The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-08-14
CURIOUS BUTTONS.
A Collection of $4,000 Made BY a
Former Portland Woman.

Buttons Worn by Foreign soldiers-En-
graved With Odd Devices-Some That
Have Remarkable Value.
Way back when the war closed Mrs. Harris,
then resid ant of this city, began collec-
ton of buttons on wager, and at the e nd
of year had collected $3.50 and won the bet.
But this started in her mind the idea of get
ting as many she could thatsaad any
historical value. In four years she had OBJ
tanned 5000 buttons. all dlfferen, in twenty
years $500, and now she has twelve strings
of glittering buttons of one thousand each.
Mrs. Harris now lives with her brother,
Mr.. George E. Lothrop at No. Sc Blue Hill
avenue, Roxbury, Mass. One of the buttons
was worn by soldier of Napoleon's army at
the famous retreat from Moscow, There
a big, fiat eircular button, almost as large
as trade dollar, that was worn by a soldier
on Washington's army and another brass but
ton that went through the war of 1872.
There are three Confederates brass buttons
worn by three soldiers in the three arms of
the Confederate service. A fourth Confed-
crate military button, worn by soldier in
South Carolina regiment, mas on it in
bass-relief a palmetto tree, and the coat-of-
arms of the State of South Carolina. Still
another the coat-of-arms of Virginia and the
motto. 'sSic Semper Tyrannis."
There Is brass button of the Austrian
army, with the double-headed eagle of the
house of Hapsburg. Another from the tunic
of a soldier in some regiment of the line in
the British army, with a crown on the top
and three cannons, one below the other,
underneath it. All the nations were repre-
scented among the buttons. There is an Irish
button, with the shamrock, "a Scotch button
with the thistle; and antique Massachusetts
button, with pine tree, another embossed
with the seal of the Commonwealth in its
crude form, and buttons of Spain, California
and far away Japan.
There is an insignificant little button
with bit of blue glass in it's centre. which
was picked on Trundy's Reef after the ILL
fated steamer Bohemian was wrecked.
There is a smart little button bearing the
three feathers of the Prince of Wales's
crest and a big wooden, homely button worn
by Massachusetts pauper in a Massachu-
setts poor house.
Among the curious buttons is one that
was perfect beer keg, a beer keg with an
eye. Another an acorn so perfect that it
might have grown on tree; a third is a.
miniature pyramid, and a fourth had origin
ally been cent of the year 1855, which had
had a shank fitted to one side of it and an
eye on the other.
Another button is big round one with
thesfaded photograph of a sober faced young
girl in it, which at once suggests romance
for the ingenious story weaver; another
with old-fashiened loo omotive il relief.
A curious historical button has thirteen
stars in it, made when there was only
thirteen states tThis one,'' said Mrs.
Harris, taking up button of pretty con-
centric circles of blue and white, with a
silver border, twas one worn on the waist
coat of an old gentleman of eighty when he
married an old maid of sixty-five, who held
mysmuther and myself upon her lap. This is
all have left of either of the, dear old
folks'
. On one button a chicken is floating down
river on a wooden shoe under clear sky.
On another covey of cartridges is feeding
On another huntsman is holding couple
of hounds in leash. One has sky-blue
house in Japan, with pink Japanese gentle
man walking through yellow feds under a
green umbrella. A very interesting button
of bright gold color shows the obelisk, the
sphinx and the pyramids by the Nile There
is a button of mother-of- pearl inlaid with a
fine eagles head in bronze, and another
which had bronze serpent instead of an
eagle. A mother-of- pearl button reflected
all he colors of the RAINBOW, and still an
other bore the crescent and star of Islam