Love's Messenger

Love's Messenger

Bird Delivering a Letter

to a Woman at a Window

Textured Background

NBS Large

Stamped and Pierced Brass

c1880s

Love's Messenger

Button Back

This wonderful button depicts a woman at a window receiving a letter from a swallow. The button is made of stamped and pierced brass with a textured background. The brass is tinted black to create a nighttime scene. Notice the ornate window frame, the city rooftops and the clouds. I owe the title of this button and additional information to a member of the National Button Society, who looked the button up for me in the Big Book of Buttons. Thank you, Janelle!

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Falcon Huntress with a Pierced Border

Falcon Huntress

Stamped and Tinted Brass

Pierced Border

c1880s

NBS Large, 1 3/8"

Falcon Huntress - Pierced Border - Back

If this Falcon Huntress seems familiar, it is because she is patterned after the Falcon Huntress I featured in an earlier post. Both share the same basic design. The Falcon Huntress rides side saddle as she leaps a fence, her loyal hound running beneath it. She wears a high necked gown and a hennin with a flowing veil. This button is a stamped and tinted brass disc framed by a stamped, tinted and pierced brass border. I enjoy both buttons, but my favorite of the two is the version with the cut steel border.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Falcon Huntress

Falcon Huntress

c1880s

One Piece

Stamped and Pierced Brass

Riveted Cut Steels

Fancy Border

NBS Large, 1 5/8"

Falcon Huntress - Back

This glorious button is known as the Falcon Huntress. The Lady rides side saddle, and her horse gracefully leaps a fence as her loyal hound runs beneath it. The button is made of one piece stamped and pierced (openwork) brass, with 12 faceted cut steels riveted into the fancy border. She wears a high necked gown and a cone shaped hennin with a flowing veil.
Image and Text © 2009 Once Upon A Button

Medieval Woman Wearing a Hennin and a Fur Trimmed Gown

Medieval Woman

NBS Large, 1 7/16"

c1880s

One Piece

Stamped and Pierced Brass

Medieval Woman - Back

The Lady, perhaps a Queen, wears a hennin (conical hat with veil) and a fur trimmed gown. She touches his armor as if she were touching the shoulder of her King. This button is constructed in one piece stamped and pierced (openwork) brass, with exceptional detail, from the gathers in her skirt to the texture in her headdress and the fur that trims the bodice of her gown. A small bag dangles from her hip. She looks to me as though she waits for his return, or, she contemplates his leaving for a noble quest. If she could, she would go in his stead.


Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Art Nouveau Woman: Flower Petal Hat

Art Nouveau Woman

Flower Petal Hat

Molded Brass with Gilt

Overexposed to Show Detail

NBS Small, 1/2"

This lovely young woman, art nouveau, wears a flower petal cap. She is only 1/2" wide, with a thoughtful, somewhat pensive expression. I wonder what she is thinking.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Minerva: Mythology Button

~ Minerva ~

c1880s

Brass and Silver Metal

Two Piece Construction

NBS Medium

~ Minerva ~

Back View

I acquired this button at a bargain price. The picture on the listing was blurred, but the price was right, and I took the chance on her as a compliment to the button, Winter. She arrived in perfect condition, in need only of a light buffing with a cotton cloth to remove old polish, which thankfully, hadn't destroyed her patina (It's best not to polish brass or metal buttons, but to carefully buff them). She is Minerva, goddess of wisdom, and patron of industry, agriculture and the arts. Note her dolphin helmet, the sheaves of wheat in her hair, and the head of Medusa worn at her breast. The pierced (openwork) button is in two parts. It is difficult to tell from the picture, but the brass Minerva is inset into silver metal.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Four Seasons: Winter

~ Winter ~

Art Nouveau

Brass, NBS Medium

~ Winter ~

Back View

This fantastic button is said to be one of four seasons, but I've never seen the other three. The detail is exceptional, and the slightly concave button is only about 1" wide. The patina is the original finish, plus a hundred years of "mellowing." The button is made of brass, with silver gilt at her shoulder and near her face. I love the way her hood and her hair blend with the woods, the knowing expression on her face, and her bewildering agelessness. Is she girl or woman?

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Woman With Swirling Hair

~ Woman With Swirling Hair ~

Art Nouveau

Brass, NBS Medium

~ Woman With Swirling Hair ~
Back View

My nickname for this button is: Desire. I've viewed this button from many angles and in various qualities of light. Her expression is always slightly secretive, always seductive, and joyful. Sometimes her eyes appear shut, other times half closed. One wonders, when the artist created her, if he (or she) had a particular woman in mind. Some button art was inspired by a known painting or illustration. If anyone has any information about this button design, its artist, or its manufacturer, please let me know. The seller identified it as antique, and Art Nouveau. I actually own two of this button in excellent condition, and another with all of its one hundred year old patina, sadly, removed.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button

Woman of the Sun

~ Woman of the Sunflower ~

Brass, NBS Small

"Woman of the Sunflower" is my own title for a recent button acquisition. It is an NBS (National Button Society) size small, about 1/2" across. It is concave, made of one piece gilded brass. I do wish the button had been a medium, as described!

This would be even more incredible in a size large, but the photographer did this button justice. It's a fine example of the art of button making, even stamped and molded and mass produced. I respond to the design of the button, and the strength and wisdom in the woman's face.

Image and Text © 2009 Anne AKA Once Upon A Button