Antique Button Jewelry fashioned from 19th century decorative buttons

Item #: brooc48. Button: Livingston in Africa. Brooch. 1 1/2" diameter. Circa 1870's. Price $60.

DAVID LIVINGSTON (1813-1873) was a Scotch traveler, author and missionary. After many successful expeditions in Africa, he returned to England, published a history of the Zambezi Expedition, then started on another expedition. No word was heard from him in such a long while that an English company was sent out to search for him, but with no success. Finally letters were received, but then a long silence. The New York Herald sent Mr. Henry Stanley to search for him. He found Livingston at Ujiji in 1871. However, Livingston remained to continue his missionary work for two years more. He died in Central Africa at the age of sixty.

Item #: brooc47. Button: Trumpeter of Sackingen. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

From a poem by von Scheffel published in 1853, upon which several operas have been founded. WERNER KIRCHOFER, a young student of Heidelberg is banished from the university. He plays a trumpet very beautifully and after wandering about for a time, comes to the castle of Baron von Schonau and becomes a trumpeter for the castle. He falls in love with the Baron's daughter. Plots and misunderstandings follow, but all ends happily.

Item #: brooc31. Button: Charles V of Spain and Germany, 1500-1558. 1" diameter. Brooch. Price $55.

His reign was an important one and full of great events. He and Francis I, King of France, were rivals and bitter enemies. For 23 years they were almost always at war. At last, Charles grew tired of the many wars, gave Austria to his brother, Ferdinand and the rest of his dominion to his son, Philip. He spent the rest of his days at the monastery of St. Youste in Spain.

Item #: brooc43. Button: Esmeralda and Her Dancing Goat; from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's.Rare. Price $115.

From Notre Dame De Paris by Victor Hugo. The famous story was made into an opera by the Russian composer, Aleksander Dargomysghsky. It was called Esmeralda and first performed in 1847.

Item #: brooc42. Button: Lalla Rookh. 1 3/8" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

Heroine of "Lalla Rookh" by David, and opera in 2 acts, 1862, Paris. The text is based on the epic poem of this name written by Thomas Moore in 1817. The chief character is and Oriental Princess in what is more or less an obscure opera. However, the composer is considered as one of the pioneers of modern French musical art.

Item #: brooc37. Button: Queen Isabella. An escutcheon applied to a screen back. 1 1/2" diameter. Circa 1880's. SOLD Price $70.

QUEEN ISABELLA (1451-1504). Called "The Catholic". In 1469 she married Ferdinand, King of Aragon, thus uniting the crowns of Castile and Aragon. In 1492, in a war with the Moorish king do of Spain, they took the city of Granada. Queen Isabella herself took part in this war and the armor which she wore has been preserved at Madrid. She fitted out, at her own expense, the ships in which Columbus sailed to the new world.

Item #: brooc35. Button: French Fobs, cut out in detailed brass. Brooch. 1 1/8" diameter. Circa 1880's Price $60.

IMMEDIATELY following the French Revolution and for about ten years thereafter, a strange and motley society assembled in Paris. They were known as "French Fops" or "Parisian Fops". The women were called "Merveillueuse"; the men, "Encroyable". Madame Recamier and Madame Talier were famous figures in Paris society at this time. The former was known for her wit, cleverness and beauty; the latter for her beauty and as a leader of fashion.

Item #: brooc26. Button: Charles I, King of England (1600-1649). An escutcheon in high brass relief within a border of faceted steel pyrites. 1 5/8" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $70.

The son and successor of James I. Upon his accession, he offended his Protestant subject by marrying Henrietta Maria, a Catholic French Princess. His reign soon became the bitter struggle between King and Parliament for supremacy that resulted in the English Civil War.

Item #: brooc23. Button: Robinson Crusoe. 1 3/8" diameter. Brooch. Cut out in detailed brass and applied to a fluted background. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

Character in an adventure story published in 1719 by Daniel Defoe. Robinson Crusoe live 28 years on an uninhabited island on the coast of America at the mouth of the Great Oroonoque River where he had been shipwrecked.

