Rod Stewart

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Text on Button Rod Stewart
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Pink text in a paintbrush style font, over a black background. White specks are splattered on and around the text. 

Curl Text © 1983 STEWART ANNOYANCES
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Rod Stewart is a British singer-songwriter whose career has spanned over six decades. He is best known for hits such as "Ooh La La" with the group Faces and his solo smashes "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Maggie May." This pink text is taken from the album cover of Stewart's acclaimed 1988 effort, Out of Order. As of 2023, Stewart ranks 49th on Rolling Stone's list of the top 200 vocalists of all time. 

Sources

Wikimedia Foundation. (2023d, June 28). Rod Stewart. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Stewart

Rolling Stone. (2023, January 25). The 200 greatest singers of all time. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-12…

Catalog ID MU0567

Why Did Ogilvie Hire Cain?

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Text on Button WHY DID OGILVIE HIRE CAIN?
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Red text over a yellow background. 

Curl Text [union bug] 483
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Richard Buell Ogilvie was the 35th Governor of Illinois and served from 1969 to 1973. Ogilvie, a Republican, made a name for himself in the 1960s as the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois. While sheriff, he was also elected as the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Ogilvie narrowly defeated his opponent in the 1968 gubernatorial election: incumbent Democrat Samuel H. Shapiro, whose campaign capitalized on Ogilvie's association with former Chicago police officer Richard Cain, the chief investigator and aide to Ogilvie while he was Cook County Sheriff. Concurrently, Cain was also on the payroll of a notorious Chicago mafia boss and served as an "inside man" to the mob. In 1968, Cain was convicted of misprision of felony, aiding and abetting criminals, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, and in 1969 he pled guilty to perjury. Cain was released from prison in 1971 and was shot and killed in 1973—presumably by members of the Chicago mob—while eating at a diner on Chicago's West Side.

The Non-Partisan Committee for Governor Sam Shapiro took out full-page ads in November, 1968 that detailed Ogilvie's relationship with Cain and speculated that this association meant that he couldn't be trusted as Governor; the ads included the phrase seen on this button, "Why did Ogilvie hire Cain?"

Sources

1968 Sam Shapiro Illinois Governor Ogilvie Cain Campaign Pin Pinback Button Lot. (n.d.). eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115653065250

Wikipedia contributors. (2023). Richard B. Ogilvie. Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_B._Ogilvie

Richard Cain. (n.d.). Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKcainR.htm

Do you want Illinois branded with The Mark of Cain. (1968, November 3). Austin Journal.

Catalog ID PO1243

Take Off, Eh!

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Text on Button TAKE OFF, EH!
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Blue text over a white background. Above the text is a Canadian maple leaf. 

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It’s not clear where the phrase “take off, eh” came from, but it is widely accepted that the phrase was popularized by the Canadian characters Bob and Doug McKenzie from the Second City Television (SCTV) comedy sketch show. Played by Rick Moranis and Doug McKenzie, Bob and Doug were the main characters in the SCTV sketch “Great White North,” a parody where two stereotypical Canadian brothers talked about all things Canadian. 

"Take off, eh” has several meanings, but in the context of the “Great White North,” the phrase is used as a pejorative similar to a phrase like “get lost” or “shut up.” While the use of the word “eh” is considered to be uniquely Canadian, the origin of the word can be traced back to the Middle English words “ey,” “ei” and “a.”

Sources

Paterson, T. (2017, June 29). Take off “eh,” The story behind Canada’s pet word. Victoria News. https://www.vicnews.com/news/take-off-eh-the-story-behind-canadas-pet-word-28284

 Wright, K. (2016). Eh. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/eh

Catalog ID IB0818

Troll Doll Blond

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Photograph of a troll doll wearing a green shirt, over a blue background. Its hair is coming out of the top of the button. 

Curl Text NORFIN® TROLLS © EES MKTG ASSOC. INC THOMAS DAM DESIGNS
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In the late 1950s, the struggling Danish sculptor Thomas Dam struck gold with the invention of his signature troll. The oddly adorable dolls became an international sensation, becoming one of the top-selling toys of the 1960s. They remain a staple of pop culture, as seen in recent films like 2016's Trolls.

Hair was an integral part of Dam's original design. The toys were initially marketed as "Good Luck Trolls," and rubbing their colorful hair was purported to release their luck. This button allowed the wearer to carry the likeness and luckiness of the troll everywhere they went.

