Articles

’24-10: Charles Dickens and Buttons

How did this button get repeatedly misattributed to Charles Dickens? It is a one-piece brass pictorials with shaped cut steels typical of those that were made during the last quarter of the 19th century.

’24-09: A Girl from India

Today, this classical dance form, Bharatanatyam, is renowned for its precise movements, expressive gestures, and intricate footwork. Watch the video of young children emulating and embodying this amazing art form.
Students spend years perfecting the basics, which are the building blocks of more complex sequences.

’24-08: A Swallow’s Message

This button is named “Love’s Messenger” in the Big Book of Buttons, which notes that the bird carrying the letter is a swallow. Swallows, for their monogamous nature, symbolize love and…

’24-07: Olympic Sports Pictogram

A pictogram is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. They are used throughout the world in signage for roads/traffic, in airports, and even for restrooms. Sports pictograms were first fully adopted for the Tokyo summer Olympics in 1964… the same year as this button!

’24-06: Strawberry Season

Several years ago, I sorted my old glass buttons by color, and the red and white swirlbacks were made into a bouquet, now sitting in my wall display case. This month, the bouquet reminded me of strawberry desserts, but with zero calories. Delighted to hold it in hand, I set out to find a few more buttons for this month’s Aerogramme.

’24-05: Out with the Old

I stumbled upon a tailor shop that supplies uniforms for the Middle School, which I attended for 3 years (7th-9th grade) in the early 70s. Since I’ve taken up collecting buttons, I became curious if they still stocked any from my time there, so I decided to step inside.