News
Protest Buttons
May 18, 2012In honor of the many protests scheduled around the NATO summit here in Chicago this weekend, we thought we’d highlight a few selections from the extensive collection of cause buttons in the Busy Beaver Button Museum archives.
1. A Woman’s Place is in the World – 1970s women’s movement button, probably in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. Slogan also available in vintage cross-stitch format.
2. The Moral Majority is Neither – 1981 button cleverly protesting Jerry Falwell’s evangelical Moral Majority movement.
3. Get in the Swim, Stop Pollution – From the State of New York Conservation Department, this 1940s button was one of the first known usages of the term pollution.
4. Save Me – Anti-deforestation button, probably from the 1980s. Look closely— the word “save” is written in snakes!
5. Women’s Movement Fist – 1970s women’s movement button featuring the female symbol/fist icon first designed by Robin Morgan.
6. Constitutional Money, No Inflation – Probably from the 1970s. Explaining constitutional money can be a little confusing— something to do with coin money being real and paper money being unconstitutional? If you want to learn more for yourself, this might help.
7. For Every Prohibition – 2003 button printed by Northern Sun featuring a quote from Dead Kennedy’s frontman and activist Jello Biafra.
Buttons Across America
May 17, 2012It’s almost summer! Summertime for me as a kid always meant a cross country road trip in my parents’ big brown van (don’t judge, it was the 80s). Whether it was to Ohio to see my grandparents or a big drive from Houston to Maine, my parents packed my sister and I in the backseat with Mad Libs and Hostess Fried Pies and we hit the road.
Part of the fun of the trips was stopping at the road side attractions and gas station gift shops. I ended up with quite a collection of state magnets and spoons but after working here at Busy Beaver I realize I should have been collecting buttons. Just take a look at the cool state-themed buttons we have in the Busy Beaver Button Museum:
I’m hoping that after digging through our archives, or after a few more donations to the Button Museum, I’ll be able to finish filling out my map. Even though I can’t vacation like I did as I kid, I can still keep up the collecting.
Do you have a state or button collection? Share your collections now on Facebook or Pinterest.
We Want Beer! Button Preview
May 11, 2012In preparation for the upcoming We Want Beer event on May 23 we here at the Beaver Dam have been busy pulling all of the great beer buttons from the Button Museum archive. Check out these two beautiful buttons from Van Nostrand’s Bunker Hill Brewery:
These buttons look to be from 1896, the same year that the pin-back button received its patent. Don’t you just love the detail of the imagery?
Characters with Canes (Part 5)
May 7, 2012Charlie Chaplin’s “little tramp” character is quite possibly the most famous character with a cane. In the 1980s, IBM used the likeness of Chaplin to sell their personal computers. This IBM campaign sought to warm up its corporate image and show how easy the computer was to use.
For more characters with canes buttons, check out Part 1, 2, 3, and 4.
May 23: We Want Beer!
May 2, 2012Join us on May 23 for our Chicago Craft Beer Week event “We Want Beer: The history of brewing in America as told through the pin-back button.”
Get a private tour of the Busy Beaver Button Museum and see a century’s worth of historical beer buttons when you join us on Wednesday, May 23rd 5:00pm to 8:00pm at Busy Beaver Button Co. (3279 W. Armitage, Chicago, IL). See everything from Pre-Prohibition era buttons to Spuds MacKenzie buttons to modern day brewery buttons in the museum’s extensive beer button archives. We’ll also have pizza and beer from Piece Brewery and Pizzeria!
Want to become part of the history? Bring your own brew to share and we’ll create a custom button or button bottle opener to be inducted into the museum.
RSVP to denise@busybeaver.net. See you there!
For more info on Chicago Craft Beer Week, go to chibeerweek.com.
Saturday: Obscura Day at Busy Beaver
April 26, 2012See this button and thousands more this Saturday as the Busy Beaver Button Museum opens its doors again for Obscura Day, the “international celebration of unusual places” created by Atlas Obscura.
For just $8, you will be given a guided tour, get to make a button, and receive additional buttons and a display to start their own collectable mini museum. Click here to get your tickets in advance and we hope to see you on Saturday!
For more info on Obsucra Day, go to atlasobscura.com/obscura-day. To start your own button collection, shop now at busybeaver.net.
Characters with Canes (Part 4)
April 16, 2012For our latest edition of the Characters with Canes series, we have Mr. Pikle. This button from the 1940s extols one of the virtues of eating pickles; as the button states, “Pikle-Rite Keeps Your Weight Right”.
Did you know that a former Busy Beaver now owns his own pickle company? Yep, former button maker Tom Perkins is now the proud owner of Perkins Pickles. We’re not sure if he has a cane, but his pickles are quite tasty.
Characters with Canes Buttons (Part 3)
April 11, 2012This illustrated character dons a tuxedo, bow tie, top hat, and a cane. To me, the most noticeable part of this button is the Rod Blagojevich-like hairstyle on this guy.
For more characters with canes buttons, check out Part 1 and 2.
This is the Ultimate Button
April 9, 2012We are often asked by button museum visitors what our favorite button is. We have many buttons we are tremendously fond of but, This is the Ultimate Button! 