White Background with black text and a red and white checkered edge.

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.”

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.

Black and white photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in regalia on a yellow background with blue text around the rim above and below

On July 6, 1959 Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip briefly visited Chicago, Illinois during their commonwealth tour of Canada. In the first visit to Chicago by a sitting British Monarch, the royal couple were greeted by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Illinois Governor Stratton. Their visit was celebrated with a welcoming ceremony and a parade. The royal couple also visited the Chicago International Trade Fair, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Art Institute. Only a thirteen hour visit, the event was well attended and memorabilia from the visit is archived in the Chicago History Museum. 

Illustration of a smiling prairie dog on a white background with black text around the rim.

Native to the grasslands of America, prairie dogs have long been considered pests by farmers who believe them to compete with livestock for resources. In the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, government-initiated poisoning programs greatly reduced prairie dog populations. Kennedy N. Clapp and his wife, residents of Lubbock, Texas, were concerned about the survival of the species and established a prairie dog colony by trapping two pairs of black-tailed prairie dogs. In 1935, Mackenzie Park became a state park, and the colony was moved there.

The colony, known as Prairie Dog Town, quickly became a tourism draw and the city adopted the prairie dog as its mascot. Prairie Dog Pete served as the goodwill ambassador for the colony, with his image being used for promotional material. Clapp was named mayor of Prairie Dog Town in perpetuity, overseeing operations until his death in 1969.

White stars on a blue background on with white text on the top third of the button; blue and red text on a red and white striped background on the bottom two-thirds. 

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White background with black text and white and black checkered edge.

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.”

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.

White Background with blue text and a red and white checkered 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 phrase, “Oh honey give me some,” when worn on the lapel, likely had an effect much like that of a cat-call or a public invitation to onlookers, specifically women, to give the wearer a taste: a suggestive invitation implying a desire for physical intimacy.

Yellow background with an illustration of a blue, black, white, and yellow dog with blue text above and black text below.

The College of St. Scholastica opened in 1912 in Duluth, Minnesota, as an independent private college with only six students. Over 100 years later, with various locations across Minnesota, the school now boasts 4,000 students.

The St. Scholastica Athletics team name is the Saints. In 2022 the team branding was given an update, and the team mascot, “Storm,” a St. Bernard, was given a makeover. With his new look, Storm lost the cartoony image depicted on this button for one that shows more determination. “The new Storm communicates focus, grit and the underdog mentality,” according to the press release. 

Red background with large, white text and a number one bisected by the text.

Black text on white background with red and white checkered edge.

In the 1940s, carnivals gave out checkered pin-back buttons as game prizes and souvenirs, many of which had funny phrases like “You’re the One” and “Jeepers Creepers” and also included titles of famous songs of the day, like “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo,” sung by Wendell Hall in 1923. This “I’m No Angel” button may be a variation of this. It would certainly fit the carnival theme, seeing as Mae West starred in the movie I’m No Angel (1933) as a sharp and seductive circus performer for “Big Bill Barton’s Wonder Show” who falls in love with Jack Clayton, a character played by Cary Grant.

Aged white background with black illustration of a rooster, black text, and a red and aged white checkered edge.

In the 1940s, carnivals gave out checkered pin-back buttons as game prizes and souvenirs, many of which had funny phrases like “You’re the One” and “Jeepers Creepers” and also included titles of famous songs of the day, like “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo.” This “Cock-A-Doodling” button may be a variation of such buttons.