From buttons on clothing to shoes, worn as jewelry, buttons are a big part of our lives. Not only are they necessary, but they are beautiful and collectible. For the last 9 months, we have been preparing to sell a large button collection- exclusive on Dave's Discovery Den. There are 1000's colors, designs, sizes, and shapes from all over the world. They came directly from the manufacturer, designer, or seller, dating from the 1940's-2005. Many of the buttons have not been seen or available.
As part of our Discovery, we look for the rare, unique, obscure, and research our collections for our members. If you have old, vintage, or torn clothing, you might want to consider using the buttons for new clothing or an arts and crafts project. If you have your jars of buttons, there may be some treasures inside.
Some history
Buttons started in 2800 BCE -made of shells and bone and were used as status symbols for decoration to show wealth. In the 13th century, buttons were paired with buttonholes (Germany), transforming European fashion. The Industrial Revolution brought mechanized manufacturing of buttons. Buttons were less expensive and mass-produced. Rubber, glass, porcelain, and plastics replaced bone and precious metals. Men's and Women's clothing dictated where buttons were placed on garments.
Like discovering something new, different, collectible, and fun, the world of buttons took us on an exciting journey which we are sharing with our members.
Most importantly, we did not comb through thrift shops or friends' attics to bring this button collection to our site. They were obtained from the original manufacturer/wholesaler.
History of our button collection
During WW2, Morris Sussal opened the Harlem Adler Button Company with his brother. They remained partners until the early 1960's when Morris went on his own to open the Lauber Novelty Button company selling and customizing buttons for many high-end manufacturers. He traveled the world, meeting with customers and sourcing buttons. He grew the business until retiring and handed it to his two sons in 1985.
They opened a showroom-storefront that year in the garment center in NYC. They were a premier seller of buttons to many customers. The variety of buttons they produced matched their clients, many of whom sought their own custom-logo designs. The brothers closed the business in 2005, adding boxes of buttons to the ones their father had stored since the 1950s. The range of buttons they produced was incredible. They also stored many garments their clients gave them. Some were copies of designer clothing, using their buttons-also copies.
Many of the buttons from this collection that we will be selling are unique and rare, exclusive to our site. All have been manufactured before 2005. Many of the featured buttons date from the 50's- 90's. This collection, as well as many others on Dave's Discovery Den, is why we launched our site. Bringing the unusual to our members.