What's Up Doc?

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Text on Button WHAT'S UP DOC? TM
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Bugs Bunny holds a half-eaten carrot over a black background. To his right is peach-colored text. 

Curl Text MFG OSP ™& © 1990 Warner Bros. Inc.
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Bugs Bunny is an animated character who made his first appearance in the short film, A Wild Hare, in 1940. Known for his cheeky personality and well-known catchphrase, “What’s up, Doc?” he has appeared in over 175 animated shorts as well as many full-length films. He is often depicted alongside other members of the Looney Tunes group including Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and his girlfriend Lola Bunny. 

Although Bugs made his debut several decades ago, he has stood the test of time and is still one of the most popular animated characters in American television.

Sources

Joseph. (2020). Retrieved from https://chuckjones.com/characters/bugs-bunny/

Catalog ID EN0616

Never Again

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Text on Button NEVER AGAIN
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White text over a green background. 

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The phrase, “Never again,” is an anti-oppression slogan associated with the Holocaust that has been utilized as a political call to action in other acts of genocide and violence as well. The phrase is first thought to have become associated with Jewish liberation through the 1926 poem Masada by Hebrew poet Isaac Lambdan, where the poet decries, “Never shall Masada fall again!” but later spread as a rallying cry to both commemorate the Holocaust as well as serving as a vow to never allow the violence of fascism to be enacted ever again. 

As a slogan, Never Again, was later popularized by the far-right Zionist group, Jewish Defense League founded by Meir Kahane, and later adopted as the title of his 1972 book, Never Again: A Program for Survival. Over the decades following, the phrase has become emblematic as a beacon against the violence of apartheid and oppression associated with the Holocaust, utilized by both Zionist and Antizionist Jewish activists across the political spectrum, whereas of June 2025 it has again gained traction through its use by the group Jewish Voice for Peace in their call to end the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Sources

Jewish Voice for Peace. (2024). This Holocaust Remembrance Day, ‘never again’ is now. https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2024/01/24/gaza-genocide-four-months/

Marc. (2019). Commit to Never Again. Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. https://jewishportland.org/marcs-remarks/commit-to-never-again

Philologos. (2017). What is the source of the phrase “Never Again”? Mosaic Magazine. https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/history-ideas/2017/06/what-is-the-source-of-the-phrase-never-again/

Catalog ID PO1298

Dinosaurs Not Just Another Pretty Face!

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Text on Button Not just another pretty face!
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Image of a woman with the head of a dinosaur, with text below. Behind are asymmetric purple shapes and a yellow background, both of various hues. 

Curl Text © DISNEY OSP PUBLISHING, INC.
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Dinosaurs was a sitcom that aired on ABC from 1991-1994. The show focused on the Sinclair family, a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, as they went through life as a working class family in 60 million B.C. Fran Sinclair, an allosaurus and matriarch of the family, was voiced by Jessica Walter. 

Catalog ID IB0802

I Color Outside The Lines

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Text on Button I Color Outside The Lines
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Blue text over a tan background, with blue and purple triangle shapes to the right of "The Lines." 

Curl Text FERNE SALES CO. PO BOX 113 T.C.B. WEST ORANGE, NJ 07052 [UNION BUG]
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“I color outside the lines” is a common idiom in English that means that one behaves in creative or unconventional ways, or in a manner that does not conform to the set rules. It directly references children’s coloring books and children who color in the line drawings in a unconventional and creative ways. Some other similar expressions include: “think outside the box,” “break the mold,” “carve your own path,” and “march to the beat of your own drum.”

Sources

Color outside the lines. (n.d.). WordSense Online Dictionary. https://www.wordsense.eu/colored_outside_the_lines/

Color outside the lines. (2015). Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/color+outside+the+lines

Synonyms for color outside the lines. (n.d.). Power Thesaurus. https://www.powerthesaurus.org/color_outside_the_lines/synonyms

Catalog ID IB0801

You Remind Me Of A Pig

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Text on Button YOU REMIND ME OF A
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Blue text and illustration on a white background with a blue border.

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Derogatorily calling someone who is considered dirty, greedy, gluttonous, rude, or generally unpleasant a "pig" has been documented for centuries throughout languages and cultures. By the 20th century, the term had become an established insult in the English language.  

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.”

