Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-10-03
ox,y ONE or mIs KIND.
A queer zittie Old Man Who Gets
Along by Following n Queer


BusiBsss.
The New York Mail aud Express
s.ys. On n much.travelled up town
,horouahfare a little hslf-story wooden
sbop stands between two big business
blocks. for all the world like diminu-
tive chunk Of ham between the abnor-
mally thick slices Of bread in a railroad
sandwich. The little shop aud ground
ON which il is built are owned by a
,briyelled old man. lie has refused
every offer to dispose of the property,
notwithstanding the exOrbitsnt prices
repeatedly proposed by neighboriug
merchants who desire to rid the street
of the shabby little shops dIstiguring
presence. The old mans mode OF
gaining livelihood is fully as peculiar
as hi, refusal to part with his real estate
on the terms that have been offered
him. Tho shop has two front via.
dows. In ore hangs card bearing the
legend Buttonholes Inside" and in
the other is another with the inscrip-
ton L" Amy Button Matched-Ten Cents
Only"
Within the little shop are shelves and
counters covered with p,steboard trays,
containing larger collection Of buttons,
probably, than can be found anywhere
else in New York. There is every sort
OF button known to civilization, from
the plain white shirt-button whose no.
sence has caused untold miseries in
many a family circle TO the bold-f4ced
metallic military button. which saves a
life every now and then in war stories
by turning bullet from its deadly
course buttons Of jet, gilt, ivory, bone,
glass, and wood, plain buttons, parti-
colored buttons, enamelled buttons,
plush.coyered buttons, buttons with
shanks and without shanks, rough but
tons and smooth buttons, buttons that
we're invented Yesterday, and buttons
that were made half @ century ago.
In the back Of the shop is bench
like a cObbler's, where the old man sits
all day cross-legged. A pretty.faced
little girl, who looks old for her size
waits upon customers. She is the little
old mans granddaughter. Neither the
old man nor his granddaughter is in
clined to talk freely about their busi-
ness. To q Nail and Express reporter,
however, the little girl said " We
match buttons and sew them on'the
coats or vests Of gentlemen and on
the dresses Of ladies. Oh, yes,
we have a good msny customers,
principally young men, who have lost
a button or two and haven't any one
to sew them ON, or can't match the
buttons in the regular stores. We often
have calls from seamstresses also. who
need few buttons they can't tind else
where. You see, our collection IS so
large that We can supply tho missing
buttons in almost any set. Where did
we get such large collection? Grandpa
has been gathering i. for years. lie
has number Of tailor.shOpS and dress
mAkirg establishments which he visits
regularly. From these he gets Old bat
tons by the hundreds very cheap. 10
charge only ten cents for any b1;ton
that may be desired. Of course. some
of them are worth a good deal more
than that, but, as .he demand is great
est for the cheap kinds, We make C3ir
profit in the long run. How did grand
pa conceive the idea Of the business a;
] don't know, I'm sure. Ineyor asked
him but ] suppose from seeing so many
persons With buttons missing from their
clothes who would have them replaced
if they didn't have to 60 to any trcubie.
In addition to supplying odd buttons
ard sewing them on while the customer
waits, we also mend ragged button
holes or make new ones where they
have been torn out"