The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-06-28
HOW BUTTONS ARE MADE
FIRST MANUFACTURED HERE IN 1926,
WOOD BEING THE MATERIAL.

III thc
and the French-Vegetabls Ivory But
tons Largely Used in This Country.
In ancient times buttons were far
from being as universally used as they
are now. Clasps hooks and eyes. or
taStenlngs made of wood, were the ar
tlcles used for holding together the
two edges of garments. Two hundred
years ago there was not as many but
tons in the whole world as may be
found today in the smallest notion de-
partment. In fact, until the four
teenth century, the world managed to
struggle along without these conven-
fences.
When the first introduced buttons
were used as ornaments. and were
SeWed on the garments at random, ac-
cordlng to the taste or caprice of the
wearer. During the latter part of
Queen Elizabeth's reign it was dis
covered that a small slit cut in the
cloth and fastened over the button rem
dered these ornaments useful.
From that time on buttons have
continued to grow in popularity until
the making of them has become one
If the most important industries. With
the practical use of buttons there came
marked change in the style Of gar
nenst worn by civilized people. The
last relic of the flowing robes. handed
down from patriarchal days. was con-
signed to the shelves of museums ani
the simpler forms of modern dress
adopted.
Buttons not only made the modern
style of garments possible but also
were the direct cause of the innumer-
able forms of undergarments. 1t was
the fashion in the early days of button
the clothing as the texture would bear.
Even the laboring classes managed to
bedeck themselves to a degree which
today appears ridiculous.
This at once created demand and
the close of the seventeenth century
saw the button industry well esta5
lished in Europe, the center being
then, as now, Birmingham, England.
In 1745 the famous Soho works were
opened, where steel buttons were
made of such beauty and finish as to
command price of $72O per gross or
S5 each.
The first manufacture of buttons in
the United States was in the year 1926,
by Samuel Wiluston. While he was
dragging along as country store
keeper at Easthampton, Mass, his
wife thought that she could cover by
hand the woden buttons of that time
and thus earn an honest penny. From
this humble beginning the couple ad
vanced in their ambition Until they
had perfected machinery for covering
buttons the f1rst employed in this
country. From this sprung an i'm
mense factory, and then others, until
Samuel Williston made half the but
tons in the world
There are two systems used for the
measurements of buttons the English
and the French. The English meas
urement runs, IA, 16 1S, 20, etc,
lines" the French runs, 4. IL, 5,
IL, etc. An English line is one
fortieth of an inch. The French line
may be expressed thus: .0SS87 of an
inch.
The French line measurement is
said to be obsolete, yet it is every
day in practical use. To illustrate in
what relations the two systems stand
to each other, the following table is
submitted:
English measure. .18 20 % "a 26 20
French measure. 515 6 6k Z 7h
The materials employed in button
making are as varied as the styles Of
buttons. In addition to metal and
well-known mother.of pearl and vege
table ivory, there are also glass. por-
celain, agate, horn, bone, rubber,
paper and different woods, while
among the materials used for covering
buttons may be mentioned lasting,
brocade, twist, velvet, silk and mohair.
Vegetable ivory buttons are made in
large quantities and widely used in
this country. The ivory nut, as it is
called in the trade, is obtained from a
palm tree grown in the hot regions of
South America, the principle point Of
shipment being Colon, coast city of
Venezuela. The nuts grow in great
clusters of about SO. incased in shell.
as are chestnuts in the burr. The
shell comes off easily after the nuts
are ripe.
At this stage they fall from the trees
and are packed on the backs of natives
to the points of shipment. These are
then transported by vessels to New
York, generally as ballast, the cost of
the nut in this country being princi-
pally the cost of picking and trans
porting it.
The nuts as used in commerce are
from / to 8 inches in diameter and
nearly round. To prepare them for
they are sawed into slabs
Of the proper thickness, from which
the buttons are cut by turning lathe
in the form of round blanks" These
pieces are then punched with the nee
essary thread holes, trimmed and pol
ished.
One peculiar feature of the ivory
nuts is their easy susceptibility to