Any Time Where Place

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Text on Button ANY TIME WHERE PLACE
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Bluce text encircled by red and white diamond border over yellowed background. 

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"Anytime, Anywhere, Any Place" is a phrase that relays unrestricted readiness, suggesting that the speaker is capable of action regardless of circumstances. One of the most notable origins of this phrase dates to World War II: in February 1944, after a training accident involving American airmen and British Chindits, General Orde Wingate reassured U.S. air commandos with the declaration: We will go with your boys any place, anytime, anywhere. This became a rallying cry—later shortened to "Anytime, Anyplace"—and the official motto of the 1st Special Operations Wing, symbolizing their unwavering commitment. Beyond the military, the phrase entered pop culture, including Joe Morris and His Orchestra’s 1950s R&B hit, sung by Laurie Tate, and has since become a common colloquialism wielded in spats of anger equating to challenging another to a duel. 

M.K. Brody Co., Inc. was a Chicago-based wholesale distributor, operating since 1911. Originally selling toys, it later shifted focus to balloons and party supplies, doing business as Brody’s Wholesale Balloons & Party Supplies. The company offered a wide variety of balloons, party accessories, and event supplies. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011 (The Wall Street Journal), it reportedly closed permanently.

Sources

Anderson, S. (2011). MK Brody Co since 1911 [post]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/swanksalot/5553650635

Estate Liquidation. (2025). I like to have it every day pin diamond border design M K Brody Chicago ILL 32mm [eBay listing]. eBay. https://ebay.us/m/EQLjjq

Library of Congress. (n.d.). China-Burma-India: WWII’s Forgotten Theater. LOC.gov. https://www.loc.gov/collections/veterans-history-project-collection/serving-our-voices/world-war-ii/china-burma-india/

National Security Agency [NSA]. (2021). The U.K. and the U.S. cooperated to bring victory in both fronts of World War II, in Europe and in the Pacific. National Security Agency/Central Security Service.https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/News-Highlights/Article/Article/2506339/the-uk-and-the-us-cooperated-to-bring-victory-in-both-fronts-of-world-war-ii-in/

ri_611286. (n.d.). Vintage “jazz and get fat” pin pinback button. Fat Tuesday MK Brody Chicago [eBay listing]. eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/306356671209

Stech, K. (2011). Bankruptcy deflates balloon distributor. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-BANKB-17502

Catalog ID IB0481

A Man You Can Lean On

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Text on Button A MAN YOU CAN LEAN ON
Image Description

White silhouette of a man leaning againtst white text on an orange background. 

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The leaning figure and slogan were part a 1960s advertising campaign for Klopman fabrics. Klopman began as Klopman Mills, an apparel fabric company, that later merged with Burlington Industries. After the merge, Burlington published multiple department store advertisements of leaning men and women to highlight the Klopman name. With this advertising campaign the company hoped to convey the message that their fabric was reliable, or "something you can lean on."

Catalog ID AD0373

100 Percent American

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Text on Button I AM 100% AMERICAN ARE YOU?
Image Description

White, blue, and black top hat encircled by blue outline with blue and white text over red background. 

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Printed & Manufactured
BY STEINER ENGRAVING & BADGE CO. 
804 Pine St. St. Louis.

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The jingoistic phrase on the button refers to a call to arms for the US's involvement in WWI.  A song, copyrighted in 1918, uses the same phrase.  In the song, there are obvious anti-German and anti-German speaking American undertones in lines such as "If in Kaiser Bill you trust, What's your business here with us."  

It was American policy to defame German-Americans and chastise German culture.  President Woodrow Wilson spoke out against the damage of hyphenated Americans, whose divided allegiances could not be clearly discerned.  The American Ambassador to Germany, James W. Gerard, had one of the most openly hostile view of German-Americans at the time.  He stated, after suggesting to "ship them back to the Fatherland," in a 1918 speech,"there is no animal that bites and kicks and squeals and scratches, that would bite and squeal and scratch equal to a fat German-American, if you commenced to tie him up and told him that he was on his way back to the Kaiser."  

The official policy led to actions ranging from interning German-Americans, to forcing them to take "loyalty tests," to the "expectation" that they would purchase war bonds.  German-Americans were the largest non-English speaking ethnic group in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  The highest concentration of German-Americans was in the Midwest.

