LONDON – So there we were, tramping around the streets of Lille, France, for the annual braderie – the world’s biggest antiques fair cum car boot sale, pockets full of euros … and nothing to spend them on. Anything any good was either eye-wateringly expensive (and not worth it) or damaged (or both) or modern reproductions (fakes) and still expensive. What a disappointment.

And then we came across the traders’ stall pictured here. Each little brown paper parcel, prepared lovingly by German dealers Volker and Florian, contained a set of matching buttons from makers in Bärnau and Lüdenscheid that had been in business since the end of the 18th century but had ceased trading in the 1970s. The dealers had presumably emptied their stockrooms and warehouses.

 

The vast array included every type of button available to womankind. There were French jet ones made from rods of black glass, mother of pearl ones, ceramic ones, Art Deco plastic ones and metal ones, some of which were silver or gold plated. And they were cheap: the Business Manager (Mrs. P) bought several parcels at 8 and 10 euros (about £5-£7) a go for up to 30 euros, all of which had never been on a garment.

As the price of many antiques spiral beyond the means of most of us, button collecting is a hobby you could take up for, well, buttons. That said, it’s unlikely you’ll find (let alone afford) any button that dates before the 19th century, although buttons have been around since the sixth century.

 

Come the Industrial Revolution and British button makers led the world. Centered on Birmingham, a number of companies had established themselves, notably uniform button makers Firmin and Sons (founded 1667); Hammond Turner and Sons (1717) J.R. Gaunt (1750); Jennens and Co., (1800) together with individuals such as William Collins, William Bell and Matthew Boulton, were quick to adopt mechanisation that permitted mass-production on a mammoth scale.

Growth coincided with the demise of the crinoline dress and, while men’s somber-colored clothing used only cloth-covered or small gilt buttons, women’s outfits were smothered in a bewildering variety of shapes and sizes, hence the appearance of buttonhooks, another collectible today. The vogue continued to gather pace until the outbreak of World War I.

 

The Edwardian period from about 1880-1914 saw the button industry reach its peak. Rapidly changing fashion helped, as did the invention of the home sewing machine and the appearance of paper sewing patterns.

Fancy buttons, particularly elaborate examples in porcelain, enamel and artistically wrought metal, were adopted not just to act as fasteners but also as decorative adornments to clothes.

The sinuous designs of the Art Nouveau period are reflected in the shapes and styles of its buttons, although these are today comparatively expensive additions to a collection. Steel and glass buttons from this era are particularly desirable, but most sought after are in silver, with those decorated with la femme fleur, the flower girl, being priced at a premium.

 

Output slumped after 1914 and barely recovered before World War II. However, styles of women’s clothes prompted the production of buttons of huge circumference in wood and bone, although imports, notably from France, Germany and America, exceeded exports.

The period also saw the emergence of Art Deco design and buttons in glass, painted metal, vegetable ivory and celluloid, exhibiting the style of the New Age woman that are rapidly reaching the levels of Art Nouveau examples.

The shortage of labor, raw materials and factories following the war resulted in some of the most bizarre of all buttons. Novelties are found in plastic, Perspex, hardboard, cork, shells, plaster of paris and even rabbit fur.

American manufacturers were hit less hard than their British counterparts but were first to feel the draught from the invention of the zipper fastener and the modern washing machine with spin drier. From a collector’s point of view, that was the end of the button.

Deciding what type of button to collect is as hard as choosing a meal in a Chinese takeaway because the list is almost endless. Space does not permit an exhaustive list, but here are a few favorites.

 

Boxed sets of Art Nouveau silver buttons are desirable, if your pocket is deep enough. Silver was used for only a short period between about 1890-1910, mainly because it was quickly realized that the metal marked the clothing to which the buttons were attached. As a result, boxed sets are commonly found still intact.

Sheffield plate (in which a thin sheet of silver is fused to a copper base) and electroplated silver buttons were produced from about 1750. They do not mark fabric and consequently were used widely for military and civil uniforms and liveries of servants. Identifying the coats of arms and other decoration on such buttons makes a fascinating extra dimension to a collection.

Enameled buttons, in which a layer of finely ground glass of varying colours is applied to the metal surface and fired to an intense heat, date from either the 18th century or the Edwardian period when they enjoyed a revival. The former exhibit superb quality, the latter charming prettiness, although both have become relatively expensive.

Glass buttons are probably the most common and beautiful examples can be picked up for the proverbial song. Faceted black glass – in which a series of flat surfaces were first hand-cut and later molded into the surface – are known as French jet and sit happily on modern fashions.

 

They should not be confused with true Whitby jet, which looks similar, but is a more valuable natural mineral. Jet was rarely used for buttons because it is soft and easily damaged. Tell the difference between it and black glass by rubbing the button against the enamel of your teeth: glass is rough and scratchy, jet glides smoothly without resistance.

Ceramic buttons (not to be confused with pressed clay) have never been mass-produced but made in limited quantities by such as Josiah Wedgwood, Copeland, Mintons, Manchester-based Pilkington, Ruskin, Brannam, Meissen, Limoges, Delft and superb Japanese Satsuma. Affordable examples of any of the above are rare finds today.

Pressed clay buttons, produced by the million by a mechanised process invented by Richard Prosser of Birmingham and later adapted for tile manufacture, are cheap enough, as are those produced during the 1930s from countless unidentifiable British studio potteries.

Investing in buttons is hardly likely to make anyone a fortune, but those made from Bakelite (invented in 1908 by Belgian chemist Dr. Leo Hendrick Baekeland); celluloid (an imitation ivory invented in 1869 by John W. Hyatt of New Jersey); plastic; Perspex and synthetic resin are sure to increase in value as they become more appreciated.

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By CHRISTOPHER PROUDLOVE