We watched the movie The Strange Case of Benjamin Button.
The next day Uncle rooted around in the buggy barn til he unearthed an ole' tin box of buttons that he's been keepin' fer decades. (Y'all already knows Uncle is a PACK RAT!)
That ole button box wuz among the piles of thangs left behind in the barn of the first ole timey place we lived in. That first barn had a hand crank Edison Standard Phonograph an' the cylinder records that was played on it. That first barn had ole timey saws and tools an' assorted harnesses....an' this box of buttons. Ain't no tellin' how old some of these buttons is. Funniest thang is that Uncle woan throw this stuff OUT. He thinks some day he will find a million dollar button.
Thas' why he tole me, "Jump on that netway of yours an find us somethin' 'bout ole buttons. "
Can ya think of anythang any duller? So I said,
"Thas' fer ole folks. You do it."
"Belle," he coaxed, " how we gonna know iffin' thar's a treasure in heah iffin' ya doan look up prize buttons."
I figgered the fastest way to hush him up was to show him they ain't no big buck buttons. But in the back of mah mind I did think how interestin' that buttons wasn't jes' tossed, but recycled--not thrown out, but saved for re-use or even used to make somethin' else, like earrings.
Well, I'se stunned.
Y'all will not believe how many dull folks is out theah--button collectors is EVERYwhere. Do these bumps on stumps not know thar's a whole wide world beyond them button boxes?
Then I started lookin' an next thang ya know I wuz a buttonb dullard too.
Why, did ya know that a heap of fine black buttons of all sorts of wild and elegant designs wuz made by GoodYear--that is, the tire maker? Yep, hard rubber buttons was prolly on yore grandpappy's jacket. THas' AFTER Poor Goodyear went to debtor's prison an' asked his wife to bring hims some rubber abd her rollin' pin fer him to play wif.
Then I seen how collectors love uniform buttons--the policemen of NYC have they own design, and so do the firemen of San Francisco.
Of course, military buttons is it's own class of buttons. They's all the rage wif' re-enactor groups. Museums is huntin' fer particular military buttons.
Buttons is made of odd stuff--pressed hair buttons, celluloid an' Bakelite,
Czech glass buttons of a type called moonglow is popular--an' we have a couple of 'em.
Wood buttons an' nut buttons,
silver buttons and marcacite wif colored glass ( we have two of em').Ivory of course, and jade, jaspar, mother of pearl. Coin buttons, an' lovely cameo buttons. Thar's amazin' carved buttons from the Orient...
Bone buttons was popular an expensive, antlers cut cross wise made fine men buttons. Collectors loved somethin' called Calico buttons (we have some!), and Chinese stencil buttons was a rage....stylish Art Deco buttons--we found three in the box, but only as singles no sets.
I ain't made to the bottom of the box yet, but I 'se so ashamed to admit I'se spent a half a mornin' rummagin' through an o0le box of buttons --ferPete's Sake!!
