Large black text in quotation marks on a bright orange background.

Touchlite Inc. was a housewares a glass manufacturing company in the 1970s. The company used the phrase "your touch turns me on" to promote their lighting products that used touch-sensitive power control technology. 

Illustration of a man's head and shoulders in profile with a blue cross as an eye, blue nose, red lips. He is wearing a black and white striped shirt. The background includes buildings and a small figure with black and white stripes, and a head of a police officer.

Tony Fitzpatrick is a Chicago based artist known for his fierce independence and outspokenness. Fitzpatrick is one of Chicago's most prominent artists. His work is displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The image is inspired by Crazy Frank, a patron who frequented the bar where Fitzpatrick worked. As a minor, Frankie was constantly in foster care and revolved in and out of juvenile detention. He attempted to establish a relationship with his mother, however he was met with very little success. Frankie was a giant, rough and tough, lost, victim of circumstance, no nonsense, tragic character. However, he knew how to take care of himself and friends in need, such as Fitzpatrick when he needed money. Frankie worked as an 'enforcer,' Fitzpatrick lost contact with him after a particularly hostile situation with another.

Please see the link below for Frankie's story.

http://tonyfitzpatrick.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/the-ascension-of-crazy-frank-in-the-big-world/

This button was manufactured by the Busy Beaver Button Co.

illustration of a man in profile wearing a white hat with black strap and yellow coat, white shirt and red tie. The background has buildings, bridges and people. The outer edge has alternating black and white rectangles.

Tony Fitzpatrick is a Chicago based artist known for his fierce independence and outspokenness. Fitzpatrick is one of Chicago's most prominent artists. His work is displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The image is Fitzpatrick's rendition of the iconic comic character Dick Tracy, who was his favorite comic strip character. Fitzpatrick admired Dick Tracy's heroics, square jaw, and his zeal for justice. Most importantly, the comic strip took place in Chicago.

Please see the link below for more information on the image.

http://tonyfitzpatrick.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/tracy-of-chicago/

This button was manufactured by the Busy Beaver Button Co.

An illustration of a cartoon boy wearing a black coat and a black and yellow stocking cap. There are dots of snow surrounding him and he is attempting to catch some with his right hand. The "THINK SNOW" text is is in bubble lettering on the top and the "SKI-DOO" text is on the bottom across the boy's chest. The font is yellow with a black border and the background is white.

Ski-Doo is a snowmobile manufacturing company that was founded in 1959. It produce a wide variety of models for different terrain and speed.  Ski-Doo is a subsidiary of Bombardier Inc, which is a Canadian aerospace and transportation company.  The verb "skidooing" is sometimes used to describe going on a snowmobile ride.

Green text on a white background. The size of the text decreases from top to bottom.

In 1972, the Hotel St. Francis in San Francisco opened a new addition to its hotel, a futuristic tower. Atop the tower was the Penthouse which featured cocktails and nightly dancing. Along with the view, the Penthouse offered the the “happiest of happy hours” and complimentary hors d’oeuvres. The Penthouse boasted new music and a new atmosphere stating, “If you’re looking for Lawrence Welk, keep looking. Because the way Sweetgrass plays Top 40’s will make your feet boogie and your ears feel great. So come up and get high with us. Every night. No minimum. No cover. Just turned on fun."

An illustration of a red and white striped barber's pole with black text forming a border. The background is white.

The Barber Shoppe is a hair salon located in the Greater London area. They specialize in traditional and modern gentleman's hair styling.

Black and white illustration of a person walking awy with a knife in their back on a background with the top half pink and the button half blue and white text with a black outline above the image.

To "stab someone in the back" is a phrase that visualizes betrayal when one least expects it, typically by a close friend. The expression was first coined in 1916 by the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw in an essay for the New York Times magazine. 

Black text on dark orange background. 

This button is made in commemoration of a dinner held by the Tariff Club in 1908.  The Tariff Club was a large organization and a wing of the Republican Party. The faction focused heavily on tariff reform - an key issue in the turn of the century political science. As a whole the club heavily supported the presidency of William Howard Taft and his 1908 campaign as well as the Theodore Roosevelt years

In the early part of the twentieth century party lines were split among tariffs. Democrats, fearing the rise of corporate trusts, pushed for lowered tariffs. Republicans sought to keep tariffs high in order to allow companies to compete financially on the world market. In 1908 Taft actually pushed to lowered tariffs dramatically to bring about political unity through compromise. This compromise and lowering of over 600 tariffs is part of which caused Theodore Roosevelt to form his own political party, "The Bull-Moose Party" and run for the presidency in 1912.

Red text centered around black text arched along the top and bottom. The background is white.

Taco Bell is an American fast food restaurant that was founded by Glen Bell in 1962. Bell started his career in restaurants in 1946 in San Bernardino, CA, in a hot dog stand. The Taco Bell chain of restaurants began to spread and the 100^th store was opened in 1967. PepsiCo purchased Taco Bell from Glen in 1978 and the chain continued to grow. The Taco Bell Grande was introduced to the Taco Bell menu in the 1980s. The taco was a larger version of the taco supreme. The Taco Bell Grande is no longer a menu item. The fast food chain today serves 2 billion customers every year. Most of the restaurants are in the United States, but there are some global locations in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Greece.

Blue text is centered on the button with an parabolic line to the right. Black text circles around the button and there is a black line as the border. The background is pink.

This is a button celebrating the installation of Lawrence Weiner's "Brought to Light Subsequently Allowed to Dissipate" mural and artwork in the  Rutter Center building on The University of Southern California's San Francisco campus. The mural is a glowing pink light with a broken arc and the phrase, "Brought to Light" in blue letters. The work is complimented by three steel discs of different diameters inside the plaza next to the building.