Bright orange background behind a large dark blue heart with white and orange stylized block text and an illustration of a white husky

Dog Sledding, also known as ‘dog mushing’ is a long-standing reliable form of transportation deeply rooted in Alaskan culture. The Anchorage Museum, a large cultural institution dedicated to the art, history, and technology of Alaska and the Arctic region, distributed these "I’m a husky lover" buttons for visitors to wear. 

Dog sledding is Alaska’s official state sport; the state hosts numerous racing events, including the famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race which starts in Anchorage. Dog sled mushers typically have 12 to 16 dogs on their team, guiding through harsh winter conditions and sub zero temperatures. The Iditarod Trail and other dog sled races take an average of two weeks to complete. 

Brown text and red heart on a yellow background

Located in the historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace, the Boston Chipyard has been baking cookies since 1977. These made from scratch cookies are well loved by locals and tourists alike. Aside from their staple cookie, the chocolate chip, Chipyard has other cookie flavors: the banana stand, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter chocolate chip. Be sure to add this to your itinerary on your next visit to the captial of the Bay State!

Black text on a bright yellow background is above and below a black and white line drawing of a cat hanging from a branch by its two front paws.

The expression on this button is a variation of the "Hang in there, Baby" catchphrase featured on a motivational poster designed by photographer Victor Baldwin in 1971. Many versions of the poster were made, mostly featuring a photograph of a cat hanging from a stick, branch, or other object that it attempted to climb or jump on to. Victor Baldwin owned a portrait studio in California and though he photographed many celebrities, his first love was animal photography. 

This is likely a reprint of a button from the 1970s, on view here in our online collection. 

Blue text on a white background around the rim with a transportation montage illustration in the center featuring a plane, sail boat, train tracks, and a road

Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC) is a student run organization of Cornell University. Founded in 1926, they have a nearly 100-year tradition of hosting an annual three-day business conference for the hospitality industry. The organization's origins go back to 1925 when a group of students from the Hotel Administration department took over management for a day at the Hotel Astor, a luxury hotel in New York City. The students returned equipped with essential tools and skills necessary for successful hotel management. This was followed by the annual conference, which provides students opportunities to attend hospitality programs and network with industry professionals. This button is from the 1980 Hotel Ezra Cornell conference, which had the theme "Venture Aboard."

Black text on a blue background with an illustration of a Smurf character about to hit a puck with a hocking stick, wearing yellow and orange hockey gear and black hockey skates

Smurfs were first introduced as comic characters created by the artist Peyo in 1958. These loveable characters have expanded into advertising, film, TV, theme parks, and toys. In 2008, the Smurfs franchise generated 4 billion dollars in revenue. Smurfs are named based on adjectives relating to their characteristics. Here we have Hockey Smurf, who has appeared in other rare forms of Smurf merchandise. Hockey Smurf first appeared on a 1984 Smurf trading card in the same yellow and orange uniform, and was also made into a collectible PVC figurine. This button is a creative way for any passionate athlete to show off their love for hockey and the Smurfs!

Orange to red gradiant background with yellow text and cartoon-style illustrations of an elephant, a hippopotamus, and a mouse

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

White, yellow, green, blue, purple, and red child-like text on a black background

Punky Brewster was an American sitcom geared toward children and families that aired on NBC from 1984 to 1986, followed by an additional year in syndication from 1987 to 1988. The show was about an orphan girl, Punky Brewster, who was adopted by an elderly man, Henry Warnimont. Punky Brewster, was known for her eccentric fashion style that featured mismatched clothes and pigtails, had a significant cultural impact on style of children, particularly girls of the 1980s.

Purple and white text with a purple border and an illustration in the center of a suffragette with purple hair blowing a trumpet on green castle ramparts holding white flag with 11 purple stars

Harriot Stanton Blatch, daughter of women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, moved to England during the latter half of the 19th century. While in England, Blatch worked with women’s suffrage groups and became inspired by their use of militant tactics. The British Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), led by Emmeline Pankhurst, was known for extensive property damage, arson, letter bombing campaigns, and attempted assassinations. When Blatch returned to New York, she founded the Women’s Political Union (WPU) in 1907 and recruited 20,000 working-class women into the suffrage movement. 

The British WSPU’s militancy was a model for Blatch’s WPU, with the U.S. union adopting the same purple, white, and green colors as their English counterpart. The armed “Bugler Girl” was designed by Caroline Watts for the National Union of Women Suffrage Societies. The WPU adopted the “Bugler Girl” image as their symbol for a strong, militant woman with “trumpet blasts calling for change.” The eleven stars on her flag represent the eleven suffrage states at the time of the button’s production in the early 20th century. In addition to fighting for women’s voting rights, the WPU also lobbied for equal pay for female teachers in New York. In 1915, the WPU merged with the Congressional Union for Women’s Suffrage to form the National Women’s Party. Women in the United States were granted voting rights with the 19th Amendment in 1920. 

Color illustration of the "White City" (now the Midway Plaisance) with filigree and brown text superimposed on the bottom

Off-white background with red text and a black illustration of the Fayette County (Pennsylvania) Courthouse

The Daily News Standard reported the arrival of “the ideal summer day” just in time for Uniontown, Pennsylvania’s centennial celebration. The city celebrated 100 years in July, 1896 and went all out in preparation for the festivities. Every building in Uniontown was decorated with banners, flags, streamers, and bunting. Addresses made by local leaders, music from popular bands, firework shows, bicycle races, mock battles, and parades drew in locals as well as people from out of town. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Y.M.C.A. donated a new fountain unveiled during Uniontown’s celebration. Exhibits included a three-ton chunk of coal displayed by the W.J. Rainey Company, as well as Amos Joliffe’s curios display. These “unusual Fayette County artifacts” consisted of antique weaponry, cookware, books, and even a deer’s head. There is some confusion surrounding Uniontown’s founding date; however, while plans were drawn in 1776, the borough in which Uniontown resides was not officially established until 1796. Uniontown continues to hold its annual Founding Day Festival with car shows, kids activities, art booths and displays, history wagon tours, food trucks, and fireworks.