White text and an illustration of the Statue of Liberty on a blue inner circle surrounded by a red outer ring

Liberty bonds were issued by the United States Treasury during the First World War to help finance the war effort. The first Liberty Bond Act was passed in 1917. When Americans on the home front bought a liberty bond, they were encouraged to wear a button to show their contribution to the war effort.

White text on a red background with a decorative edge with an outer white edge of the button

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Black text on a bright pink background

The slogan on this button is a variation on a slogan that appeared on buttons and posters that were distributed during the famous March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation that took place in D.C. on April 25, 1993. It is estimated that 1 million people attended the March. Between the 1987 March on Washington and the early 1990s, LGBT people achieved much more mainstream visibility than they had in the past. The LGBT community still faced widespread discrimination, through such policies as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and rising instances of targeted hate crimes.

Red text on a white background

This button refers to the way that heroin use can severely damage one’s physical and mental wellbeing as well as the negative effect its use can have on overall quality of life. In the early 1970s many soldiers came home from fighting in Vietnam having developed an addiction to heroin and the drug’s pervasiveness continued to grow throughout the 70s. In 1971, President Nixon named drug abuse as “public enemy number one in the United States” and announced the creation of the Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention, to be headed by a leading methadone treatment specialist.  Previously, the primary emphasis was on trying to arrest the problem of heroin out of existence. Law enforcement went after the whole chain of possession and trafficking and drug charges soon accounted for half to three-quarters of the population of some federal prisons. But as lives began to be lost in great numbers and as heroin abuse provided a vector for new and old diseases, the emphasis began to shift more towards treatment and recovery for the addict.

Illustration of a fist holding strands of hair with blue outlined text across the top and blue text on the forearm on a yellow background

Hairpower was a hair salon in Greenwich Village, New York, owned by Carlo Manfredi. In operation from 1970 until 1994, it was famous for its cutting-edge styles.

Illustration of a person's head with yellow hair and a light brown beard and mustache on a green background with black text along the top edge

This button refers to the 1981 Irish hunger strike that was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland.  Long Kesh Detention Centre, now known as Her Majesty’s Prison Maze, was a prison that was used to house paramilitary prisoners (mostly members of the IRA). One of the local names for the prison was the H Blocks and it was reportedly run like a prisoner of war camp. In the late 1970s, prisoners stages protests against their treatment and aimed to re-establish their political status by demanding certain rights, including the right to not wear a prison uniform. Their protests did not initially garner much attention, but in 1980, several prisoners volunteered to be part of a hunger strike. The second hunger strike began in 1981 when the IRA’s former commanding officer, Bobby Sands, refused food.  It was a showdown between the prisoners and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Bobby Sands was actually elected as a Member of Parliament during the strike, prompting media interest from around the world. Sands’ death on the 66^th day of his hunger strike prompted rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. The strike radicalized Irish nationalist politics and was the driving form that enabled Sinn Féin to become a mainstream political party.

Illustration of a grey elephant's head wearing a black hat and tie and holding a large black toothbrush on a yellow background with red text along the bottom

In the 1950s, the New Zealand Department of Health published a poster featuring a variation on this illustration along with the slogan “An Elephant Never Forgets. Clean your teeth after meals and before bed.” The poster was one of a series of which aimed to promote dental hygiene in children.

Red text on a yellow background

The "Friends of the Free Library" is a non-profit organization made up of a group of volunteers located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The volunteers at the “Friends of the Free Library” keep libraries open, vital, and relevant by helping to pay for books and programs.  The organization was founded in 1973, and since then has been an independent, charitable organization supporting the 54-branch Free Library system in Philadelphia. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a public library system, and is the 13^th largest public library system in the United States. 

Blue text on a white background

Dope is for dopes is a slogan created from a segment in the television series Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids Season 1, Episode 17. An excerpt from the episode description reads as follows: Franny Bates' brother Muggles gives him money and a number of material things that he shares with the gang, including a motorcycle that eventually gets wrecked by Fat Albert. He personally goes to Muggles to do what he can to pay for it. Muggles gives Albert a package to deliver, eventually learning it contains narcotic drugs after he gets apprehended by the police, who determine he didn't know about the drugs. Fat Albert agrees to help them catch Muggles and arrest him to stop his drug dealing. While Franny no longer acknowledges Fat Albert as a friend, the rest of the gang stick up for him, knowing he did the right thing to get illegal drugs off the streets.

Along with the popularity of the phrase, the show also provided a song with the same title, Dope is for Dopes.

Illustration of hands holding a scrub brush and a paint bruch on a white inner circle surrounded by an outer blue edge with white text

This button is most likely related to two documentary film shorts released in 1953 and 1954 called The House in the Middle, which showed the effects of a nuclear bomb test on three small houses. The houses on the left and right are run down and poorly maintained, but the house in the middle is clean, freshly-painted, and well-kept. The middle house survives the attack, while the more rundown houses do not. The 1953 version of the film was created by the Federal Civil Defense Administration (which created a nationwide plan for fallout shelters) to show that taking care of your house could help protect you from a nuclear bomb dropped by the Soviet Union.

The 1954 version of the film was released in color by the National Clean Up – Paint Up – Fix Up Bureau, which was created by the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association. This version of the film was geared more toward marketing paint than protection against bombs.