Black tex on a white background and white text on an red square. A woman cartoon holding a jug of milk with a happy expression.

Sealtest Dairy was a division of the National Dairy Products Corporation that manufactured dairy products throughout the United States.The Sealtest brand was ultimately acquired from Kraft (along with Breyers) in 1993 by Unilever, which retains the rights to the brand. Sealtest milk products are currently produced under the Good Humor-Breyers subsidiary of Unilever. Unfortunately, Sealtest ice cream products have been discontinued. Sealtest at one time had an ice cream parlor in Walt Disney World and also sponsored a pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. 

Black text on a white background with a pink figure outlined in black

The Gremlin was manufactured by American Motors Corporation from 1970-1978. It was a small hatchback advertised as an American-built car that could stand up to the German and Japanese cars that were taking over the market. The Gremlin was well-received upon its release and was eventually succeeded by the AMC Spirit in 1979.

The Gremlin logo of the cartoon imp was chosen because, like the design of the automobile, it was different. It was also meant to counteract negative connotations of gremlins as mischievous and meddling. The cute logo and affordable car design sold well to a younger demographic, who made up the majority of buyers during the eight years that the car was manufactured.

Bright blue background on top and bottom 1/4 of button with black text. Orange background on center 1/2 of button with tiny yellow dots, zigzag edges, and big yellow bubble text in center of orange section.

Creative House Productions Inc. originated in 1964 and were responsible for the creation of many promotional comic pins found in gumball machines and Cracker Jack boxes. Creative House eventually created the brand PinMart, which became the first website to sell lapel pins. PinMart eventually outgrew its parent company and bought Creative House in 2008. 

Large black text on a white background with smaller black text at the bottom.

“Faultless” Pepsin Chips chewing gum started being distributed in 1895. It was endorsed by physicians, chemists, and dentists who claimed the gum had medicinal properties and strengthened teeth.

Orange background with black text on the top of the button, with an illustration below the text of a man with a mustache wearing glasses and a hat with a feather in it.

The Little Ole’ Button Maker was a registered trademark of the Hand Tip and Novelty Co. for promotional buttons in their line. The trademark was registered in 1970 and notes the first commercial use of the Little Ole’ Button Maker was in 1965. The trademark expired in 1993. Hantico was later purchased by Uniflex, a bag manufacturer in 1992. In 1995, Uniflex Inc. sold Hantico to American Greenwood Inc that had a similar promotional product line. The Hand Tip and Novelty Co. was a manufacturer of promotional items that was founded in Manhattan, New York in 1900. Their main products at that time were ornate brass medallions and political buttons. This changed in the 1950s as promotional buttons became popular advertising strategy. Hand and Tip Novelty Co. eventually became Hantico Line which was a specialty advertising company which later moved its base to Newburg, New York in 1984. Though the Hantico Line produced other items such as ribbons, clips, and clipboards, buttons were the main focus of the company.

Red background with white text curved on the top and bottom of button and a thick white bar in the center of the button with red text.

The phrase 'button button who's got the button" comes from a children’s guessing game where a small object like a button is secretly placed in the hand of a person in the group by the leader, then whoever is “It” must guess which person has the object. Often children in the group chant the phrase “button button who’s got the button” before making guesses. The first printed reference to the game was 1871 in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Men. The phrase has also been used to whimsically pose questions needing guesswork to an audience, and at times used literally by writers when referencing buttons of all kinds.

Black text on a bright yellow background.

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Black (backwards) text on a white background.

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White background with illustration of the back of a button with pin and lock with large bright green text.

The Badge Shop (1978-1983) was established in the Covent Garden area of London by sculptor Des Kay who hoped to tap into the button craze of the late 1960s. The shop sold vintage buttons, customizable buttons, and commercial buttons (known as badges in the United Kingdom) that specialized in primarily text-based slogan buttons promoting bands, social justice movements, pop culture commentaries and political opinions.

Black line illustration of three people standing behind a fence with a banner with text above them, black text below the drawing all on a yellow background.

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