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 1000th 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 1000th 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 19th
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 19th century buttons, the charmstring is
an American folk art and is, to put it simply, charming.[7]
_________________________________________________________________________________
[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
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with your interesting and informative articles.
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