Christmas Buttons

To continue the holiday spirit we thought we'd share a few of our owner Susan Davis' collection and history of Christmas buttons.

This jaunty button elf was made by Lisa Allen, one of Susan’s friends from her earliest days of selling jewelry at the Canton, MS crafts market.  The enamel  Santa on top is a coveted Motiwala button.  B. Motiwala was a Bombay artisan who created meticulously drawn enamel  on sterling buttons in the 1940s and ‘50s.  Santa on his sleigh is a modern studio button made for collectors using vintage Christmas cards, while “Christmas Morning” is a Victorian stamped metal button showing a small boy in his nightshirt surrounded by his new toys. 

A pocket watch crystal is united with a vintage card in this mid-century collectors’ button, while the detailed stamped brass depiction of Mary and Jesus was made in the 1890s for clothing.

These three late 19^th century holly buttons and one mid-20^th century Christmas tree were all created using different techniques and materials:  openwork brass and cut steel, stamped brass, champlevee enamel, and cast white metal.