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This button features a Sample plate from Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. The glazed earthenware plate is dated ca. 1920s, and is from Chantilly, France. This plate is an example of the “sampling” format—widely used by manufacturers to assist consumers in choosing the right combination of color, design, and materials, for products ranging from textiles to dinner plates. These products have become stylistic indicators of the time, and greatly enrich the museum’s documentary holdings related to ceramics design, technology, and marketing.
Our buttons are made by Busy Beaver Button Co., who have been making eco-friendly buttons since 1995. The company also founded the world’s only pin-back button museum, as a way to preserve the history of the button. You can explore the collection in their book Button Power: 125 Years of Saying it With Buttons.
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