Breakfast Smiley Face

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Illustration of a face made up of a pancake with two eggs as eyes, a strawberry as a nose and two strips of bacon making a open mouthed smile.

Curl Text Good Morning Pee Wee!!
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Good morning, Mr. Breakfast is a scene in the film Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure where Pee-Wee speaks to his pancake breakfast. The film focuses on Pee-Wee Herman’s nationwide adventure to look for his stolen bike.  Warner Bros. hired creator Paul Reubens to write the full length film after the success of the Pee-Wee's Playhouse show. In 1985 Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure was created by Reubens and directed by Tim Burton.

Catalog ID SM0073

Ah Shit

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Text on Button AH-SHIT
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Illustration of a face with eyes squeezed closed and a frown with a tongue sticking out over black text on a yellow background.

Curl Text GREEN DUCK DIV of ERO HERNANDO , MISS
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This is a variation of the classic yellow smiley face that 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.

Catalog ID SM0119

Evel Knievel For President

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Text on Button VOTE FOR 'EVEL KNIEVEL' FOR PRESIDENT
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The words "vote for Evel Knievel for President" listed in the center of the button in blue capital letters. The words are over a red white-trimmed background with eight stars. 

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Evel Knievel was an American icon known for his daredevil stunts usually involving ramp-to-ramp jumps on his motorcycle. Born Robert Knievel in Montana, Evel Knievel was born from his childhood desire to perform stunts, performing his first show in 1966. Knievel grew to popularity as his show was taken to Las Vegas, and continued to gain publicity by jumping his motorcycle over famous landmarks including the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Knievel slowed down in the 1980s and began marketing for big firms like Harley-Davidson, and continued to appear on television and did charity events until his death in 2007. As the result of his numerous motorcycle crashes, Knievel currently holds the title of “most broken bones in a lifetime” in the Guinness Book of World Records, having had 433 broken bones throughout his career.

Sources

Evel Knievel. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evel_Knievel.

Catalog ID EN0123

E.T. Illustration

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Text on Button E.T.
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Illustration of E.T. with blue eyes over a white background. The letters "E.T" on the right side of button in blue brown-trimmed capital letters. 

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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an American science fiction family film released in 1982. The film was co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison and starred Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. The film tells the story of a boy named Elliot Thomas who befriends an extraterrestrial who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help to return E.T. to his home while trying to avoid their mother and the government.

Catalog ID EN0103

E.T. and Me

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Text on Button E.T. & Me
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Image of a silhouetted person on a bicycle in a blue sky with purple text below

Curl Text copyright 1982 UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS INC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED STAR POWER SAN FRANCISCO CA 94103
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E.T. and Me is an adaptation of the motion picture screenplay for the movie E.T. It is a retelling of the story from the point of view of Elliott the boy who finds E.T. 

The film E.T. was directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and tells the story of a young boy who befriends an alien stranded on earth and helps him return home. E.T. was the highest-grossing film of 1982, and remains among the highest-grossing films of all time.

Catalog ID EN0136

Erik Phantom of the Opera

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Text on Button I WANT YOU
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Black and white photograph of Lon Chaney as Erik from the Phantom of the Opera with red text on a grey background

Curl Text copyright Universal Pictures Co INC
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The image on this button is the character Erik from the 1925 horror silent movie The Phantom of the Opera, an adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. Lon Chaney played Erik, the phantom, a mad disfigured composer who sought love with opera singer Christine by causing a series of mayhem and murder. The make-up of the phantom was designed by Lon Chaney himself. The sound version of the movie from 1930 is lost. 

This button is a Topps "Batty Button" from 1970. The series included images of Erik from the Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Creature from the black lagoon, and Wolf Man all with funny texts.

Catalog ID EN0178

Dune

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Text on Button DUNE ™
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Image of a dark red, pink, and purple sky over sand dunes. Image also has two light blue moons in the sky, one at the top of button and one towards the bottom. The word "Dune" is listed on the center bottom of the button in white capital letters. 

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The 1984 film Dune was based off of the Frank Herbert science fiction novel by the same title. The film was directed by David Lynch and starred Kyle MacLachlan. Despite the long, 13 year process of adapting the novel into a film, the movie was not well received by audiences; so poorly received that David Lynch replaced his name with a pseudonym in most copies of the film. 

Sources

Wikipedia (2015 July, 5). Dune (film). Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(film)

Catalog ID EN0114

Dudley Do-Right and Horse Freak'n Out

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Text on Button FREAK'N OUT
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Illustration of Dudley Do-Right on his white horse on a green background with blue text above

Curl Text copyright 1984 P.A.T. WARD BUTTON-UP CO. 22120 RYAN WARREN MI 48091
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Dudley Do-Right is a character that appears in the Rocky and Bullwinkle comic books, movie, and the TV show, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, from the 1960s. He is a dim-witted, but cheerful Canadian Mountie who is constantly trying to catch his nemesis, and rescue the damsel in distress. Throughout the show, he is successful but by pure luck or through the help of his horse, Horse. Dudley Do-Right also had his own show from 1969 to 1970. It is very common to see Dudley Do-Right atop his horse, as the pair work together in the TV show. 

Catalog ID EN0236

Dr George Fischbeck

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Text on Button DR. GEORGE FISCHBECK EYEWITNESS NEWS 5:00, 6:00 & 11:00 PM
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All in blue on a white background, an image of a man's head appears within a round of text which is interrupted on the left by times of day and on the right with a company logo. 

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George Richard Fischbeck (1922-2015) was a popular TV weatherman on Los Angeles, CA's KABC-TV "Eyewitness News" program. He retired in 1990 but returned to television for a stint on KCBS-TV from 1994 to 1997. Fischbeck held a Masters in Education and had taught science for many years before becoming a TV meteorologist; he was also awarded an honorary PhD from the University of Albuquerque. 

Catalog ID EN0172

Donald Trump The Apprentice

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Text on Button YOU'RE FIRED!
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White text on blue and black background. Black and white illustration of Donald Trump with black silhouette of New York City skyline in background. 

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This button promotes the TV program The Apprentice. From 2004 to 2015 Donald Trump hosted the show, wherein he served as a mentor to aspiring businesspeople and entrepreneurs. He commonly used the catchphrase, "You're fired!" to dismiss contestants who do not meet his expectations. Previous to the program, Donald Trump had already been well established as a real estate mogul for several decades. In 2015, he declared his candidacy for President of the United States on the Republican ticket, and won the election the following year. His controversial comments regarding various issues led NBC, the network home of The Apprentice, to sever ties with Trump and continue the program without him.

Catalog ID EN0089