Illustration of a yellow bus over yellow, orange and black text on a white background

Port Authority Transit (PAT) is the main public transportation facilitator of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and comes as a result of a 33 company merger in the 1950s-1960s. PAT ran its first busses on March 1, 1964. The Model Cities program was an urban aid initiative from the desk of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The intent was to revitalize the country’s poorest urban communities but the program met with much opposition. Philadelphia was the first city to participate in the program in 1967.

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Black text under an illustration of a person in a bathtub on a white background

Hassan Cigarettes were popular at the turn of the century and known for their cork tip. As an advertising campaign, several cartoonists were contracted to draw cartoon illustrations for popular phrases of the day such as, “Keep Out!” Some of the artists include Harry C. “Bud” Fisher of Mutt and Jeff cartoons, George McManus, Tom McNamara, and Rube Goldberg. Rube Goldberg (183-1970) was an American cartoonist and inventor who is best known for his cartoon depictions of impossibly complicated machines to accomplish simple mundane tasks. Goldberg is attributed with coining the phrase, “I’m the guy…” He is also the only person ever to be listed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an adjective.

White text on a blue background with a yellow illustration of butter and an outer white edge

"It's better with butter" was the slogan of a 1942 ad campaign by the American Dairy Association. At that time, the United States had just joined World War II. Butter and fats were not yet rationed in the U.S., but they were often hard to get, thanks to rations on gas and tires and resulting limits on transportation.

The "better with butter" campaign sought to undermine these difficulties by appealing to homemakers' wartime patriotism. Ads referred to "nutrition defense" and described butter's role in maximizing "economy" meals. An ad in Life magazine advised readers that when they served nutritionally dense foods such as butter, they were "helping to win the war".

The "better with butter" ads disappeared at the end of 1942, when the U.S. experienced a serious shortage of butter and other fats. The next year, the government imposed rations on butter, fats, cooking oils, and other foods in support of the war effort. These would remain under ration until the end of 1945.

See vintage "better with butter" ads here and here.

Black text around an illustration of a guy wearing a red shirt and pointing to his head on a white background

Rube Goldberg, the cartoonist responsible for this line of "I'm the Guy" buttons is more famously known for his illustrations of inventions that were funny and complicated. His name is in the Webster dictionary and is defined as "accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply". He was a dedicated cartoonist, doing both political and comical cartoons. Goldberg is also a founding member of the National Cartoonist Society whose Reuben Award is named after his proper name, Rueben.

The popularity of the "I'm the guy..." slogans caught the eye of tobacco marketers. So if you wanted one of these buttons back in the 1910's, you'd have to buy some of their cigarettes. 

There was even an "I'm the guy" song !

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Perfection Cigarettes are a brand of Allen & Ginter which was a tobacco manufacturer out of Richmond Virginia in 1865. In 1890, Allen & Ginter along with four other manufacturers joined forces to form the American Tobacco Company. While many cigarette brands issued pinback buttons as purchase incentives in the 1890s-1910s, Perfection Cigarettes are the only brand to issue exclusively red and blue text-only buttons with phrases of popular phrases of the day such as, “Good Night!”

Illustration of a bald man in profile looking in a mirror with black text underneath on a white background

The illustrator of this button, Rube Goldberg, is synonymous with complicated inventions that perform simple tasks. An engineer and inventor, Goldberg also drew several comic series, including Mike and Ike (They Look Alike), Boob McNutt, and The Weekly Meeting of the Tuesday Women's Club. In the series featuring Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, Goldberg drew schematics of the comical gadgets by which he came to be known.

Goldberg was a founding member and first president of the National Cartoonists Society, whose Reuben Award for cartoonist of the year is named after him. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning in 1948, and in 1995 was honored with a commemorative stamp as part of the "Comic Strip Classics" series from the U.S. Postal Service.

This button was part of a set of 376 known buttons, issued as premiums primarily with Hassan and Tokio cigarettes. They featured cartoons by artists such as as Rube Goldberg, George McManus, Bud Fisher, Hal Hoffman, and others.

Illustration of a a boy's head on a blue background with black and white text above and below it.

In the mid 1960s, the fast food chain Burger Chef joined with the comic strip The Family Circus in an advertising campaign. The Indianapolis-based chain, which began in 1954, was a competitor of McDonalds, and launched numerous ads in attempts to become number one in the fast food industry. Their campaign with The Family Circus contributed to their success and at their peak in 1973 Burger Chef had over 1,000 locations. However, the chain was sold to Hardee's and the final Burger Chef closed its doors in 1996.

The Family Circus was created in February 1960 by Bill Keane. The comic, which appears as both a daily strip and Sunday strip, is about the Keane family's daily suburban life centering on the children in the family. Featured on the button is PJ (Peter John), the youngest of the characters, was introduced on August 1, 1962. Appearing in over 1,500 newspapers, The Family Circus is now one of the most famous comic strips in the world.

Illustration of a black cat with a big yellow bow around its neck and black text on either side on a white background

The Chicago-Rockford Hosiery Company introduced Black Cat Stockings in 1897. Ads as late as 1900 described the product as "triple knee leather stockings for boys". The company's later introduction of White Cat Underwear lead to a spin-off company, which would eventually become known as Jockey International, Inc.

Illustration of cheese on a plate on a white background with an outer green edge with white text

The Green County Cheese Day began in 1914, after local business men attended Sauerkraut Day in Forreston, Illinois and became determined to host their own food related celebration. In 1916, festival attendees witnessed 2,000 pounds of milk turn into a giant wheel of cheese, a 2 mile long "Panorama of Cheeseland" parade that included clowns and caged animals, and consumed 15,000 cheese sandwiches. Today the festival is held in September in even years, and features concerts, parades, and a cow milking contest. A king, queen, prince, princess, and ambassador are selected by popular ballet and preside over the festivities.