Tailor’s button:

Chapman & Rogers, Adelaide:

George Chapman (1847-1928) came to south Australia as a two year old in 1849. In 1861 he was apprenticed as a tailor. he later worked for Shierlaw & Co. In 1892 he went into business with Charles Rogers at 117 Gawler Place. The partnership lasted until 1918 when he continued with his son. George was very keen sportsman, particularily football, cricket and swimming.

The Advertiser, 20th July 1926.

News 30th December 1927.

His son, George W. Chapman, was also a sportsman, with a love of baseball.

The Advertiser, 1933. G. W. Chapman

New finds:

Pearl buttons from the 1950s and current.

Beutron (early 1960s) Embassy (late 1960s and early 1970s).

I’m so excited … I just bought a suitcase of old buttons … there are about 10 of the beutron Kiddie cards in there! Not in perfect condition, but I can’t wait until they arrive!

Cam Smith has sent me a query about “Price & Co”, Sydney, backmarked on this NSW military Forces button.

Price and Co were tailors from 1878 at 114 King Street, Sydney, then from 1915 at 329 George Street. The article below shows they did military work.

Queaneyan Observer, 20th August 1901.

The company was started as woollen importers and merchant tailors by Richard Atkinson Price and his brother Thomas Atkinson Price. The brothers were both involved in mining and  politics. Richard died in 1936, aged 71 years. Tom died of pneumonia in 1922 at the age of 60 years.

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Adcocate, 31st July 1894.

Richard Atkinson Price, M.L.A. for Gloucestor.

In 1906 the company was bankrupt, but it must have survived because in 1917 they were proud to be flicking the switch of their new, Australian invented air-gas lighting plant at the store. The company may have closed upon Thomas’s death.

From the State Library of NSW. Price & Co, King Street Sydney.

New finds:

Beutrons from the 1950s and mid 1960s:

Woolies from 1950s and Embassy from 1970s.

This is not Australian, but I included it as the newspaper item pasted to the back is from a 1941 Wagga newspaper. It gives you an idea of styling from the era.

New find:

This button on this card are similar in style to buttons from the 1940s. Perhaps they were amongst the earliest to be sold under the ‘Beauclaire’ branding in 1951.

Tailor’s buttons:

C. Ledlin, Bathurst:

Bathurst Times 29th April 1913.

Charles Christopher Ledlin was a cutter for E.J. and D. Curran for 10years before leaving to work on his own at 119 George Street in Bathurst. He was also a hotel owner. he died in 1947 at the age of 78 years.

W, Balfour, Genelg:

Walter James Balfour(1888-1961) moved around quite a bit. After leaving the employ of William Bros he partnered with Alfred Ray Norman as ‘Balfour & Norman’ in 1914-15 in King William Street, Adelaide, before working for L.S. Starr in Glenelg from 1916.

Glenelg Guardian, 12th February 1920.

In 1920 he started on his own Glenelg working from Moseley Street, then in 1923 Jetty Road, then in 1929 in Piere St, then in 1929 Rundle Street then a detour to Broken Hill in 1930 before going back to Jetty Road in 1931.   He moved to Whyalla from 1940-49 then on to Port Augusta. Therefore the button dates c. 1920-1940.

YOUR FROCK DESERVES A BEUTRON!

A lovely counter top display from the 1950s. (Two of the white buttons have been replaced; the originals must have fallen off.) The style is number 660.

Here are close-ups of the colours.

The size of the buttons are (from the top down) 18, 22,26, 30, 35, and 44 lignes (1/40 inch = 1 ligne or line).

From Trove: 1930s buttons

The Labor Daily (Sydney) 22nd November 1933.

“Perhaps you prefer a little gift to a card or magazine (Ed: for Christmas) – if so you must walk with me up a narrow street to the quaintly adorned doorway of the Victorian Arts and Crafts Society. here you will find some charming handwrought buttons, claps, and slides, made of polished Australian woods. At 2′ 6 each there are most pictorial circular buttons simulating a gumnut peeping from encircling leaves, while at 1′ 2 and 1’3 each you can get plain polished buttons for fastening a top coat. I saw one set stained navy blue, consisting of four large buttons, eight little ones, and a belt buckle for 12′ 6 the set. Little slides to hold a scarf are from 2′ 6 each and some most pictorial ones of encircular gum leaves, boomerangs or sprays of three long gumleaves are about 3′ 9 and 5′ 6. (These are all in dark brown woods.)”

The Australasian, 14th October 1933.

The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) 16th April 1934.

New finds:

Possible new manufacturers:

Dun’s Gazette for NSW, 1950.

This business was not successful, as it was being offered for sale by January 1952 by the liquidators. Matthew Felix Lipworth was a chemical engineer from South Africa. mr Phillips may have been Frederick John Phillips, a salesman.

Mr Lipworth, 1950.

Dun’s Gazette for NSW, 1942.

Registered in December 1941, this was another short lived business, as it was listed as in receivership in 1944. They did supply the military with steel buttons in 1942 and 1943.

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, 30th September 1943.

Possibly another mystery solved: Coronet buttons

Dun’s Gazette for NSW, June 1939.

‘Coronet Button, Buckle and Novelty Co.’ registered as selling agents (not manufacturers) in 1939. This is the only reference I have so far. As described on the Coronet page, the ‘Coronet’ brand changed to ‘Roger Berry’ who were also distributors but not manufacturers as far as I can tell. Roger Berry started circa 1945.