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. 

Black text on an off-white background with a red, green, blue, and yellow filigree border with fleur-de-lis icons on the top and bottom of the border. 

Indiana State Medical Association, formerly the Indiana State Medical Society, hosted its 47th annual session on May 28 and 29, 1896, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The organization was founded in 1849 as a way to build a community of physicians and ensure consistent, quality patient care. The society provides professional resources and opportunities for their members to engage in current policies that affect the medical practice. The Indiana State Medical Association continues today as a successful professional organization, with 9,500 members as of 2024.

Red text on a yellow background with a red band around the rim 

How are animals considered pets? A pet is any animal that shares a connection with humans. The key to these owners' bonds is affection and centuries of domestication. People worldwide take pride in their pet ownership, ranging from cats, dogs, reptiles, rodents, or perhaps an exotic pet like a Capybara! Nevertheless, this vintage-style button is humorous for any pet owner.

Graphic orange, red, and pink sun and clouds background design with white text around the rim and black text in the center

The 1967 Summer of Love brought counterculture to the forefront of the American consciousness, as thousands of young people protested established social norms and ideals. Eager to seize on this movement, the 7-Up corporation began a new advertising campaign in an attempt to boost faltering sales. Branding their product the “Uncola”, they focused on the differences from other popular soft drinks of the time, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, situating 7-Up as “the alternative brand for alternative people”. The campaign ran until 1975, with the “Uncola” slogan finally being dropped in 1998.

This particular button appears to be playing on the popular song "I’ll Follow the Sun", released by The Beatles in 1964.

Red and yellow comet illustrated diagonally across a black background with a dark green and white illustration of a watch face and dark green text on the bottom.  

In 1986, Halley’s Comet made its return around Earth after 76 years around the sun. Traveling at a speed of 2,000 mph for the past 2,000 years —and as big as the island of Manhattan—Halley's rare visit to Earth was hard to miss! 

Swatch watches dominated youth culture and fashion of the 1980s. To align with this major moment in air and space history, Swatch released a limited edition timepiece: the Cosmic Encounter GS102, seen here on this companion button. Halley’s Comet won’t make another visit to Earth until 2061, but when it does perhaps Swatch watches will recreate this desirable vintage find.  

Dark blue outer rim with white text; a mercury dime is sandwiched between the front and back of the button and fills the center

The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America (IUMSWA) was a labor union active between 1933 and 1988. It began in New Jersey, growing to protect many private shipyards on the East and Gulf coasts. The IUMSWA coverage of all production workers in the shipbuilding industry led to disputes with other craft unions, contributing to the American Federation of Labor (AFL) not recognizing the union. IUMSWA was independent until the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) allowed them to join in 1936. It slowly dissipated after the war, with the added issues of internal conflicts, mergers, and other union competition. IUMSWA’s early goals were improving wages, paid time off, and pensions for workers in private shipyards. They soon expanded to public government-owned yards. 

Teal and red sketch-style background with a black zig-zag outline, black text, and black illustrations of the symbols for "man" and "woman" in various combinations

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a condition that develops from an infection of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). AIDS typically creates a disintegration of the immune system that makes the person more susceptible to other infections. HIV/AIDS is primarily spread through unprotected sexual activity or needles contaminated with infected blood. It was first identified in humans in the United States in 1981, when previously healthy young gay men were contracting deadly diseases. In 1982, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) established four risk factors: male homosexuality, intravenous drug use, Haitian origin, and hemophilia A. As the epidemic spread, its association with gay men and drug use allowed for a damaging stigma that significantly furthered existing homophobia. 

The United States government was—and is, still—critiqued for ignoring the severity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. President Ronald Regan first spoke the name of the disease when he identified it as a top priority in 1985 after continued outcry from activists. Between 1987 and 1998, over 300,000 people died of AIDS in the US. By 1995, one in fifteen gay men had died of AIDS. By the mid-1990s, HIV/AIDS numbers were steadily declining, with the introduction of effective treatment in 1986. 

There is still no cure for AIDS, however, preventative medication and viral suppression medicine has made great strides Infected individuals can reduce the amount of HIV in their blood to an undetectable level, allowing for long lives and dramatically reducing risks for their sexual partners. The sentence "We're All Living With Aids" and the symbols of a variety of genders and gendered pairings work to dismantle the incorrect label of "gay plague" that was rampant in the 1980s and continues to affect the cultural consciousness today.