Welcome

The goal of our Club is to provide opportunities to study buttons that are worth collecting, and share that knowledge as we come to appreciate their beauty and history. Collectable buttons include all buttons - antique and vintage, uniform and military.

Meetings are held at 8 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month (except January) in the Fellowship Room of the Burwood Heights Uniting Church (A-frame) on the corner of Burwood Highway and Blackburn Road, Burwood East.  (Melways Ref. 61 K7)

History

The idea of a button collecting club was conceived in 1995. The Victorian Button Collectors Club became a reality in 1996 when, through word of mouth and personal contacts, we held our first meeting at a private home. As individual button collectors, we had been aware of established button clubs in America and the United Kingdom. In Melbourne at that time, there was very little public information about buttons available, button collecting was not a hobby most people had heard of, and it was difficult to find collectable buttons even in antique shops. The Victorian Button Collectors Club was established to encourage the collecting, preservation and appreciation of buttons, antique and modern, and research into the history relating to their origins and uses. Most of all, the club provides an opportunity to meet like-minded people.  If you are a member you can Find out more . . .

 

Another Button Story

A new button will be posted on the Home page once per month.
Click on the button to enlarge.

 

Pearl Cameo Carved Button

A large cameo carved, stylized owl face, made from an oyster pearl shell. 4mm thick, 37mm diameter, c. late 1800’s.
Over centuries, the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf have provided the world with the best oyster shells. Due to overfishing and climate change, Broome in Western Australia now provides much of the worlds usable shell.
Coloured pearl shell did not become popular until after the British display of shell at The Crystal Palace, 1851 Exhibition. Large pearl buttons were cameo carved, cutting through the different coloured layers of the shell, creating designs of brown or grey on a white background. (In The Big Book of Buttons, 2010, Vol 1, it mentions that in the early 1900’s, pearl shell was smoked to get the brown colour).
Buttons with owls are popular with collectors and I buy them when I chance to see one. This button was my indulgence at our Clubs October Buttonfest 2023.  It can be disconcerting viewing a card of owl buttons that has several owl heads looking at you.

Owls in the wild have decreased significantly in the last decade, partly due to habitat loss, but mainly due to secondary poisoning from eating rats and mice that have taken the current rodent baits.

 

MEMBERS ONLY - Information for ordering our special 25th Silver Anniversary button remains under Button Banter (post date 2/10/2021) - plus two more photos.  Details for purchasing a 25th Anniversary button are also in our November 2021 Journal.  

BUTTON BANTER is now up and running for members only. It has its own heading at the top of the Home page which you can see once you log in.  Click on this heading to view contributions.  If you want to add an item use 'Add Button Banter'  under the Member Menu on the right of that screen or the Home page.  

Button Banter is for you to share your button interests with other Club members, ask advice or give feedback. You can also see other members buttons or Button Challenge Cards or join in and show your own. It is preferable to post your photo in portrait format.

NEXT MEETING - Tuesday December 12th

CHRISTMAS PARTY & BUTTON SALES   

(Commencing at 7.30pm)

VISITORS ARE WELCOME AT CLUB MEETINGS