A String With a Bounty of Chinas

Buffum collection, inventory #4

String of 144 buttons purchased in 2003. Buttons of interest– no touch button, many small white, black and brown chinas, miscellaneous charm string glass, black glass, assorted rubber buttons with N.R. Co Goodyear’s P=T backmarks, exceptional milk glass Jenny Lind waistcoat (very crisp detail), brass, horn, colored glass

A String With a Coin

Buffum collection, inventory #3

String of 119 buttons purchased in 2003.  Buttons of interest– “Touch” button is 1859 Victoria Regina Canada One Cent coin, white, black, brown china buttons, miscellaneous charm string glass buttons, medium drum button with leather inset, black glass, small brass with fabric, very small drum button with pattern top and glass dot center, waistcoat

Our Second String

Buffum collection, inventory #2

String of 96 buttons purchased in 2003.  Buttons of interest– Civil War Infantry coat button (Schuyler New York), large drum with red sparkle liner under glass, large drum with black glass pinwheel & hub inset, silver livery button lion head with crown over dotted bar (F & S Firmin 153 Strand London 13 Conduit St), coat size brass pheasant hunt button (picture of lion and Plus Ultra), S.O. & Co NY button, assorted china, charm string glass, black glass, vegetable ivory, composition, brass and steel buttons.

Our First String

Buffum collection, inventory #1

A string of 93 buttons purchased in 2003.  Buttons of interest– Large Goodyear sew-thru coat button, GAR Coat button (Horstmann Bros. Philad.), crest button (London Extra Quality), brass Boys Brigade ( Extra Quality) coat button, domed brass twinkle with multi-color liner, Paris back, enamel turquoise on brass, POD cuff button (extra quality), vegetable ivory military service button with loop shank, black glass imitation fabric, assorted small metals, brass, black glass, vegetable ivory, horn, brass with steels, and large carved abalone with 8-point star.

About Those Charming Charmstrings

by Susan Buffum, originally published in the 2005 Massachusetts State Button Society Bulletin

     The Victorian Era, corresponding to the reign of Queen Victoria in England from 1839 to 1901, was a period beloved for its attention to high morals, modesty and proper decorum.  This particular era was also an optimistic time in which scientific and industrial invention thrived.  The importance placed on civic conscience and social responsibility engendered notable developments toward gender and racial equality, such as the abolishment of slavery in America. In addition, humanitarian and religious organizations such as the Salvation Army reflected the Victorian concern for the poor and needy of the period.[1]

     Between the years 1870 and 1900 the quaint fad of making charmstrings arose among young women of all classes.  In the early nineteenth-century machine made buttons came into use with manufactured buttons commonly being used on fashions for functional and decorative purposes from the 1830’s on.  In 1852 fancier buttons from Bavaria, Silesia, Saxe-Altenburg, Rhenish Prussia, Austria, and France were exhibited at the New York Exhibition of Industry starting a button revolution in America.  Buttons were made from brass, pewter, silver, steel and gilt.  Plant materials were used for buttons of hard rubber, wood, vegetable ivory, papier mache and polished nuts. Buttons of bone, ivory, horn, mother-of-pearl, pearl, cameo, shell, tortoiseshell, leather, or coral became popular. Other materials such as ceramic, cloth-covered forms, crocheted thread, embroidered fabric, enamel, jet, and glass were also used for buttons. Some buttons even held jewels or semi-precious gemstones.[2]  Most of the buttons found on a charmstring have loop shanks.  However, young ladies from lower social classes often included all kinds of buttons on their strings, including china and other sew-throughs.

     By the 1860’s buttons were an integral part of fashion design in the United States.  Some women’s clothing used between 60 and 108 buttons on a single garment![3] During these times clothes were worn until they were well-used then any reusable pieces such as collars, trim, pockets and buttons were cut off the garment and put into the sewing basket or sewing box for possible use on a new garment or homemade garment. The lock stitch sewing machine had been invented in 1846 so many families that could afford a sewing machine had one and the ladies of the household became adept at sewing their own and their family’s clothing.  Often loose buttons were kept in a cloth bag or a box of some sort.

