Let’s delve into the 1940’s with more fashions from The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Monthly Archives: January 2016
27th January 2016
I’m very pleased with my latest acquisition. It is a set of pre-WW2 Czech glass, hand-painted buttons sewn onto a card for the Myer Emporium Limited. Presumably Myer imported the buttons and had them sewn onto its branded cards locally.
Russian brothers, Sidney and Elcon Myer, started their department store empire with a single store in Bendigo in 1900, expanding to Melbourne in 1911. In 1928 they opened an Adelaide store, and these particular buttons came from South Australia.
And now, just for a giggle…..
26th January 2016
24th January 2016
I’ve added entries on W.J.Amor and P.J.King in pre-federation button makers, as well as more news articles. Here for your further amusement, some not so elegant 1930’s examples. Oh well, every era had its hits and misses…..
22nd January 2016
21st January 2016
While we’re waiting for more buttons let’s amuse ourselves with some beautiful art work from the The Australian Women’s weekly of the 1930’s

November 1933.
“Nothing looks so cool or refreshing as all-white ensembles or white frocks with touches of gay color. Every season new colors come and go, but white remains with us summer after summer.”

“Smarter women will wear it”. April 1936.
Knit yourself this snappy jumper in brown, gold, and white if this witching combination suits your coloring, and create quite a dash wherever you go. On the other hand, if blues-a rich trio of light, medium, and dark blue-favor you the more, you will know the thrill of admiring eyes when you appear in this garment. Again, if you feel and wish to look smartly sophisticated, consider a combination of black, rust, and white.

“This cardigan is designed on slenderising lines” June 1936. “Knit it and Wear it with a matching skirt; tie a large velvet bow at the throat line and you’ll Look … and feel … snug and smart.”
13th January 2016
Received a nice email from Robyn of Buttonbroker:
“The Beutron buckle ( round silver on on a 50 cent card), that you put up a few days ago (Ed: 9th Jan) bought back a lot of memories. Sometime around 1970, my mother made my sister and I matching pairs of hot-pants in black crimplene. I had the silver buckles and my sister’s were gold!
The buttons you have recently posted with Department Store names are not plastic – mostly they are vegetable ivory, though some of the black ones may be horn. I have collected hundreds of examples of these over the years…”
Thanks Robyn! I’ve corrected my entry about the department store buttons. I’d love to see a photo of those hot-pants. Groovy-baby!
Here is a new selection of Embassy brand buttons from the late 1960’s onwards.
12th January 2016
I receive some lovely new buttons today, and got a surprise. The printing on an old card of ‘Tub Buttons’ by G.Herring shows that Beutron was originally the name of the plastic used to make the buttons, rather than a trade name for the buttons. Therefore, I have modified the Beutron history page in line with this.

Well; the plastic may be futuristic, but the poor woman still has to scrub the clothes in a tube of soapy water.
A couple of new Beauclaire ads have been added to the collection.
8th January 2016
Ok, before you think I’m a little confused, yes, I know these aren’t buttons! However, I mentioned Rothfield in conjunction with the history of button making in Victoria (Rothfield owned a button making subsidiary : see ‘WW2- onwards’ history page for for more). This photo will have to do until I can source one of the companies buttons!
The story of Semco was so nice I wanted to include it. See also http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/579.htm

Semco garden, recreation hall and staff 1926. Courtesy Shirley Joy, City of Kingston, Kingston Collection.
The company had its start in 1907 in the Melbourne CBD. About mid 1922 a new factory was opened in Black Rock that was highly regarded as a pleasant place to work. The company director wished to provide his work force with a safe, healthy and happy place to work, as well as paying decent wages.
Semco stranded cotton box: The XW1011 phone number dates this from 1932 onwards.