A sketch of a beaver  with black text above and below it and encircled by a red border with black text outside of that encircled again by a blue border on a white background. 

This may be a button used to identify enlisted veterans in Beaver County, Pennsylvania who put in war service during WWI. Being identified as enlisted veterans may have entitled them to certain programs started after WWI, like disability support, insurance, or vocational rehabilitation. 

Black text on an orange background. 

The Eager Beaver Society is a reference to a group formed in Beaver County, Pennsylvania and connected to the Westinghouse Electric Company founded in Pittsburgh. The company was started by legendary inventor, engineer, and businessman George Westinghouse in 1886. Based on his idea for an alternating-current transmission of electricity, the company became a leader in the advancement of technology throughout the next century. Today, Westinghouse technology continues its tradition of engineering excellence in the nuclear power industry.

A black and white illustration of a beaver wearing a baseball cap on a white background.  

This button features the mascot for the Busy Beaver Button Company. The company is based out of Chicago and is still active today. It was founded in 1995, and began modestly as a one-woman operation. Over the last two decades the company has grown having produced millions of buttons for a wide array of clients including NBC and the Art Institute of Chicago

The company is located in a vintage 1920s Chicago style storefront and utilizes a number of eco-friendly options. Among these green options are:  recycled steel for button parts, geothermal heating/cooling, eco-friendly insulation, solar panels, and local material suppliers. 

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the company, the Busy Beaver Button Museum was established. The museum is open to public. 

A black illustration of a beaver kicking between black text on a yellow background. 

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A brown beaver sits in a grassy area with red berries surrounded by brown text on a white background. 

This is a button from the Beaver Defenders, a beaver protection group started in 1970 by Hope Sawyer Buyukmihei in Newfield, New Jersey. It is unclear what this button is celebrating, but the "bravo beaver" may be celebrating the nomination of the beaver as New York's official state mammal in 1974. 

By 1972, the Beaver Defenders reached across the country with over five hundred members. They fought throughout the 1970s and 80s to keep beaver dams and habitats safe from human intervention and dynamite by writing letters to government officials. 

An illustration of a beaver next to a tree near a dammed river with a brown city skyline on the horizon surrounded by brown text on a white background. 

The button is to commemorate the centennial of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Settled by Thomas Mackie and Joseph Goetschius in 1841, the city was named after the Beaver Dam River. The Centennial celebration was marked by a pre-Centennial dinner and community activities. 

A blue and white illustration of a crying man in formal wear sitting and drinking at a bar below blue text and encircled by a red border on a white background. 

The origin of this button is unknown, however the saying “crying in my beer” has been used in common language and country songs for decades. The phrase means to generally feel sad or sorry for oneself, or to lament or complain in a foolish or embarrassing manner.

Color Illustration of the back of a balding man's head with a few black hairs on the bottom and top of his head. Black text curves on the bottom portion of the button. The illustration and text lie on a white-blue dotted background.

Thomas E. Powers (1870-1939) was born on the Fourth of July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Powers was a nationally recognized cartoonist who worked at the New York Evening World, a William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) newspaper.  Powers's most famous comic strip was "Joy and Gloom."  The figure drawn for the button looks like it could be the back of Gloom's head.  Both Hearst and Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) considered Power to be their favor cartoonist.  

Green button with white text on top and bottom portion of button. Illustration of a beige colored alien face with large black eyes. 

To promote the 1988 paperback release of the novel Communion: A True Story by American ufologist and author, Whitley Strieber, publisher Avon Books gave out these promotional buttons, stating above an alien’s likeness, “We are here.” The book is based on the author's personal account, who experienced "lost time" and terrifying flashbacks, which was linked to an encounter with aliens during his hypnosis sessions with a therapist. The book was later made into a film starring Christopher Walken as Strieber and Lindsay Crouse as his wife, Anne. 

Avon Books was founded in 1941 by the American News Corporation (ANC), and was established by brother and sister Joseph Meyers and Edna Meyers Williams. Originally named Avon Publications, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. As of 2010, it became part of HarperCollins, publishing primarily romance novels.

Color illustration of a smiling woman with a colorful scarf tied around her head on an orange background. Black text wraps around the top and bottom of the button.

Aunt Jemima pancake flour was introduced in 1889 as an early ready-mix product, named after a minstrel-show song, “Old Aunt Jemima.” R.G. Davis acquired the recipe and mill, transforming it into a national brand by creating a persona: Nancy Green portrayed “Aunt Jemima” at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, with a folksy plantation backstory that boosted sales.

Much of the memorabilia, such as “Breakfast Club” buttons and recipe pamphlets, was produced by Adcraft Mfg. Co. of Chicago. Aunt Jemima memorabilia is considered offensive because it markets a racist caricature. The brand’s mascot grew out of 19th-century minstrelsy and the “mammy” stereotype: a smiling, head-scarved Black woman portrayed as happily serving white families. Using “Aunt” (instead of “Mrs.”) echoed Jim Crow–era norms that denied Black women equal respect. Ads and premiums often leaned on plantation nostalgia and dialect, trivializing slavery and domestic servitude while turning a demeaning image into cheerful kitchen décor.

These items also exploited and erased the real Black women hired to embody the character, who were rarely credited or fairly compensated, while the company profited from their likeness. Because the imagery appeared on everyday objects—boxes, signs, club buttons—it normalized the stereotype for generations. That long, harmful history is why the brand was repeatedly criticized and why the name and logo were ultimately retired.