Trumpeter of Sakingen - High Relief

Trumpeter of Sakingen

Brass and Tinted White Metal

Circa 1880s

NBS Large

Trumpeter of Sakingen

Japanned Back

This Trumpeter of Sakingen picture button is atypical. See the Trumpeter of Sakingen below for another rare example, and for a link to the trumpeter's story. The front of this Trumpeter of Sakingen is a brass escutcheon mounted on a tinted white metal background. With his high boots and dashing plumed hat, Werner, the trumpeter, plays for the lovely Margaretha, and calls her to the window.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Trumpeter of Sakingen

Trumpeter of Sakingen

Stamped and Pierced Brass

Cut-Outs, Shiny Steel Liner

c1880s

NBS Large

Trumpeter of Sakingen

Japanned Back

The Trumpeter of Sakingen is a common button design, but this version is not a common button. Note the cut-outs for the half moon, the city windows, and the waters of the Rhine River. It is a three part stamped, tinted, and pierced brass button, with a shiny metal liner, a japanned back, and a silver rim. I paid about six dollars, but I've seen the same button priced at fifty dollars. There is a cut-out for a full moon in an even rarer version.

This button is another great example of the link between art, design, and popular culture. You can read the detailed story of The Trumpeter of Sakingen within the text of the Legends of the Rhine by H. A. Geurber (New York: A. S. Barnes & Co, c1895) found at the Internet Archive. Section 316 through 321 is Guerber's summary of the original poem, The Trumpeter of Sakingen by Scheffel. The story was made into an opera by Nessler, which is probably the reason for this button design's wide popularity.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Landsknechts Trumpeter: Antique Picture Button

Landsknechts Trumpeter

with Short Sword and Shield

c1880s

Stamped and Pierced Brass

NBS Large, 1 7/16"

Landsknechts Trumpeter - Button Back

The medieval trumpeter is made of stamped and pierced brass. Note his curled hair, his puffed and slashed doublet and hose, ruffled sleeves, and the plumed feathers in his cap, the dress of a German Landsknechts mercenary soldier. He adorns himself with a short sword and a decorated shield, and his trumpet with a plain, unfurled banner. The actual button is a uniform golden tone, but the photograph, with its slightly reddish cast, shows the elaborate detail.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button