Sources

Birnkrant, M. (n.d.). Small things: Remembering Johnson Smith & Company [blog post]. Mel Birnkrant.com. https://melbirnkrant.com/recollections/page49.html

Curious Goods 1446. (n.d.). ‘Won’t you be my baby’ vintage celluloid pinback button [eBay listing]. eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/175402616394

E-Mercantile Antiques. (2025). VTG 1930s?? Johnson Smith & Co catalog #130 novelty toys jewelry guns pistols o [eBay listing]. eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/205635513339

 Johnson Smith & Co. (1929). Johnson Smith &. Co, Catalogue. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/1929johnsonsmith0000tony/page/308/mode/2up

Johnson Smith Co. (2017). About Our Company. Johnson Smith Company. https://web.archive.org/web/20170929033510/http://www.johnsonsmith.com/aboutus/  

Price, C. (n.d.). Item Catalog Ted Hake [Pinterest pin]. Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/click-to-close-image-click-and-drag-to-move-use-arrow-keys-for-next-and-previous--153192824806283578/

Sicking, E. A. (n.d.). Advertising pins: Johnson Smith & Co, novelty button/pinback (1930’s) [Pinterest pin]. Pinterest. https://kr.pinterest.com/pin/311874342964093699/

Ted Hake. (n.d.). Johnson Smith famous novelty supply house 1930s funny saying button with rebus [auction listing]. TedHake.com. https://www.tedhake.com/JOHNSON_SMITH_FAMOUS_NOVELTY_SUPPLY_HOUSE_1930s_FUNNY_SAYING_BUTTON_WITH_REBUS_-ITEM804.aspx

Ted Hake Vintage Buttons & More. (2019). Johnson Smith famous novelty supply house 1930s funny saying button with image [eBay listing]. eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/141168406868

Catalog ID IB0800

Cinco de Septiembre

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Text on Button CINCO DE SEPTIEMBRE
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Black text and illustration on a green background.

Curl Text HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY SIMONE . 2010
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“Cinco de Septiembre” meaning  means “September Fifth” in Spanish and, given the curl text, the date seen here likely probably refers to someone named Simone’s first birthday. The date is accompanied by a fleur-de-lis. "Fleur-de-lis", meaning "flower of the lily" in French, is a common decorative design that originated in late-medieval France.

Sources
Caldwell, Mary Channen. “‘FLOWER OF THE LILY’: LATE-MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS AND HERALDIC SYMBOLISM IN PARIS, BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE, MS FRANÇAIS 146.” Early Music History, vol. 33, 2014, pp. 1–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43304729. Accessed 17 June 2023.
Catalog ID EV0956

Portland Cement Association

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Text on Button PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION 1963 USE SAFETY WAYS KNOW-HOW USED IS SAFETY POWER
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Mix of green and red text over a tan background, except for "SAFETY" which is tan over a green rectangle in the center, with two green crosses on either side. "USE" and "WAYS" are above and below in large red font, but the rest of the words are curved along the top and bottom. 

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The Portland Cement Association or PCA is an organization centered on the study and innovation of American cement manufacturing. Founded in 1916, the PCA has been involved in various efforts regarding cement for over a century. One area with which the association is particularly concerned is cement safety. The PCA seeks to promote educated and safe cement work through efforts such as their annual Safety Innovation Awards, as well as general information resources. 

Sources

Portland Cement Association. (n.d.). Abouthttps://www.cement.org/about 

Portland Cement Association. (n.d.-b). Working safely with concretehttps://www.cement.org/cement-concrete/working-with-concrete/working-safely-with-concrete 

Portland Cement Association. (n.d.-b). Safety Innovation Awardshttps://www.cement.org/awards/safety-innovation-awards 

Catalog ID CL0656

Washington Federal. invested here.

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Text on Button Washington Federal. invested here.
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White and yellow text on a green background.

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Washington Federal is a banking company initially founded as Ballard Savings and Loan in Ballard, Washington, in April 1917. In 1958, the bank merged with the Washington Federal Savings and Loan Association of Bothell. The Seattle-based bank rebranded as WaFd, a common nickname used for Washington Federal, starting in 2019. WaFd provides “one-on-one, friendly, and professional service” in personal and business banking. WaFd has specialized divisions in government, agribusiness, and senior housing. They are the 63rd largest bank in the United States, with over 200 offices in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Sources

WaFd Bank. (n.d.). About us. https://www.wafdbank.com/about-us 

WaFd bank. (2024, December 4). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 6, 2024 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WaFd_Bank 

Catalog ID AD1061