Item #: brooc14. Button: Katisha. 1" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1886. Price $60.

Character in The Mikado by Sullivan. Comic opera in two acts, 1885, London, in association with Gilbert, librettist. This pair produced several popular light operas.
The action takes place in the court yard of KO-KO, the Lord High Executioner. NAKI-POO, the Mikado's son, wanders off as a minstrel to escape marriage with KATISHA. He falls in love with YUM-YUM, the ward of KO-KO. Her chums are PEEP-BO and PITTI-SING who enliven the opera with their mincing dance steps. When the Mikado decides it is time for an execution, KO-KO marries Katisha to avoid being boiled in oil and NAKI-POO marries YUM-YUM.

Item #: brooc33. Button: Hernando de Soto. Cut out in pewter set within brass. 7/8" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

HERNANDO DE SOTO (1496-1542), Spanish explorer of Central and Southeast North America. He was the leader of the first white expedition to explore the Mississippi River. He came in hopes of finding rich settlements to plunder, but found only hostile Indians. He died before completing the journey and was buried in the river the Spaniards called the "Rio Grande".

Item #: brooc13. Button: Fanny Davenport. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1890's, Price $60.

Talented daughter in a famous English stage family who first appeared at age seven in a play at the Boston Athenaeum. Her real debut was made five years later in "Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady" and from then on she played various comedy parts, later forming her own company in which she visited the principal cities of the United States.

Item #: brooc65. Button: "Arthur Bonnicastle and Millie Bradford", Brooch. Characters in a novel by
J.G. Holland (1819-1881) who was at one time editor of "Cribner's Magazine" and who wrote a number
of sentimental novels that were widely read during his lifetime. This exquisite miniature sculpture in brass is
an artist's illustration of the passage which mentions that, "Millie took her seat in the boat and Arthur Bonnicastle
sprang in after her. 1 3/8" diameter.
Circa 1880's.
Price $70.

Item #: brooc40. Button: Blondel, Minstrel to Richard I of England. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

RICHARD I was imprisoned by the French on his way home from the Crusades and he was held for a ransom. Blondel located his master's place of imprisonment by singing a song they had composed together, beneath the window of each castle he came to until Richard joyfully acknowledged him and at last leading to his release.

Item #: brooc15. Button: The Lion of Lucerne. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

The famous monument of the Swiss city of Lucerne by an equally famous Danish sculptor,
Bertel Thorwaldsen. The dying lion pierced by an arrow commemorates the Swiss Guards
slain at the Tuilleries in 1792 after the seizure of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The
monument was completed in 1821. In soft brass, the face of the lion seems to embrace
the humanity the artist proposes, enveloped by a mourning curtain. "To the Fidelity and
Courage of The Swiss". These men fell, not in defense of their own country, but simply in
devotion to a duty. The Swiss have often been noted for their brave deeds. This is but one.

Item #: brooc29. Button: Balboa (1475-1519). 1 1/8" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

The Spanish explorer who was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. A vigorously molded head of brass, cut out and mounted over a dark painted background with a narrow shiny liner showing under the rim.

Item #: brooc28. Button: Young Man on a Balcony Serenading His Love. Cut out in brass attached to a tinted brass background. Brooch. 1 3/8" diameter. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

Item #: brooch5. Button: The Letter. 1 1/8" diameter. Brooch or necklace. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

The Marquise de Pompadour, from a painting by Fragonard (1732-1806).
Most famous of the mistresses of Louis XV. Born in Paris. In 1745 she had attracted the favorable notice of the king, and was installed in the Manor of Pompadour, purchased for her by the king who she long ruled. For nearly 20 years her influence was predominant in all important affairs of state. Even the Empress of Austria had to sacrifice her pride and wrote the royal mistress A LETTER in which she addressed her as "Ma Cousine".

Item #: brooc19. Button: Ariel. 1" diameter. Brooch or necklace, locket. Cut out in pewter, set in brass. Circa 1880's. Price $45.

