Red text on all-white background.

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Black text on blue background with an illustration of a white clown with red lips and black face paint in the center of the button. The clown is wearing a yellow and red outfit and hat.

Presumably made in the 1940s, this button's colorful aesthetic captures the excitement and spontaneity of a typical trip to the circus for a mid-20th century American youth.

The traveling circus gained popularity in the United States by the mid-to-late 19th century. As per the clowns' role in the American circus—by the 20th century, they were largely speechless characters confined to oversized visual gags. This differed from their European contemporaries, however, whom stuck to their theatrical roots and remained integral parts of the show. 

A blue and red illustration of a well-dressed pig waving and holding a case. Blue and red illustrated background with ferris wheel, tents, and flags with red and blue text.

Great vintage souvenir illustrated template button for the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, California.  

"The Los Angeles County Fair began on Oct. 17, 1922 and ran through the 21st. Admission was 50 cents, and 49,461 people attended. The Fair adopted Thummer the pig as its official mascot in 1948. Originally the pig's name was Porky, but a 1950s cartoon character claimed rights to the name. A contest was held to name the pig, and Thummer was born. The name was appropriate because with one outstretched hoof, the pig appeared to be hitch-hiking his way to the Fair."

Lenticular button:

First image is of the Golden Gate Bridge with water crashing against rocks in the foreground and green rolling hills in the background.  

The second image is of people riding a trolly downhill toward the San Francisco Bay with houses on either side of the trolly tracks and sail boats and rolling hills in the background.

On both images red text reading "San Francisco" is at the top of the button and black text reading "I Was There" at the bottom.

Presumably made by the city of San Francisco in the mid-to-late 20th ce. to bolster tourism and civic pride, this button most likely served as a keepsake for anyone who had the pleasure of visiting the idyllic city. In particular, the lenticular button features a typical view of San Francisco—from the glorious Golden Gate Bridge to the famed trolley cable car transportation system. 

Black text on green, blue and yellow background.  Background is a color illustration of four people standing near a brick wall on the edge of a cliff.  The cliff overlooks a lush forested landscape. It is rumored that one can see seven states from 

This tourist souvenir highlights the beautiful view of Rock City from Lover's Leap. This roadside attraction located near Chattanooga, Tennessee, Rock City is on Lookout Mt., in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. It first became a public attraction in 1932. Lover's Leap, as portrayed on the button, overlooks Lookout Mountain's High Falls.  

White text on red star inside green circle. White text on black outer border.

During the late-1980s Rock Against Racism held numerous concerts in Central Park.  "The city received numerous complaints about excessive noise at RAR's concerts from users of the nearby Sheep Meadow, an area designated by the city for passive recreation, from other users of the park, and from residents of areas adjacent to the park. Moreover, when the city shut off the power after RAR ignored repeated requests to lower the volume at one of its concerts, the audience became abusive and disruptive." After repeatedly ignoring the city's noise and union ordinances lawsuits were brought against Rock Against Racism.

Red text on yellow background.

This button is a souvenir for ordering a large ice cream platter called "The Original Pig’s Dinner" at the restaurant House of Flavors in Ludington, Michigan.

Blue image on an oak-syle barrel going over a waterfall with blue text on a yellow background.

This is a light-hearted homage to a schoolteacher from Michigan, Mrs. Annie Edson Taylor, whose claim to fame had been her successful attempt to survive a plunge over Horseshoe Fall while in a barrel. She not only survived, but she climbed out without a single broken bone on that fateful day on October 21st, 1901. Although it's hard to imagine her motivation, Taylor's description of those fateful moments underscored the exhilaration and triumph her experience: "The awful rolling knocked my head first on the front of the barrel and then on the back. I expected to be killed at any moment, but even at that I was not sorry that I was where I was."

Following her death-defying stunt, Taylor attempted to make the most of her sudden celebrity. Years later, however, after a litany of appearances for tourists and other passerby—selling anything and everything with her name—Taylor found herself penniless, despondent, and blind. She was taken to the Niagara County Infirmary in March 1921, and, unfortunately, died several weeks later. 

White button with orange lettering surrounding a white illustration of Ludwig Von Beethoven on an orange crest.

Organized in 1842, the orchestra is older than any other extant American symphonic institution.  The orchestra has an amazing online digital repository available to all at http://archives.nyphil.org/.

Red text on white background around top border and black text on white background around bottom border of button. Text surrounds a circular illustration of grayscale cow udders on white background.

The North Dakota Chapter of the National Creamery and Buttermakers’ Association held their annual convention in Milwaukee from Oct 20-24, 1902. The association was originally organized in Oct. 1891 as the National Creamery Buttermakers and Factory Cheesemakers Association. The name was changed in 1896 to the National Creamery and Buttermakers’ Association. The association’s primary goal was to work for the betterment of creamery conditions, promote and develop dairying, and educate buttermakers for better work. Membership was open to all creameries and annual dues cost $2. They held annual meetings and published a biennial report.