Who Wants to Be a Camel

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Text on Button WHO WANTS TO BE A CAMEL
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Blue text and illustration on a white background with a blue border

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The camel has long been used as a symbol for temperance and sobriety. Examples of the symbol can be found throughout history and the world. Appearances of the camel representing temperance can be found in 400 year old frescos painted by Domenico Zampieri in Italy, in African handicrafts and artwork, and as the logo for the American Prohibition Party. The camel was chosen for its ability to go several days without a drink and, when it does finally drink, it consumes water. 

While the camel has long represented temperance and remains the symbol of the national Prohibition Party as of 2024, the image of the camel was also adopted by many breweries and anti-prohibitionists. Camels can be found on vintage beer cans and packaging for other items, such as malt syrup for “home baking”. The phrase “A camel can go eight days without a drink, but who wants to be a camel?” can be found on anti-prohibitionist memorabilia such as postcards, beer steins, and buttons.

Sources

African Imports. (2024). The symbolism of animals in Africa. https://africaimports.com/the-symbolism-of-animals-in africa#:~:text=In%20Africa%2C%20the%20camel%20is,God%20in%20humility%20and%20obedience. 

Media storehouse. (2024). Prints of Prohibition Party, 1920. camel symbol of the Prohibition Party, 1920. Media Storehouse Photo Prints. https://www.mediastorehouse.com/granger-art-on-demand/american-election…;

Rustycans.com. (2017, July). Burger Camel Cone: July 2017 can of the month. https://www.rustycans.com/COM/month0717.htm 

Catalog ID IB0804

Beatlemania

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Text on Button BEATLEMANIA
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Colorful text over a black background. The letters are jumbled and alternate between purple, green, yellow, blue, and orange. 

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The Beatles were an English rock band that formed in Liverpool in 1960. With four members - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - they became widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era. The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. 

“Beatlemania” grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market.

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Catalog ID MU0563

Guy

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Text on Button Guy
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Band members posing against a wall wearing yellow, black, and grey, with red text at the botton. The photograph background is grey, while the rest is black. 

Curl Text 1991 GUY [--]PANY 1893 NORTHWOOD TROY, MI 48084
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Guy was a New Edition inspired R&B band that formed in the late 1980s. The band members originally included Teddy Riley, Aaron Hall, and Timmy Gatling, the latter of whom was later replaced with Aaron Hall’s brother, Damion. The band enjoyed some success with their first two albums, both of which became platinum hits. However, their biggest success was with their 1999 Billboard charting song, “Dancin.” 

The group quickly disbanded shortly after their big hit. After the band split, Riley went on to form another well-known 90s R&B band – Blackstreet. 

Sources

Frederick, B. (2022, September 4). Guy: Guy. Pitchfork. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/guy/ 

Catalog ID MU0562

Have A Nice Day Elsewhere

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Text on Button HAVE A NICE DAY ELSEWHERE. Boynton RPP, Inc.
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White text and orange cat over a blue background. The cat has its paws on a table/desk, and is glaring angrily at the viewer. 

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Sandra Boynton began her career as an illustrator designing greeting cards for Recycled Paper Greetings in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Recycled Paper was selling 50 to 80 million Boynton cards each year. Boynton wrote her first book, Hippos Go Berserk, in 1977 and has since written and illustrated more than 50 books for children and adults. Boynton also designs characters and animals for companies to use instead of licensing her illustrations to be adapted. Her creations can be found on calendars, buttons, clothing, wrapping paper, and other items.

The illustration on this button is indicative of Boynton’s sarcastic and satirical style, as her grumpy feline character adds a petulant twist to a common farewell. 

Sources

Boynton, S. (n.d.). Sandra Keith Boynton: The Unbelievably Fascinating Autobiography. Retrieved from http://www.sandraboynton.com/sboynton/boyntonography.html

Catalog ID AR0480

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