Go Riders

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Text on Button GO RIDERS
Image Description

A blue background with white text

Curl Text GEO. LAUTERER CORP., CHICAGO. ILL.
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Catalog ID SP0041

Go Lane

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Text on Button GO LANE BEAT SCHURZ
Image Description

Yellow text and illustration of person with a bow and arrow aimed at a bulldog on a green background

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Lane Technical College Prep High School located in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in 1908. Lane Tech is one of nine selective enrollment schools, requiring all applicants to pass entrance exams before attending the school. The campus has an enrollment of just over 4,000 students, grades 7-12. Lane Tech's colors are green and gold, and their mascot is the Indians (which has been much debated in recent years, but still remains unchanged).

One of Lane Tech's biggest rivals, Carl Schurz High School, is also located in Chicago, and was founded in 1910. It was designed by Dwight H. Perkins and designated a Chicago Landmark on December 7, 1979. Schurz is a public high school with an enrollment of about 2,500 students. Schurz's colors are purple and gold, and their mascot is the Bulldog. 

Catalog ID CH0158

Wrinkley Smiley

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Image Description

Yellow smiley face with a wrinkled texture over the yellow.

Curl Text TIM LAHAN BUSY BEAVER BUTTON-O-MATIC 2014
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This button is part of the 2014 Button-O-Matic artist series produced by Busy Beaver Button Company. It was designed by artist Tim Lahan.

The classic yellow smiley face 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 SM0052

Winchester is Returning

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Text on Button WINCHESTER IS RETURNING
Image Description

A smiley face with letters inside the eyes and mouth on a red background

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This button may refer to the fictional Winchester family of the WB show, Supernatural.

The is a variation of the classic yellow smiley face which 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 SM0078

Whooper for New Hampshire

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Text on Button I AM A WHOOPER FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE
Image Description

Illustration of a face with red letters for the eyes, nose and mouth and black text underneath on a white background

Back Paper / Back Info

THE FELT CRAFTERS Plainstow, N. H.

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This button was given for the Whooper Award in the 1950s, created by Governor Hugh Gregg of New Hampshire to acknowledge the honorary citizens of New Hampshire, and thus allowing them to "Whoop it up for the Greatest of All States." Gov. Gregg held banquets and other celebrations for the "Whooper Week," as a series of attempts to help boost New Hampshire agriculture, recreation and industry. 

Notable recipients of the award include President Dwight D. Eisenhower (for his fishing skill in New Hampshire) and Vice President Richard Nixon, John H. Griffin, and Wayne E. Richards, etc.

Catalog ID SM0081

White Hand Drawn Smiley

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Image Description

Hand drawn smiley face on what appears to be white paint on top of the button (that used to be gold)

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This button has the smiley faced hand drawn in marker on it.

The classic yellow smiley face 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 SM0107

Uncanny Alliance

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Text on Button UNCANNY ALLIANCE HAPPY DAY
Image Description

Traditional yellow smiley face design but with two black and white photographs of people's heads as the eyes and with black text above and below the face

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Uncanny Alliance was an American house music group of the 1990s which included Brinsley Evans and E.V. Mystique. Their song “Happy Day” was featured in the movie Happy Gilmore.

The classic yellow smiley face 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 SM0053

Tic Toc

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Text on Button TIC-TOC
Image Description

A yellow background with an alarm clock illustrated in black. The face of the clock has a black smiley face. Black writing at the bottom.

Back Style
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The classic yellow smiley face 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 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.

“Tic-Toc” is a phrase to indicate that time is running out. It also refers to the sound that the hands on an analog clock makes while it moves and measures the hours, minutes, and seconds. The old-fashioned alarm clock pictured were made on winding mechanisms which ticked the minutes as the mechanism rotated across the gears.

Sources

About Harvey Ball. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.worldsmileday.com/index.php/article-index/item/380-about-ha…

Catalog ID SM0063

Think Happy Today

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Text on Button Think Happy Today LET TCF SHOW YOU THE WAY
Image Description

Illustration of a white and pink smiley face with white text above and below it on a pink background

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Twin City Federal, also known as TCF, is a bank chain established in 1986.  The button was part of an advertising campaign to generate business for the bank. They currently have offices in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Arizona and South Dakota.

Catalog ID SM0085