4 red, six-pointed stars appear between two light-blue (cyan) bars, all before a white background.
 

This button shows the municipal flag of the City of Chicago. The official flag was originally adopted in 1917 and amended in 1933 and 1939 when two additional stars were added. The cyan and white bars represent geographical features of the city: the cyan stripes for Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago River; the top, middle, and bottom white bars for the North, West, and South Sides, respectively. The four red, six-pointed stars symbolize four historically significant events in the city's history: 1. Fort Dearborn and the massacre of settlers and destruction that took place there in 1812; 2. the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; 3. the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893; and 4. the Century of Progress Exposition of 1933-34. Each of the star's six points represents a unique value, attribute, or historical fact about the city as well. 

Dark blue background with a red border, center image a white silhouette of a city skyline with text overlay and a small blue and red rectangle logo with a white silhouette of a baseball player in the upper left center.

The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Founded in 1876 as the Chicago White Stockings, the team was renamed in 1903. The Cubs were a founding member of the National League, and now play in the National League Central Division. The team is affectionally known as “The Cubbies” or “North Siders” and play their home games at Chicago’s historic Wrigley Field. They have a loyal fan base and—regardless of decades of mixed success—are one of the most popular franchises in baseball. In 2016, the Chicago Cubs went on to break a 108-year losing streak curse with their first World Series championship since 1908. 

The logo that is represented on this button has been the Cubs' logo since 1979 and the silhouette in the background is of the Chicago skyline—a cityscape often ranked as the tallest and most magnificent skylines in the world. It has three of America's five tallest buildings. 

Read more about the History of Cubs Buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

White text over a dark green background.

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Pale yellow background with line illustration of a man wearing a hat.

Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Capone was a low-ranking Five Points Gang member. Capone moved to Chicago where he became a bodyguard for Johnny Torrio, boss of the Chicago Outfit Gang. After Torrio retired, Capone became the new boss. He quickly expanded the gang’s bootlegging business during the Prohibition Era. The gang’s violence contributed to Capone being “Public Enemy No. 1” to the FBI. Eventually, Capone was sentenced to prison for 11 years for tax evasion, a strategy used by the government in order to prosecute high-ranking gang members. Capone was released after 8 years; he died shortly after being released from cardiac arrest.

This button was manufactured by the Busy Beaver Button Co.

A printed image of Grover Cleveland is surrounded by a brass outer layer. The printed image is protected by a glass covering. 

This button is likely a campaign button used in Grover Cleveland's first Presidential bid in 1884. The button features a modern printed image covered with a protective layer of glass, which represents a pioneering design and technique at the time in button history. For this reason, it is considered one of the “crown jewels” of our collection.

Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908), the first Democrat President after the Civil War, was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. He was the only President to leave the White House and return for a second term four years later (1885-1889 and 1893-1897). He was also the first bachelor President when elected to office and the first one to get married while in office. He met the future First Lady Frances Folsom when she was 11, and proposed to her via a letter when she was attending college. They were married in the Blue Room in the White House.

During his presidencies, Cleveland supported the gold standard and pursued policies that limited government responsibilities and reduced high tariffs. He was also known for his blunt treatment to the railroad workers in Chicago, for that he sent Federal troops to enforce an injunction imposed on the strikers. Cleveland had blemished records on civil rights advancement. He campaigned against the Enforce Bill that ensured the voting rights of African Americans, extended the Exclusion Act on Chinese immigrants, and lobbied congress for a bill to forbid their returns.

A brass button with raised lettering along the top portion of the button. An oval well sits in the center of the button with two large raised letters placed in the middle. 

George Washington inaugural buttons were created to announce the first presidential inauguration. Washington’s inauguration ceremony took place on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City. People who attended Washington’s first inauguration could purchase commemorative buttons as souvenirs marking the historic occasion.

There are many different design variations of the George Washington inaugural buttons. However, this version is the most popular and most common. ‘Long Live the President’ is a play on the traditional proclamation of ‘Long Live the King’ which was often declared following the accession of a new monarch to the throne.

A brass rimmed button with an illustration of Stephen Decatur in the center and black text at the top of the button. The illustration and text lies on a white background. 

Commodore Stephen Decatur (1779-1820) was an American naval officer known for his many victories at sea. Throughout his career he commanded seven different battleships and fought in the Quasi-War (1798-1800) against France, and in the First Barbary War against the Barbary States. The latter is considered the United States' first military foray into the Middle East/North Africa region. 

A ferrotype image of Abraham Lincoln sits within a brass frame and black text is listed on the top portion of the image. 

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1965) was the 16th President of the United States. His presidency lasted from March 1861 until he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Washington, D.C. in April 1865. This "pre-button" was produced in support of Lincoln's 1864 presidential campaign on the Republican ticket against Democrat George B. McClellan of New Jersey. Lincoln was re-elected in a landslide victory through the Electoral College. He was the first president to be re-elected since Andrew Jackson in 1832 and began his second term on March 4, 1865.

An illustration of a gold circle within a blue stand lies in the center of button. The stand is surrounded by a blue laurel wreath and golden circle. The outside of the golden circle is surrounded by capitalized blue text. All of the illustrations and text sit on a white background that is surrounded by brass.

The Mystic Workers of the World was founded in Illinois in 1896 as a fraternal benefit society. The organization was founded to offer insurance alternatives to the growing middle class in the Midwest and northern states. In 1930, Mystic Workers of the World changed its name to Fidelity Life Association.  

A silver rimmed button with gold text all over a blue background. Two short gold ribbons lie on the blue background and are placed on top portion of the button.

This pre-button commemorates the 20th Session of the International Molder's Union of North America, which was held in Chicago in 1895. The I.M.U. of N.A. was formed in 1859 and represented workers who molded iron in particular. A series of mergers led the union to change its name to the International Molders and Allied Workers Union and, in 1988, it merged with the Glass, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union (GPPA) to create the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union (GMP).