Button
Description
Small, plain, round metal button, with loop on back for attaching to clothing. Buttons came in all shapes and sizes, but most often they were mounted on a shank; you ran thread through the shank’s hole to attach the button to fabric. The shank style left the button’s face totally free. For one-piece buttons, the main manufacturing technique of the button was usually “Cast” or “Stamped.” Most cast buttons from the mid-17th/early 18th century are pewter, but by the mid-18th century large numbers of cast brass and copper (i.e. copper alloy) buttons were produced. Molten metal was poured into a button mold and allowed to harden. The button would have characteristic mould seams most likely on the back of the button and possibly the eye. Some buttons had cast eyes (with mould marks) and others were cast with an iron or brass wire shank placed into the mould.
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Object Detail
Depth: 8mm (5/16")