Viewing Charmstrings, Memory Strings and Friendship Strings as Historical Artifacts

By Susan Buffum

I did not get into button collecting back in 2002 with any particular thought in mind to collecting charmstrings, memory strings and friendship strings. Back then I wasn't even aware that there were such things. I’d never heard of the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s fad. I’d never seen one until I visited a fellow collector’s home and she showed me her prized charmstring. I’d been told to collect what I love when it comes to buttons- and seeing her charmstring, it was love at first sight. I started looking for them and found some in 2003 and have been finding them, as well as making a few of my own from antique buttons I’ve collected, ever since. The Civil War and Victorian eras are my favorite historical periods. I have come to view my charmstrings from these time periods as historical artifacts simply because they are a record of their times. By this I mean that there may be military buttons from as far back as Revolutionary War times forward found on these strings, souvenirs and mementos of the conflicts family members fought in. On some of the strings I own I have found souvenir medals and commemorative medallions pierced and strung on the button strings such as the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition medallion found on CS14, the British Victoria Regina coin/token dated 1849 depicting Hanover on horseback on the reverse side with the words ‘To Hanover 1837’ as found on CS35, and the medal commemorating the “9^th anniversary convention of the Firemen’s Association, Shamokin, PA, Sep 18-20, 1888” found on CS46. Other things I have found on the strings I have collected have been a doll size pot metal teaspoon, a very old and simple ring with a very basic faceted glass inset, assorted love tokens made from various coins, a bear claw, broken bits of jewelry, beads, tiny baskets carved from peach pits, assorted clock and watch keys (one shaped like a hatchet!). The most interesting string I have found, CS24, came with a bit of family history stating it had been used as a baby toy back in the 1870’s- long before people worried about infants choking on small objects! A charmstring can be a record of a family’s history through several generations.

Charmstrings are also a record of the advancement in button manufacturing techniques and the development of new materials from which buttons could be made.  From early Colonial buttons made of pewter, pearl, copper and horn we can trace the development of new materials such as hard rubber, glass and china, wood and celluloid among a few of the material buttons were being made from between 1850 and 1900. Strings in my collection range from very simple to quite elaborate; strings of mostly utilitarian buttons to strings of rather decorative buttons. Simple strings evoke a simpler life where perhaps a young lady wished to emulate her more financially well off peers and strung the buttons available to her through the family button box and those traded with her friends. Every string is different and has its own history to reveal.

That is why I seek them out and preserve them to the best of my ability. They are a record of their times. And every string has its own tale to tell.