Button

Buttons and button-like objects used as ornaments or seals rather than fasteners have been discovered in the Indus Valley civilization during its Kot Diji phase (c. 2800–2600 BC).

[5] Ian McNeil (1990) holds that "the button was originally used more as an ornament than as a fastening, the earliest known being found at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley.

"[6] Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty left behind ornate wig covers, fabricated through sewing buttons formed of precious metals onto strips of backing material.

[7] Leatherwork from the Roman Empire incorporates some of the first buttonholes, with the legionary's loculus closed through the insertion of a metallic buckle, or button into a leather slit.

[8] Buttons appeared as a means to close cuffs in the Byzantine Empire and to fasten the necks of Egyptian tunics by no later than the 5th century.

[9] It has been proposed that the European Crusaders brought the innovation of the buttonhole back from the Middle East, allowing for more fitted garments for men.

The early 17th century short jerkin, wide breeches and cloak may have been adorned by dozens of buttons, and with so many, they needed to be lightweight.

Buttons can be individually crafted by artisans, craftspeople or artists from raw materials or found objects (for example fossils), or a combination of both.

[19] In 1918, the US government made an extensive survey of the international button market, which listed buttons made of vegetable ivory, metal, glass, galalith, silk, linen, cotton-covered crochet, lead, snap fasteners, enamel, rubber, buckhorn, wood, horn, bone, leather, paper, pressed cardboard, mother-of-pearl, celluloid, porcelain, composition, tin, zinc, xylonite, stone, cloth-covered wooden forms, and papier-mâché.

[20] Nowadays, hard plastic, seashell, metals, and wood are the most common materials used in button-making; the others tending to be used only in premium or antique apparel, or found in collections.

[49][50][51][52] The mainly American tradition of politically significant clothing buttons appears to have begun with the first presidential inauguration of George Washington in 1789.

Around 1860 the badge or pin-back style of construction, which replaced the shanks with long pins, probably for use on lapels and ties, began to appear.

[55] One common practice that survived until recent times on campaign buttons and badges was to include the image of George Washington with that of the candidate in question.

Memorial buttons commemorating Lincoln's inaugurations and other life events, including his birth and death, were also made, and are also considered highly collectible.