The history of buttons is a long one. Objects that resemble buttons can be found "Before Christ" however, they came into their own, only in the 18th Century, when fashion itself became both an art and a means of expressing our personalities and social patterns. Since then, collectors all over the world have seek after buttons.

We live with buttons every day of our lives. They are familiar "things the mind already knows." Realistically however there is a record of collecting buttons as early as the 19th Century. Small antiquities were quite fashionably collected in Western Europe, and among them were buttons.

Button collecting in America came into it's own in the late 1930's. The Depression Era encouraged this hobby because it was affordable. Gertrude Patterson talked about her button collecting on her radio show. She told listeners that when they collected 992 buttons, they would find their true love.

As collecting grew, so did the need to find fans who shared their interests, as well as the need to recruit new collectors. In 1938, the NATIONAL BUTTON SOCIETY was formed to exchange information and exhibit new finds. This created a system for collecting as well as a vocabulary for button collectors. They have grown to now boast a 4,000 plus person membership.

Competition is strong and meticulous in organized state and national button shows. Vendors also participate for all levels of button collectors. The NATIONAL BUTTON BULLETIN magazine is published for the novice as well as the experienced collector.

As American collectors became more knowledgeable, their search for more extraordinary buttons took them to Europe where they discovered buttons from the 18th and 19th Centuries. Antique dealers from abroad caught onto this interest and migrated them to this country. By the 1950's button collecting took on a sophisticated international pursuit.

The 1960's produced "fun" buttons in various trends of the day. 1964 was the opening of the most talked about button shop in the country, called TENDER BUTTONS. Owners Diane Epstein and Millicent Safro's marvelous collections were the finest in the world. Sally Luscomb, editor of JUST BUTTONS MAGAZINE and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUTTONS, encouraged and educated the button enthusiasts.

In 1982 the Cooper-Hewett Museum in New York held an exhibition called BUTTON, BUTTON and the Smithsonian used buttons in their Halley's Comet display. The early 1990's shows a front page article published in the WALL STREET JOURNAL titled THAT BUTTON JAR MAY BE WORTH MORE THAN YOU THINK.

Button manufactures and distributors are now doing a brisk business. Sarah McGovern started RENAISSANCE BUTTONS CO. with only $125 worth of buttons. She now has a wholesale business worth over a million dollars in a years sales. JHB INTERNATIONAL of Denver, Colorado is an all women owned and run business that leads the modern industry in supplying fabric and buttons to stores all over the world.

Fashion designers focus on the importance of buttons in their newest creations. They give auras of good taste, art, wealth and magnificence. The craft industry has also had a field day of creative ideas for button accents.

Buttons are now one of the top collectibles in the country, along with stamps and coins. Buttons encompass every single art and craft known to man. Monetary values can be found in various button books today. Button appraisals are also available. for those needing to know more abut their collections.

As we live out the 21st Century, the young and old indulge in this affordable pastime with great vigor. Just look in your button box, as a collection of sorts already awaits you.