Red text with a yellow outline on a blue background.

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Black text on a white background with a red and white checkerboard edge.

During World War II, U.S. soldiers experienced extreme hardship, physically and emotionally, resulting in desired moments of joy and distraction. These patriotic checkered buttons were produced to lighten the moods throughout the war. The collection's color scheme and checkerboard style were a way to express gratitude, yet it consisted of borderline risque catchphrases and humorous taglines, providing light-hearted amusement for those who wore these pins.

Blue text and illustration on a white background with a blue edge.

Johnson Smith & Company began in Chicago, Illinois in 1914 as a mail-order novelty and gag gift supplier, settling in Racine, Wisconsin in 1926. Johnson Smith & Co. or Johnson Smith Company sold an array of toys including pinback buttons with suggestive slogans meant as ice breakers.  Their 1929 catalogue touts, “These Buttons provide subjects for pleasant jokes and amusing conversations, and thus smooth the way to a more familiar acquaintance and cordial friendship. They are very wittily worded and quite unobjectionable. Wear one and see the effect.”

White text over a blue background. 

This anti-nuclear war button references the bombing of Hiroshima, where the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. After the subsequent dropping of a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki, the Pacific leg of World War II between Japan and the United States ended with Emperor Hirohito’s surrender.

While there are not exact numbers for the loss of life during these atomic bombings, the estimated death toll of the Hiroshima bombing by the United States is 70,000 on the low end. Many people were completely incinerated on impact, making finding remains for the dead or identifying remains nearly impossible. After the bombings, the antinuclear movement rose. Many antinuclear organizations are still active in 2023. 

This pin seeks to persuade against the use of nuclear weaponry, as its existence means that events like those in Hiroshima are imminently repeatable.  

Tan text over a black background. 

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White text over a dark brown background. The text contains light brown specks and smears, mimicking coffee stains. 

In 1971, the National Women's Political Caucus was founded by a group of feminist pioneers to address the limited roles women held in public office. Instead of being constrained to addressing envelopes and serving coffee at political functions, this slogan encouraged women to seek more active roles in politics and elections by playing on those social expectations and stereotypes.

Click on https://buttonmuseum.org/buttons/women-make-policy-not-coffee-green or https://buttonmuseum.org/buttons/women-make-policy-not-coffee to see additional variations of this button also held by the Button Museum.

The four ninja turtles are peeking out of a sewer manhole, with city skyscrapers in the background. The above text is green except for "THE MOVIE" which is red. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a 1990 adaptation of the famous comic, cartoon, and video game series. It was critically panned, with Roger Ebert wryly asking "The plot? Do you care?" Still, the film was a wild commercial success, becoming the best-selling independent feature film at the time. This fun and inventive reinterpretation, best represented in Jim Henson's impressive turtle puppets, secured two sequels.

Blue text and image on a white background with a blue border.

Johnson Smith & Company began in Chicago, Illinois in 1914 as a mail-order novelty and gag gift supplier, settling in Racine, Wisconsin in 1926. Johnson Smith & Co. or Johnson Smith Company sold an array of toys including pinback buttons with suggestive slogans meant as ice breakers.  Their 1929 catalogue touts, “These Buttons provide subjects for pleasant jokes and amusing conversations, and thus smooth the way to a more familiar acquaintance and cordial friendship. They are very wittily worded and quite unobjectionable. Wear one and see the effect.”

Blue text and illustration on a white background with a blue border.

Illustration of Susan B. Anthony over a tan background, with curled black text below. 

The image on the button is of an undated sketch drawing of the suffragette Susan B. Anthony. Anthony dedicated her life to fighting for causes such as abolition, labor rights, and equal pay for equal work. 

In 1906, on her 86th birthday, she travelled to Washington, D.C. to give what would be her final speech, in which she expressed hope for future feminist leaders and allies that would follow in her footsteps. Anthony is quoted as saying: “The fight must not cease; you must see that it does not. Failure is impossible.”

Sadly, two weeks later Susan B. Anthony became ill and passed away; she did not get to witness the passing of suffrage for women. However, those courageous inspiring words continue to carry on to this day and as a tribute to Susan B. Anthony, the Nineteenth Amendment (which guarantees the right to vote regardless of sex) was named the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.