A new button will be posted on the Home page once per month.
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LIVERY BUTTONS
Livery” is derived from the French ‘livree’, meaning dispensed or handed over.
It gradually became accepted as relating to the uniform clothes given by a person of substance to their servants to wear.
As a means of identifying which household a servant belonged the livery button depicted a design generally based on the coat of arms of that household.
The use of livery seemed to reach a peak during the late 19th century, but quickly faded away after the end of The Great War, World War 1. Peaking during this time may be explained by the increasing numbers of wealthy entrepreneurs during the Industrial Revolution, seeking to show their wealth to all and sundry. The decline was probably due to a number of factors, one of which was the rising cost of keeping household staff.
The photos show examples of the many types of livery button to be found. Generally they are single piece (hollow back), but are sometimes Sanders type (separate face and back pieces crimped together), and either silver or gold plated.
Livery buttons can be fitted into many thematic collections. There are hundreds of different designs, depicting animals, birds, mythical beasts, humans, plants and objects, or combinations of these categories.
NOTE: For some reason the photos are truncated. To see the entire button click on the first one. It will show at reduced size. You can then use Ctrl + scroll wheel to zoom in. Click on the arrow to scroll through the photos.
The goal of our Club is to provide opportunities to study buttons that are worth collecting, and share that knowledge as we come to appreciate their beauty and history. Collectable buttons include all buttons - antique, vintage, studio, uniform and military.