Catalog ID IB0433

One For Andy

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Text on Button 1 FOR ANDY
Image Description

Red text over yellow background. 

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Union Bug 

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Catalog ID IB0438

He Is Alive

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Text on Button HE IS ALIVE
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Black text over yellow background. 

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According to the Christian tradition, Jesus Christ was resurrected on the third day after his crucifixion and burial, known today as Easter or Resurrection Sunday. This date is widely celebrated throughout Christianity. On Easter, it is a common practice among Christians to greet each other by saying: “He is alive!”  

Catalog ID IB0489

Older Than Dirt

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Text on Button older than DIRT
Image Description

White text spelling "DIRT" in a purple box with red text above it and red, yellow, and green triangles over black background. 

Curl Text RUSS BERRIE AND COMPANY. INC.. OAKLAND, NJ MADE IN USA/EUA
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The idiom "older than dirt" is a variation on the phrase "older than the hills." This phrase has its origins in the Bible, in allusion to Job 15:7 'Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?'. Commonly used to mean exceedingly or immeasurably old, the first cited instance of the phrase was in 1819.

Founder Russ Berrie started his business with $500, he rented a garage in Palisades Park, New Jersey, and launched his own firm named after himself. Berrie intended to design, market, and distribute “impulse” gift items. From the start, Russ Berrie & Company produced a string of hit products that quickly found their way onto countertops, desks, and dashboards across the country. Among the company’s earliest creations: Fuzzy Wuzzies (tiny fur ball-like critters bearing messages like “You’re My Best Friend” or “Wild Thing”), troll dolls (squat gnomes with plumes of brightly colored hair) and the Bupkis Family (a motley collection of endearingly ugly rubber figurines). The owner believed in the power of “transformational giving,” partnering with energetic, visionary leaders to change the world for the better. He took an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy, using his keen interpersonal skills to identify people and causes in which to invest and working closely with partners to hone strategies and set expectations.  “There is nothing more important in life than helping a fellow human being.”  — Russell Berrie (1933-2002).

Sources

About Russ Berrie. (n.d.) Russell Berrie Foundation.  Retrieved from https://www.russellberriefoundation.org/our-founder

ESC. (2006). OLD AS THE HILLS ORIGINATE FROM? - phrase meaning and origin. Retrieved 20 February 2021, from https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/45/messages/1085.html

Russ Berrie And Company, Inc. (2020)  Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved from  https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business…

Catalog ID IB0186

Nobody's Perfect

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Text on Button NOBODY'S PERFECT
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Black and white portrait of Charlie Chaplin in a prisoners uniform under white text on a blue background. 

Back Paper / Back Info

to hang: fold C up under pin.
to stand: insert B into A and lock.
love dots 80KM580-5
Hallmark Cards Inc.
K.C., Mo. 64141 Made in U.S.A.
1972 Bubbles, Inc., S.A.

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This picture on this button is the iconic image from Charlie Chaplin's 1917 film The Adventurer, in which he played an escaped convict on the run from prison guards. In the film, He saved a young woman from drowning and fell into favor of her family, but also solicited jealousy and persecution from her suitor. He continued the prisoner character in his 1923 film The Pilgrim. 

Many of Chaplin's films often evoke sympathy for the people living in the bottom of society. The slogan on the button "Nobody's Perfect" invokes the idea of forgiveness and compassion that Chaplin promoted in his works. 

Catalog ID IB0268

I Have Everything

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Text on Button I HAVE EVERYTHING
Image Description

White text with white decorative lines above and below it on a red background. 

Curl Text Button by: Busy Beaver Button Co. Chicago, IL-773.645.3359-Order Custom Buttons at www.BusyBeaver.net
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Catalog ID IB0226

Joe Biden Long Hair

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A color photograph of Joe Biden with long hair on a blue background. 

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Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th Vice President of the United States, jointly elected with President Barack Obama. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a United States Senator from Delaware from January 3, 1973, until his resignation on January 15, 2009, following his election to the Vice Presidency. When Obama announced his running mate, Biden's hair gained national attention. Biden infamously underwent hair “plug” surgery and was seen during the early stages of it on national television during the Anita Hill senate hearings. He has been scrutinized about his hair now that he is back in the spotlight.

Catalog ID PO0176