Button Badges in History

Buttons communicate ideas, they contain a message of expression, thoughts and come in creative form. They often act like the t-shirt medium where they show and personalize what is important to them. They have an effect on people when seen. They can evoke a happy emotion, inform, they cause an interaction between people, yet somehow maintain a sense of artistry.

These buttons can have a large history and background. They can be representative of an organization, company, group, culture, they present us with an identity not just of its wearer but the button itself. Badges were used in military to mark a ranking of an officer and often used to mark bravery and honor. They can come from anywhere around the world from Germany, China, Japan, India… they are a global phenomena and have been used in various situations from political to social events. They promoted sport stars, political figures and cigarettes.

Since the end of the 19th century when John Wesley Hyatt invented celluloid in 1869, it led to the invention of the Button Badge in 1896 by a New Jersey company called Whitehead but consisted of a cloth from. These pins were able to use less metal and did not require the need for soldiering or welding. These pressed metal plates with a pin in the back can be stuck on many items of cloth from our shirts, jackets, hats, bags and more. The IISH has a collection of over 5,000 historical buttons. With the popularization of buttons, websites can contain over 15,000 different available buttons to choose from.

During the 1960s and 1970s, these badges were worn by students and hippies in the form of protest. Protesting against Nuclear Disarmament, Peace and Love, and Psychedelics. John Lennon loved the 1″ button and became popular from that period onward. Starting in 1976, the Sex Pistols made this a fashion statement trying to fit as many buttons possible onto the jacket. People wore buttons to confirm their loyalty to a particular band, music or youth group.

Today, political buttons, badges or symbols are not allowed on the day of an election. One cannot buy, sell, give, provide or wear a political badge at the polls on any election day.

References

• Handcraft Strikes Back: Buttons, Badges, Pins and Clips by Vitaly Friedman
• Buttons and Pins on IISH
• A History of Buttons, Pins and Badges!
• History on Custom Button Badges
• The History of Button Badges on Article Base
• The History of Button Badges by Louis Bruce
• Google Button Badge Timeline