     The years 1870 through 1900 saw the fad of the button charm string come into being.  No one knows exactly where and when the fad began but soon many young women were stringing the best and prettiest buttons they could find and making charm strings with the goal being to string 999 buttons.  Lore had it that the 1000^th button on a young lady’s charm string would be given to her by her future husband.  Some said that he had to put the button on the string himself to complete it.  Others said that if the young lady herself strung the 1000^th button by mistake she would remain a spinster!

     To begin a string a young girl would tie a large button called a touch button onto a long string or wire.  She would then continue stringing on the very finest small glass and jeweled buttons of the period.  Original charm strings of the late 19^th century had a large quantity of very small and dainty glass buttons, including early paperweight buttons, as well as small Victorian metals of the period.[4]  A young girl could poke through and gather buttons from her family members’ button boxes, trade or accept buttons from friends, well-wishers or acquaintances, but she was never to purchase buttons for the purpose of adding to her charmstring.  The custom was to give and receive the finest and most beautiful buttons one could find without duplication of a single button on the string.

     Adding buttons to their charmstrings was a pleasant way for girls to pass a summer afternoon or a rainy day, and a welcome change from cutting and arranging the flowers to adorn hall, side tables and mantles, drawing botanical pictures, painting delicate watercolors or doing fancy needlework.  Button trading among friends was a common practice.  Girls would recount the histories behind the special buttons, a friendly custom that kept rivalry thriving and also allowed for a bit of bragging.[5]  While in progress the button strings were kept for all to see, to boast of wonderful buttons and to encourage contributions. Often tiny pieces of paper with notes about certain buttons were kept with the charmstring, documenting who had given the button and what the special occasion was. The charmstring usually became a family project, and many were divided up among family members wanting a token or memento[6] when the original owner lost interest or passed away.  Very few charmstrings were ever completed as after awhile the young lady ran out of family, friends and acquaintances from whom to obtain buttons, lost interest in her string when she met a nice young man, or passed it down to a younger sister who grew bored with the project and stopped adding to it.  Some incomplete charm strings have been found in a condition that would indicate they were lovingly put away, others have been found with broken string (the weight of all those buttons could easily snap an aging piece of string!), or partially dismantled.  Completed charmstrings are a rarity today, and even a partial charmstring is an exceptional find!

     Should you be lucky enough to happen upon a charmstring- perhaps with the needle still attached- the primary guideline for determining if it is original and authentically intact is to consider the age and condition of the string or wire and to determine if all the buttons were made during the proper period (1830’s-1900).  Whether enjoyed for its visual abundance or as a consulting library of 19^th century buttons, the charmstring is an American folk art and is, to put it simply, charming.[7]

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[1] www.erasofelegance.com/victorian.html

[2] http://users.erols.com/va42nd/buttons.html

[3] Nineteenth Century Buttons by Virginia Mescher, http://users.erols.com/va42nd/buttons.html

[4] Victorian Charm Strings @www.aboutdecorativestyle.com/articles/Victorian_charm_strings.htm

   Diana Epstein and Millicent Safro

[5] Victorian Charm Strings by Cynthia Burgess, http://cottagesoft.com/~cynthia/magazine/charm.htm

[6] About Charm String, http://www.q-tiques.com/harmstring/about.htm

[7] Victorian Charm Strings, www.aboutdecorativestyle.com/articles/victorian_charm_strings.htm

   Diana Epstein and Millicent Safro

Welcome!

     Welcome to the Charmstring Museum! Here you will find information about and pictures of charmstrings and the stories that go with them. We are Susan and Kelly Buffum (respectively the editor for and vice president of the Massachusetts State Button Society). The idea for this blog came from Kelly, who is still slightly in shock at the current extent of her mother's charmstring collection (numbering 70 at writing). We believe that it is important to preserve these historical artifacts. We also think that they should be shared with the wider world. As you all can't come to us to see them, this seems to be the best medium.
     Our goal is to show of the strings in our collection with words and pictures. We'd also like to welcome you to share your charmstring and its story with us (and through us, the wider world). Charmstrings are also called memory strings, button strings, or friendship strings. The fad of making these strings occurred between the 1860s and early 1900s.