Sources

Delgado, M. (2020, April 9). The colorful history of the troll doll. Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/colorful-history-troll-doll-180974634/

[Image of troll doll button with packaging]. Ebay Item 293055119248. https://www.ebay.com/itm/293055119248

 

Catalog ID IN0139

Member Mickey Mouse Club

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Text on Button MEMBER MICKEY MOUSE CLUB COPYRIGHT WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS
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Illustration of Mickey Mouse's face over a white inner background, and a red rim. Black text is at the top and bottom. 

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Before the Mickey Mouse Club show, there was the Mickey Mouse Club, an actual club for young fans of all things Disney. The club held its inaugural meeting in the Elsinore Theatre in Salem, Oregon on December 21, 1929 and attracted over 1000 young people. By the 1930s, the club had over 1 million members. 

The Mickey Mouse Club show debuted on ABC in 1955 and featured a regular cast of teenagers who performed skits and musical numbers. These performers were known as Mouseketeers, and they became instant celebrities, as would their successors in the numerous revivals of the show. Mickey Mouse Club had several iterations, relaunching in 1977, 1989, and 1994, with the most recent revival kick-starting the careers of global superstars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling. 

While the first run of the Mickey Mouse Club ended in 1959, the original logo for the show is still in wide use, appearing regularly in Disney branded products.  

Sources

Lynn, C. (2019, December 24). Here’s how Salem kids formed the first ever Mickey Mouse Club in the nation in 1929. Statesman Journal. Retrieved from https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2019/12/23/disney-first-mickey-mouse-club-elsinore-theatre-salem-oregon/2664130001/ 

Mickey Mouse Club (television). D23. (2018, March 7). Retrieved from https://d23.com/a-to-z/mickey-mouse-club-television/ 

Smith, D. R. (1982, Summer). Buttons! Disney News Magazine, 12–13.

Catalog ID CL0661

The Rock WLS of Chicago

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Text on Button THE ROCK WLS AM 89 & FM 95 OF CHICAGO
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Black text except for "WLS" which is red, over a white/tan background. 

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WLS is a classic radio station that has broadcasted throughout the Chicagoland area for over 90 years.  Over the years, the station went through many periods of rebranding. One of the most notable was in the 1980s when it was renamed "The Rock of Chicago." Many claim that WLS was instrumental in popularizing many bands that are now considered rock classics, including Styx, Rush, and REO Speedwagon.

Sources

“WLS AM Stereo 89 - the Rock of Chicago!” Www.wlshistory.com, www.wlshistory.com/WLS80/. Accessed 27 July 2023.

Catalog ID CH0310

Minds Are Like Parachutes

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Text on Button MINDS ARE LIKE PARACHUTES- THEY ONLY FUNCTION WHEN OPEN
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Red text over a yellow background with irregular brown patches and spots. 

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The source of this quote is hotly debated. Some insist that it was coined by the Scottish whiskey distiller Lord Thomas Dewar, while others state that it was of American origin and first recorded in the late 1920s in The Louisville Times. The expression was also frequently used by the American experimental musician Frank Zappa.

Sources

Sven Yargs (2019, Nov. 11). ’a mind is like a parachute’-who coined this expression, and when? English Language & Usage Stack Exchange. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/517939/a-mind-is-like-a-par…

 

 

Catalog ID IB0817

Dinosaurs How You Doin' Fat Boy?

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Text on Button How you doin Fat boy?
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Black text in a pink text box. Background is a photograph of characters from the Dinosaurs television series, an illustrated yellow rock, and a patterned illustration in black and white that resembles the texture of lizard skin.

Curl Text © DISNEY OSP PUBLISHING, INC.
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Dinosaurs was an American comedy series that aired from 1991 to 1994. The show was the brainchild of Jim Henson and followed a family of dinosaurs, the Sinclairs (named after the fossil fuel corporation).

Ethyl Phillips is the curmudgeonly grandmother of the family. She loves romance novels and antagonizing her son-in-law Earl Sinclair, who she refers to as "fat boy."

Sources

Ethyl Phillips. Muppet Wiki. (n.d.-c). https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Ethyl_Phillips

Dinosaurs. Muppet Wiki. (n.d.). https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Dinosaurs

Cerone, D. (1991, November 17). Television : Primal secrets from the World of ’Dinosaurs’ : Disney reveals both the Wizardry and the Wizards behind the prehistoric stars of a prime-time sitcom. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-17-ca-492-story.html

Catalog ID EN0635