Cream background. Illustration of Buster Brown character and Tige, her dog, on hind legs with gymnastics equipment including rings and parallel bars in the background. Buster Brown is poised to use hose supporters suspended from above for some undefined gymnastic purpose.

Buster Brown and his pit bull terrier Tige were popular comic strip characters created by noted American cartoonist Richard Outcault that first appeared in the New York Herald in 1902. Having no issue with the modern concept of selling out, the artist, known for his  successful Yellow Kid cartoon, went to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to market his strip. He sold licenses to companies to use his Buster Brown characters to advertise a variety of products. The Brown Shoe Company paid $200 for one and launched a successful line of shoes featuring styles for both Buster Brown and his sister, Mary Jane. From 1904-1930 the company recruited actors and dogs to play the parts, touring department stores, theaters and events across the country.

The comic strip featured Buster, another mischievous young boy, but instead of the slums, Buster came from affluent parents. The strip was an instant hit and ran from 1902-1926. Unfortunately, syndication, a new idea, benefited the paper more than the artist and Outcault resigned, moving the comic strip to Hearst in 1906. Repeating the legal battle over Yellow Kid, Outcault renamed his comic strip, leaving "Buster Brown" at the Herald to be drawn by other artists. This time it was dual Busters!

White background with black text and a green bullfrog in black surfer shorts.

Color image of a growling bull dog, teeth exposed, at the center of the button and projecting from manure spreader. Bold black text on white background.

The Bull Dog Manure Spreader and its Bull Dog Cylinder were highly successful farm products of the Litchfield Manufacturing Company of Waterloo, Iowa, est. 1879. The company focused its operations on manufacturing farm machinery specific to the needs of farmers and offered a quality guarantee.

Yellow background with colorful bug with yellow and red striped bod speeding away from something outside of the button face.

Bug-a-Boo Super Insect Spray, with or without D.D.T., was a product marked by the Socony-Vaccuum Co. of Fairfax County, Virginia. In 1955, the company became Socony Mobil Oil Company, later Mobil, and currently ExxonMobil. The insect spray carries the Good Housekeeping Seal and was one several marketed under the Bug-a-Boo brand.

"They thought they dodged it as they flew, But they can't duck this Super Spray. It makes 'em pay and pay and pay!"

White background with black letters and peach and blue colors. Illustration of a chop and mustached man with a small hat and a chin meeting straight up to his neck.

Rube Goldberg, the cartoonist responsible for these "I'm the Guy" buttons is more famously known for his illustrations of inventions that were funny and complicated. His name is in the Webster dictionary is defined as "accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply". He was a dedicated cartoonist, doing both political and comical cartoons. Goldberg is also a founding member of the National Cartoonist Society whose Reuben Award is named after his proper name, Rueben.

The popularity of the "I'm the guy..." slogans caught the eye of tobacco marketers. So if you wanted one of these buttons back in the 1910's, you'd have to buy some of their cigarettes. 

There was even an "I'm the guy" song ! 

Green text overlaid onto offset white sun on yellow background.

Bond Bread was a product of the General Baking Company, a conglomeration of several large bakeries that merged in the 1910s. Bond Bread got its name from the guarantee printed on the package warranting "the loaf contained within this germ and dust proof wrapper is made from the following pure food materials, and no other ingredients of any kind: best spring wheat flour, compressed yeast, pure filtered water, best fine salt, pure lard, cane sugar, and condensed milk.” This early quality assurance reinforced the brand's pure and healthful image. A money back guarantee was added in 1925.

Research into the nutritional benefits of "sunshine vitamin D" in the early 1920s brought about a fortifying craze. In 1931 General Baking licensed patents for fortifying Bond Bread, which prompted its primary competitor Wonder Bread to add even more nutrients. One of the oddest products to jump on this bandwagon was Schlitz beer. 

By 1930 Bond Bread accounted for 90% of the company's sales. The Great Depression took its toll and by 1933 revenue had fallen 66%, later to rebound. The brand stuck around until profit margins sank; the Bond division was unloaded entirely by 1972.

White background with black text. Illustration  has yellow, red, blue and peach and portrays a man with a more facial hair than head hair and long eye glasses. 

Rube Goldberg, the cartoonist responsible for these "I'm the Guy" buttons is more famously known for his illustrations of inventions that were funny and complicated. His name is in the Webster dictionary is defined as "accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply". He was a dedicated cartoonist, doing both political and comical cartoons. Goldberg is also a founding member of the National Cartoonist Society whose Reuben Award is named after his proper name, Rueben.

The popularity of the "I'm the guy..." slogans caught the eye of tobacco marketers. So if you wanted one of these buttons back in the 1910's, you'd have to buy some of their cigarettes. 

There was even an "I'm the guy" song !

Upper part of button has blue text on white background, lower part has orange text on blue background.

White lettering and smiley face on red background.

The origins of this BEEF button are not certain, but it's likely the work of the one of the beef promotion agencies as part of their efforts to increase consumer beef consumption.

This button is a variation of the classic yellow smiley face which is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It  was designed in 1963 by by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

Suspiciously bald barber wearing tasseled red cap, blue smock and white pants, wields comb and giant scissors over young boy sitting on a merry-go-round horse with a red saddle. Top and bottom sections of the button are white with black text, the center features the illustration on a black background.

Barber Bill's Happy Land Barber Shops catered to children ages two to twelve and were located inside major department stores such as Gimbel and Culbertson's during the 1920s. Kids enjoyed riding atop the hobby horse while Barber Bill kept parents pleased by promising the highest degree of sanitation and patience.

"Barber Bill and his Barber Shop are to the children what Santa Claus is at Christmas time. He is the man who makes them happy while they have their hair cut on Hobby Horse Chairs."