Black and white photograph of a man with a mustache and short hair in a suit

Photographic pinback buttons made with celluloid material were extremely popular from the late 1800s to the 1930s.  It was during the 1860s that photography became more available on the commercial market. Humphrey E. Copley of Connecticut sought a patent in 1861 to incorporate photographs onto buttons by utilizing a metal rim to hold the photograph in place. This technology coincided with the Civil War and mourners embraced the option of being able to wear visual representations of their loved ones. John Wesley Hyatt was an American inventor who received a patent for a product named celluloid in 1870. After refinement of the initial product, Hyatt’s celluloid became the first commercially profitable synthetic material. United States patent records reflect the usage of celluloid in making buttons with photographs in the late 1880s. In 1893 Benjamin S. Whitehead acquired a patent for using celluloid over the photo to protect the image. The increased availability of photography coupled with the ability of manufacturers to produce buttons inexpensively allowed the public to create a fashion fad out of the desire to have portable keepsakes.  

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Black and white photograph of a man in a suit and tie with his hand on his chin

Photographic pinback buttons made with celluloid material were extremely popular from the late 1800s to the 1930s.  It was during the 1860s that photography became more available on the commercial market. Humphrey E. Copley of Connecticut sought a patent in 1861 to incorporate photographs onto buttons by utilizing a metal rim to hold the photograph in place. This technology coincided with the Civil War and mourners embraced the option of being able to wear visual representations of their loved ones. John Wesley Hyatt was an American inventor who received a patent for a product named celluloid in 1870. After refinement of the initial product, Hyatt’s celluloid became the first commercially profitable synthetic material. United States patent records reflect the usage of celluloid in making buttons with photographs in the late 1880s. In 1893 Benjamin S. Whitehead acquired a patent for using celluloid over the photo to protect the image. The increased availability of photography coupled with the ability of manufacturers to produce buttons inexpensively allowed the public to create a fashion fad out of the desire to have portable keepsakes.

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Black and white photograph of a man in a light colored suit in front of a dark background

Photographic pinback buttons made with celluloid material were extremely popular from the late 1800s to the 1930s.  It was during the 1860s that photography became more available on the commercial market. Humphrey E. Copley of Connecticut sought a patent in 1861 to incorporate photographs onto buttons by utilizing a metal rim to hold the photograph in place. This technology coincided with the Civil War and mourners embraced the option of being able to wear visual representations of their loved ones. John Wesley Hyatt was an American inventor who received a patent for a product named celluloid in 1870. After refinement of the initial product, Hyatt’s celluloid became the first commercially profitable synthetic material. United States patent records reflect the usage of celluloid in making buttons with photographs in the late 1880s. In 1893 Benjamin S. Whitehead acquired a patent for using celluloid over the photo to protect the image. The increased availability of photography coupled with the ability of manufacturers to produce buttons inexpensively allowed the public to create a fashion fad out of the desire to have portable keepsakes.

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Illustration of a hand with one finger extended holding a line with a boy sitting on the left and a girl on the right on a black background

Sleepy Joe's was a children's radio show that was broadcasted in the 1940s. The stories told on the show were a retelling of Uncle Remus stories featuring characters such as Brer Rabbit, Brer Turtle, and Brer Fox.  In the program, Jimmy Scribner (a white man) plays a Black storyteller named Sleepy Joe as well as all the animals. Scribner was also known for his radio show, The Johnson Family, in which he plays an African American family from a Southern town called Chickazola. 

Illustration of a black and white owl with a yellow question mark on its front on a white background

Jay Kaplan created large-scale versions of pinback buttons between eight and twenty-one inches to create button walls or wall clusters in a work called "Clus-ter" (2014-2019). Kaplan stated the buttons are composed of "mdf, enamel, vinyl, and resin" (n.d., "Clus-ter"). MDF stands for medium-density fiberboard. Clus-ter has been displayed at Jay Kaplan Studio, exhibitions, and residences in the U.S.A. in various configurations. As of 2021, Kaplan is open to the idea of future installations.

Illustration of a pink and black pig running over green grass on a white background with black text above and below

This Little Pig When to Market is a traditional nursery rhyme. Whitehead and Hoag Co. also offered other products such as customized ink blotter covers, which depicted scenes from the same nursery rhyme.

Illustration of a character made of a black spiraling spring like shape wearing a yellow crown and holding a wand on a white background

United States Bedding was founded by Samuel Bronstein, a Russian immigrant, in 1898. Initially, he and his family worked out of their home in St. Paul, MN, but business grew, and they built a factory. Wanting to rebrand, they mounted a naming contest. The winner, Era Bell Thompson from North Dakota, suggested “King Koil” and won $25. An artist created the Koil Man logo seen on this button, and a King Koil sign is still on the side of the factory at Vandalia Street and I-94. The company still makes mattresses, but they are now based in Arizona. Era Bell Thompson went on to a literary career and spent 40 years as an editor for Ebony magazine. Years later, Samuel Bronstein Jr. was thumbing through a copy of Ebony and saw her name on the masthead. He immediately wrote her a note and received a “warm and gracious reply” from Ms. Thompson thanking him for the $25 which she used to further her education.

Illustration of a green four leaf clover on a white background

The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland. In the legend of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, he used the shamrock to  to illustrate the concept of the Holy Trinity while converting the Irish to Christianity.

The term shamrock was first linked to a recognizable plant – clover – by English herbalist, John Gerard, in 1596. When depicted with four leaves as shown in this button, it is considered a good luck charm. It is estimated that the four-leaf clover occurs once in every 10,000 plants.

Illustration of a cat laying on a rainbow with colors of the rainbow on the cat

"The Good Luck Rainbow Cat" is a product of A.M. Associates, Inc., a domestic profit corporation and sole proprietorship. The company is indicated to have produced other designs including "Good Luck Rainbow Fish," "Good Luck Rainbow Unicorn," and "Good Luck Rainbow Alligator." In addition to buttons, the company also produced other products including window decals, stickers, and lapel pins. The good luck motif is a cross-cultural belief that certain items will bring good luck in or chase bad luck away. The good luck rainbow has origins in the rainbow bridge of Norse mythology. The good luck cat, or maneki-neko—symbolized as the beckoning cat— comes from Japanese origin and was considered lucky because the cat is welcoming and greeting. The good luck fish, or dragon fish, is known in Chinese culture to bring luck from its appearance of red color and coin-like scales.

Illustration of a face with big eyes and an open mouth smile with teeth on a pinkish tan background

The classic yellow smiley face is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It  was designed in 1963 by by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

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