Oh, the humble button. If you’ve never really thought about it beyond a fastener to keep your trousers on or your shirt done up, Lucy Godoroja’s All Buttons Great and Small will expand your knowledge. It takes readers into the social and industrial history of this coveted item, including the materials they were and continue to be made from, and gives a newfound appreciation of the skill and knowledge that creates these often astounding and beautiful objects.
In the Listener online’s new column Book takes, we ask authors to share three things readers will learn from their book as well as an insight they gained while researching and writing.
Buttons are older than we might think
Did you know that buttons can be dated from 2000 BC? Egyptian finds show recognised buttons, identified as such by showing a means to sew them on with? Or, that buttons came to Europe for the first time by the beginning of the 13th century, through returning Crusaders, who brought items of clothing back from the Middle East?
Buttons came to signify wealth – and you could be fined for breaking rules about who could wear them
Buttons allowed new forms of dress, with closer-fitting garments. Such were these items desired, that before long, kings and rulers were adorning themselves in increasing amounts and outdoing each other in their opulence. Using precious metals and precious gemstones - and applying strict rules as to who else in society could wear these objects - heavy fines could be imposed on those who flaunted the rules. Buttons were an important signifier of a person’s wealth, mostly worn on men’s clothing, and were a commodity that could be easily transported - made by artisans for an individual, rather than for a particular garment.
Buttons have been made from a vast range of materials
Early buttons were made from wood, bone, horn, shell, cloth and glass among other things, but as the centuries progressed, buttons were made from an expanding range of materials. By the end of the Renaissance, the button began its life as a fashion accessory. Buttons that were previously intended for a person were increasingly made for a garment. Laws regarding their usage were waning, and new scientific discoveries, together with the industrial revolution, allowed for the masses to partake in the new fashions and to some extent, created a more egalitarian society.
A study of the materials used in the making of buttons, historically and today, takes the reader on a journey through the ages and around the world, showcasing the inherent beauty of natural substances, and the astonishing ingenuity of man-made products that followed. Buttons can be a thing of beauty, and all too easily overlooked.
What I learned from writing a book about buttons
Considering the knowledge that I have accumulated, and the research undertaken during the decades since opening my button business, I was surprised to learn that despite plastics coming to the fore in the 1960s/70s, early renditions of this material were first patented in 1856. Today, I see a return to utilising more natural products, and the rediscovering of early plastics technology with accumulated knowledge towards a more sustainable future.
All Buttons Great and Small: A compelling history of the button from the Stone Age to today by Lucy Godoroja (Exisle Publishing, $49.99) is out now.
