Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-27
BUTTON-STRINGS.
Some that Arc of Great Historic In
tercst. Vol MereIN Pin Nihinrs.

tercst. Not Merely PlnytbinGs.
1t may surprise the boys and girls wht
consider the making of button-string as
suitable amusement for the babies of tn,
family only to hear that many grown ups
find pleasure in the same thing. OF course
a 'grown-up's" button-string is apt to bt
slightly different from that of the young.
sters. Usually it is spoken of as a collec
tion Of rare or curious buttons.
The most interesting button-strings are
those composed of historic buttons. button:
that have fastened the garments of historic
personages.
A New York lady has a very valuable
huttOn-string One of the buttons once
adorned the coat of the Little Corporal
after he became the great Emperor Napo.
leon. 1t has his profile clear-cut on its sur
face. A modest little gray cloth button loses
its insgnifcance when its owner tells you
that it was one of a row that fastened a
walking gown of Queen Victoria's. An ar
tistic button in pears and priceless lace once
adorned a ball dress worn by the unfortu-
nate Empress Eugene
More interesting than any Of these repre-
sentations of royalty is pathetic, shabby
button, which could it talk, would tell tales
of hunger and cold, lone. weary marches
feet that bled at Valley Forge. voices that
6heered and eyes that wept, all for liberty.
1t is a button cut from an old army coat
of George Washington's
As a companion to this American button
there is a little rusty, black cloth disk that
travelled the world over with Benjamin
Franklin. Almost every great soldier of
modern times has added a button to the
collection. Florence Nightingale, of Cri-
mean fame, to whom the world owes its
trained nurses, is represented by pink cam
brio covered button. Thackeray once wore a
suit of gray broadcloth, evidently, for mold
covered with that material Is one of the
prizes of the collection A similar button
Nyit hrOaIp1Otb
worn by Dickens.
button string that would illustrate the
many stages in the evolution of the button
would be very interesting. Everything under
the sun almost has been uGed in the man
ufactuIe of buttons. There have been but
tons of gold and silver buttons OF iron and
bone, and recently process has been dis
covered by which potatoes may be soldifel
into very handsome buttons There are pearl
buttons. wooden buttons and buttons of
vegetable ivory horn buttons belong almost
to past age The few that are now placed
on the market come from France. Yet it Is
scarcely half a century since NJ Bosset OF
Paris introduced buttons made from hoofs
They became very popular and made French
saying which runs, set a button al right
angles with woman's eye and she'll make
you a millionaire" Horn buttons made many
before they went out OF fashion
Queen Elizabeth must have been very fond
of buttons, as she was Of all sorts of decora-
tions. II was during her reign that mems
and wOmen's clothes first blOssomed out In
the most gorgeous display of buttons of all
sizes and shapes. Curiously enough but
tons seem to have been ornamental before
they were useful. II was in Elizabeths time
that buttonmaking developed into a regular
trade. Afterward Birmingham became a
great buttonmaking center a great many
buttons are made in the United States. Vul-
canite buttons are exclusively an American
DrOlupt