Page 28 - May1964

Lzz NAfiONAL BUTTON BI'LLETIN May, 1964

MECOBATION (Illustration on preceeding page)
Decoratlon rV used in this context, r€feris to ornamentation of the glass surface it-
self in ways other than glass-on-glass.
Enameled-paint€d (1) decoration is put on cold and may or may not be fir€d after-
wards.
Frmted-"salt" (2) are decorations made by roughening the surface.
Luster (3) includes any metallic sheen (gold, silver, iridescent, etc.) covering all or
any part of the button.
Outline (4) decoration is pressed into the button when it is molded, but it looks as
if it wero a lilre drawing made with a pointed tool. fn many instances, the lines are
lustered or painted to ma.ke them prominent.
Transfer-decal (5) decoration may be polychrome or single color. It is sometimes
difficult to distinguish from free hand drawing since added hand touching fre-
quently is done. Comparison of two or more buttons having the same design will
tell the story.
V MECHANICAL MAKE-UP
Mochanical make-up is the term applied to buttons that are assembled, so to speak.
Separate units are fastened together, glass to glass without flrsion or other mater-
ials to glass in appropriate ways.
Bound with metaVthreail (1) Buttons shaped so that thread or metal bands
wrapped aJound the body are held in place by grooves or flutes.
Foil trim (2) is a blanket class covering all buttons showing foil. Thus it includes
foil paperweights and metal-ba.ked foils along with miscellaneous other kinds.
Quite naturally, collectors would like to have the miscellany divided into special-
ized classes ea,ch in its own compartment. If only the wish were father of the deed.
Ttre compucations are so many and ttre confusion so great, however, that further
cla^ssification seems impossible now.
Glass-with-glass (3) as noted above, refers to buttons made by fastening one
piece of glass to another.
Coronet (3a) A base and a top, molded separately and usually of different colors,
are fastened together with a light flux or other binder around the edge. It is not
uncommon to find bases and tops that have come apart. Bases will not be mis-
taken for complete buttons when one observes that the top is flattened down and
rattter sandpapery. T3o standard strapes are berry tops on frustum base and
dome top on fluted base.
Tingue (3b) A faceted base of colored glass grooved to receive an ornamental
piece of fitting clea,r or lightly tinted glass made jewel-like by color-flashing on
top and foil underneath. The name comes from the historic Tingue Collection at
Hartford, Conn.
Metal-backed (4) buttons include every make-up in which glass is reinforced by
metal backing no matter how attached.
Foil metatr-backs (4a) are like kaleidoscopes in make-up and shape. They differ
in that they are patternless. Only single-color foil is used for decoration.
I(aleidoscope (4b). fhe essential parts of a kaleidoscope axe (1) a trarxparent
glass "dome" with a colored pattern adhering to ik flat base and (2) a metal plate
almost as large as the base of the dome with a loop or (rarely) a pin-sha,nk in-
serted. The loop shank does not enter the glass. Most kaleidoscopes measwe
small; a few are medium size. Most are round; a few are oval or shell-shape.
Many domes are smooth, but even more are molded in a numbor of ways. A card
of forty-two can be gathered without duplication of shape. Regular pattern types
include plaids, diapers, medallion cente,rs. They have so much variety that whole