get lots of fun out of them. At parties, you break the ice right from the start. Just give one of these to your guest, and it gives the party a flying start.”

The verb "lay" has a long history in English, meaning "to place or put down" something, and also in phrases like "lay an egg". The use of "lay" with a sexual connotation emerged as U.S. slang in the early 20th century. It's likely related to the idea of placing or putting oneself down for sexual activity, as the phrase "to lie with" has an archaic and biblical meaning of intercourse.