I'm Looking for a Sweetheart

Category
Additional Images
Sub Categories
Text on Button I'M LOOKING FOR A SWEETHEART
Image Description

Red text on a white background with a blue and white checkered outer edge

Back Style
The Shape
The Size
Year / Decade Made
The Manufacturer
Additional Information

I’m Looking for a Sweetheart (and I Think You’ll Do) is the title of a 1909 song recorded by Ada Jones and Bill Murray. The mischievous romantic nature of the song is reflected in the slogan, particularly when contextualized as one of a series of suggestive novelty buttons issued by Johnson Smith & Company in the 1930s. The buttons in this series all share the visual features of blue and white alternating rectangles around the perimeter of the button with red sans serif font boasting flirty expressions. The frivolous and fun nature of these buttons and other novelty goods produced in the 1920s and 1930s was purported by Johnson Smith & Co. as “provid[ing] an escape for people wracked with economic struggle brought on by WWI and the Great Depression” (Johnson Smith Company, LinkedIn).

Johnson Smith & Co. originated in 1914 as a novelty item mail-order company based in Chicago, IL. The company later moved to Racine, WI, Detroit, MI, and ultimately, Bradenton, FL. Though their website is now defunct, it was active as of 2012. Johnson Smith & Co. often advertised in print media aimed at young adults such as Action Comics, Boys’ Life, Popular Mechanics, and MAD. These ads and larger catalogs were influential in the development of American graphic design.

Sources

Johnson Smith Company. (n.d.) About Us. LinkedIn. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from, https://www.linkedin.com/company/johnson-smith-company.

Library of Congress. (n.d.) I’m looking for a sweetheart. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 15 from, https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-127246/.

Ted Hake. (n.d.) Johnson Smith Famous Novelty Supply House 1930s Suggestive Slogan Button. Ted Hake. Retrieved October 15, 2020 from, https://www.tedhake.com/JOHNSON_SMITH_FAMOUS_NOVELTY_SUPPLY_HOUSE_1930s….

Sedelmaier, J.J. (2012, April 9). Amazing X-Ray Glasses And 9000 Other Novelties – Johnson Smith & Co. PRINT. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.printmag.com/post/amazing-x-ray-glasses-and-9000-other-nove….

Catalog ID IB0587

Mello

Category
Additional Images
Text on Button "MELLO"
Image Description

White text on a red background

Back Style
The Shape
The Size
Additional Information

"Mello" derives from the word "mellow" which means to soften with age. The term was used frequently in the 1960s as a way to encourage oneself and others to be in a calm and receptive state, to "keep it mellow." This "mello" appears to be a play on the popular greeting, "hello."

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

Catalog ID IB0575

Nightclubbing

Category
Additional Images
Text on Button NIGHTCLUBBING
Image Description

Pink text on a black background

Back Style
The Shape
The Size
Additional Information

Nightclubbing has been a popular pastime since the 19th century. However, it did not reach the United States until the 1920s. What set nightclubbing apart from earlier nightlife activities prior to the 1920s is that women were now allowed to take part. The first night clubs popped up in New York City. During Prohibition, nightclubs remained opened as dancing venues. Some of the first popular clubs included The Cotton Club (1923-1936) and Copacabana (1940-1992), both in New York.

Sources

Laskow, S. (2014). New York literally invented nightlife. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/new-york-literal…

Miller, G. (2017). During prohibition, Harlem night clubs kept the party going. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/03/prohibition-harlem-nigh…

Peterson, M. (2015). The list: New York’s most historic clubs. Bazaar. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/g6051/historic-new-york-…

Catalog ID IB0578

No More Bullshit

Category
Additional Images
Text on Button NO MORE BULLSHIT
Image Description

White text on a black background

Back Style
The Shape
The Size
Additional Information

A curse word used to express disbelief in an event or piece of information presented as true when it is false. Literally, the feces from the animal, a bull. The first attested use of the term bullshit appears in a piece written by T.S. Eliot entitled "The Triumph of Bullshit." It's a comic ballad in which Eliot preemptively criticizes himself and his works before his critics could. The term bullshit only appears in the title.

Sources
Catalog ID IB0579

Omigod

Category
Additional Images
Text on Button OMIGOD!
Image Description

Orange text on a black background with a blue line around the outer edge

Curl Text ©1982 THOUGHT FACTORY MADE IN USA
Back Style
The Shape
The Size
Year / Decade Made
The Manufacturer
Additional Information

"Like, ohmigod!" was common slang of the expression, "Oh, my God!" given in astonishment as used by Valley Girls, a teen subculture which emerged from the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The Valley Girl (or "Val") stereotype was seen to be materialistic and airheaded, with speech characterized by slang such as, "fer shur", "grody to the max", "bitchen", and "gag me with a spoon", who spend their time going to the beach and hanging out at the mall. Valley Girls gained more national attention with the release of the Frank Zappa song "Valley Girls" in 1982, which featured his teen daughter Moon Unit Zappa talking in "Valspeak" behind the music, and then again in 1983 when the movie "Valley Girl" was released, starring Nicolas Cage. The exaggerated Valley Girl accent has come to be a general stereotype of the way all Californians speak. 

Catalog ID IB0577

Private Eye Green

Category
Additional Images
Sub Categories
Text on Button PRIVATE EYE
Image Description

Yellow text around an illustration of an eye on a green background

Curl Text JAPAN
Back Style
The Shape
The Size
Additional Information

“Private Eye” is a popular slang term for professional investigators, widely used for over 150 years. In common vernacular, it implies that investigators see everything—however the actual root of the expression can be tied directly to the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, founded by Allen Pinkerton in the mid-1800s. This logo became iconic, and the work of the early Pinkerton investigators became infamous. Because the logo appeared on badges, uniforms, and advertising media, people started calling the Pinkerton detectives “Private Eyes.” Although the profession has evolved far beyond the Pinkerton agency, the concept of the Private Eye as all-seeing and all-knowing holds true. In fact, many modern private investigators still use the eye in their logos!

Sources

Private Investigator. (2009). Private eye. https://www.private-investigator-info.org/private-eye.html

Catalog ID IB0580

Relax

Category
Additional Images
Text on Button 11-10-9-8-7 RELAX
Image Description

Black text on a green background

Back Style
The Shape
The Size
Additional Information

Mindfulness is a technique used to aid in the reduction of anxiety, racing thoughts, mood, and more. Breath counting is a mindfulness technique—referred to as a sustained attention task—that connects memory with attention and promotes focus rather than distraction. Breath counting helps the practitioner become more aware of the present moment, which in turn can produce a calming effect. "11-10-9-8-7 Relax" is a visual representation of this concept.

Sources

Levinson, D. B., Stoll, E. L., Kindy, S. D., Merry, H. L., & Davidson, R. J. (2014). A mind you can count on: validating breath counting as a behavioral measure of mindfulness. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 1202. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01202

Catalog ID IB0590