Blue text on a white background.

The Parisian Novelty Company originated in Chicago, Illinois, in 1898 as a manufacturer of advertisement novelties such as pinback buttons. During the late 1800s, celluloid was popular for creating plastics due to its flexibility, durability, and transparency. The Parisian Novelty Company would reach its peak during the late 1910s, and early 1920’s when they created vanity cases, which were often used to hold money or makeup. The company would eventually be sold in 2008 and renamed Matchless Parisian Novelty, a manufacturer of pinback buttons and button parts.

White text on a green background with a clip attached

Before the ubiquitous plastic blue tarp, canvas was the preferred material for making tarps. The full word, tarpaulin, is a compound word from “tar” and “palling” which refers to sailors covering objects on ships with tar-coated canvas palls.

Canvas Products Co. is not well documented, although they are in the 1955 Cleveland City Directory. At best estimate, this clip dates between 1949 and 1963.

White text and a white illustration of a diamond shape with lines emanating along the bottom with a diamond like gem in the center for the button

This button commemorates the 75th Diamond Jubilee of the establishment of the town of Culbertson, Montana. The celebration activities took place from June 1- 3,1962. The expansion of the Great Northern Railroad led to the creation of the town in June 1887. The town was named for Major Alexander Culbertson who was the Clerk of Fort Union and the former head of the American Fur Company at Fort Union. The military posts along the Missouri River required horses to supply their cavalry units so the primary occupation of the townspeople was horse ranching. When cattle prices rose, cattle ranching took over as the predominant way of life. The Homestead laws of 1909 saw the arrival of homesteaders who increased the area’s farming output. For decades, the combination of successful harvests and the railroad served to make Culbertson a leading agricultural trading center of the area. After World War II, Culbertson saw a decline in both businesses and population. Today the town is home to an estimated 815 residents.

Illustration of a light brown turtle shell with red text on it on top of a green metal turtle

The Dames of Malta are part of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which is a Roman Catholic religious order that was founded in 1099 in Jerusalem. Its main mission is to defend the Catholic faith and help the poor. The Dames of Malta are a group of women within the Order of Malta. In the United States, the Order of Malta was founded in 1927 with its headquarters in New York City.

White text on a blue background with a white ribbon holding a small metal ice cube tray

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Illustration of a blue ribbon with gold text on it all on a white background

The blue ribbon has been used for different purposes throughout history. Nowadays, a blue ribbon is typically associated with high quality and excellence. This is an association that comes from the sixteenth century French knight’s order, known as Ordre du Saint Esprit, in which members were called Cordon-bleus after the blue ribbons that they wore. There is also some association from the prize of an unofficial accolade, known as The Blue Riband, which is awarded to the fastest passenger ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The symbol of the blue ribbon is also used by companies and sellers as a marketing ploy to attract buyers. 

White text on blue background with a white ribbon holding a keychain type fob with a plastic white iceskate

Holiday on Ice is a traveling, family friendly, ice skating show. Beginning in 1943, Emery Gilbert came up with the idea of making portable ice skating rinks, complete with refrigeration units that could be taken around the world and used for professional ice skating shows. He contacted two men for help, Morris Chalfen, who procured the financing, and George Tyson, who would coordinate the shows. Thus, Holiday on Ice was born. It featured professional skaters with lavish sets and costumes, skating to popular music with chorus line kick routines and the signature wagon wheel move, where skaters would join each other by linking arms and creating the spokes of a wagon wheel. Fireworks would always end the shows.

Holiday on Ice would take on the Ice Vogues skating show and would go international, traveling to many countries, while Holiday would stay in the U.S. From 1953-56, movie star Sonja Henie joined the Holiday on Ice family, she would tour internationally for those three years. In 1959, the show even toured Russia for the first time. And in 1963, tragedy would strike the show, when a gas leak at a show at the Indianapolis state fairground exploded killing 74 people.

Black text on a light blue background with a black and white photograph of a man in the center

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Yellow background with black and red text, a rainbow across the bottom, and a red plastic dial in the center that changes the text that shows in the window across the bottom.

Wanna Enterprises, Inc. was a producer of patented dial-type buttons between 1982 and 1984. They were headquartered in Rochester, NH. The company produced a variety of novelty designs included astrology themed buttons, birthday buttons, personalized buttons with many name options, and explicit buttons intended for an adult audience

Photograph of a Jagermeister bottle on a red and black pinwheel like background with white text and a white spinning arrow attached.

This button was designed as a game to determine who bought the next round of Jagermeister and where it would be drunk. Jagermeister was created by Curt Mast in Wolfenbuttel, Germany, in 1935. The recipe was created with 56 herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits. The name Jagermeister (translated "hunt master") and the stag emblem was said to be in honor of Wolfenbuttel tradition, where it was frequently consumed as a post-hunt drink.