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buttons buttons and more buttons, quick question?

freddyttt

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
42
Location
Howell, NJ
Seems we find a lot of old buttons. my question is, why ??

are they dropped and lost ??
or-

do they just fall off ??

curious and thanks...
 
I love me some buttons !!!!

Buttons are cool . Military!!!! Anything railroad!! Police!!! Presidential!!!!
 

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An explanation that sounds about right

Look at soldiers photos . The jackets worn in the field were usually only buttoned with one button. Too many buttons to be buttoning all those when you didn't have too. All that bending and moving put a lot a pressure on that one button .remember too thread was nothing like it is today. Soon as it got wet it started to fall apart. It was just a button to them no big deal if they popped off , they'd just sew on another. Then there was disease, lice, mold on uniforms they threw a lot away
 
The technology of the time left some rough spots on the shanks, and the thread used to hold the button on was cotton. Walking would cause the buttons to bounce up and down cutting the string. At least that is the way it was always told to me.
 
Yes, they popped off a lot

Seems we find a lot of old buttons. my question is, why ??

are they dropped and lost ??
or-

do they just fall off ??

curious and thanks...

I'm a reenactor. It seems like every reenactment, I lose at least two buttons off my Civil War uniforms. When I do Seminole Wars, with a jacket with a lot more smaller buttons, I lose even more, like 4 or 5 a reenactment. And keep in mind that earlier (18th and 17th century) uniforms had a LOT of buttons.
 
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