Storybook Figural Buttons

Storybook figural buttons are popular with both adult and junior collectors. These figural buttons are those buttons that depict figures from children’s fairy tales and storybooks. Most of these buttons, manufactured in the late 19th and early 20th century, were made of metal, most often brass, and were sometimes of cut-out construction.

Many can be found in the museum collection, and are presently on exhibit in a special display of children’s buttons. One of the most frequently found buttons of this type is the Trumpeter of Krakow from the book of the same title. Another popular button is Little Red Riding Hood, very often showing a little girl wearing a hooded cape, basket over her arm, with a wolf by her side. There is another button (Flora and the Hind) that is often confused with this button, refer to The Big Book of Buttons (p. 478 and p. 470) to compare the two. Both are on display at the Keep Homestead Museum as well. Rumplestiltskin is another popular storybook button, as are Rapunzel and Snow White. There are many of these figural buttons in the museum collection.

If you should decide to start looking for these buttons, know that you will find them not only depicting fairy tales, but also nursery rhymes as well as fables. Sometimes you will find them decoupaged, painted on porcelain, china, and other materials. But that is another story!


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