From The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Ariel was an airy little sprite who could take any form he pleased. He could even make himself invisible. In his song, he mentions, where the bee goes, so goes he, and continues about his living under the blossoms that hang on the bough, all of which can be seen in the detailed pewter design.

Item #: brooch1. Button: Jean La Hache. Cut out in detailed brass. Brooch, necklace, locket. 1 1/2" diameter Circa 1880's. Price $60.

French heroine who helped to defend the town of Beauvais. She encouraged the dispirited soldiers by leaping onto the battlements and hacking at the enemy with an axe.

Item #: brooch9. Button: George Washington's Farewell to Marion. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch, locket or necklace. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

In a cottage near the trail where General Braddock's troops marched to defeat, lived Marion and her grandfather. One day a straggler from Braddock's army knocked at the cottage door asking for water. Seeing only the girl, he made as if to kiss her, but she seized a rifle and held him at a distance. About this time a young officer chance to pass. dismounting, he sent the straggler off Washington asked to stay as he was threatened with fever. After a day of careful nursing, he was able to join his troops. After the battle, he hastened to see her. The cottage was in ashes, finding only a lock of brown hair. This he always kept folded in paper and marked "Marion, July 11, 1755".

Item #: brooc24. Button: Marguerite. As a brass escutcheon in detailed high relief. 1 3/4" diameter. Brooch, necklace. Circa 1880's. Price $70.

Character in Gounod's FAUST. She was a simple, uncultured girl of great fascination, seduced by Faust. She killed the infant of her shame and was sent to jail for the crime. She lost her reason and then was condemned to death. Faust visited her in jail and tried to persuade her to flee with him, but she refused. Faust was carried off by the demons and Marguerite was carried to heaven by the angels, proving the repentant sinner is always triumphant.

Item #: brooc10. Button: Trumpeter of Cracow. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch, locket or necklace. In pewter set within brass border. Circa 1870's-1880's. Price $60.

PLAYING the Heynal, the ancient hymn to the Holy Mother, played every hour from the tower of The Church of St. Mary in Cracow. The playing of the Heynal was a very old tradition. The trumpeter was also watchman who signaled with a lantern or a flag if he observed danger from his high vantage point. During the Tartar invasion of Poland in the 13th century, the trumpeter was killed by an arrow as he played the Heynal, and afterwards, to commemorate him, the hymn was ended abruptly, just as the young trumpeter's had been centuries before. The tradition had been suspended during the Nazi occupation, but restored after this war.

Item #: brooc22. Button: Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603). 1 5/8" diameter. Brooch or necklace. In high relief, detailed brass with border of faceted steel pyrites. Circa 1880's. Price $70.

Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She became queen in 1558, beginning a reign noted as one of the greatest in English history. Though she was excessively vain and capricious, her position as queen always took precedence over her position as a woman. Her policies and her colorful personality made her extremely popular with her subjects. Her statecraft was due, to a great extent, on her choice of able and wise advisers, whose opinions she invariable heeded.

Item #: brooc27. Button: Gladiators. Cut out in detailed brass accented by faceted steel pyrites. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $65.

Professional fighters of ancient Rome who contended in the arena with either men or animals, using nets, shields and a trident-shaped weapon. All of this equipment can be seen in the design which is of pierced brass with cut steel trim, all brought together and fashioned in exceptional detail.

Item #: brooch8. Button: Lucy and Edgar. 1 1/4" diameter. Brooch or necklace. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

From The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott. Donizetti's tragic opera, "Lucia di Lammamoor, was based upon Scott's novel, which traces the fate of the two young lovers separated by family strife. The scene on the button represents Lucy and Edgar at the Mermaiden's well, where the sun is setting as they pledge their love to each other.

Item #: brooc17. Button: A Greek Temple with Statuary, on The Acropolis. cut out in brass applied to a darkened background set within a fret border. 1 1/4" diameter. Brooch. Circa 1880's. Price $55.

AS it might have appeared in Athens during the 5th century B.C. The name originally applied to any fortified natural stronghold or citadel overlooking a populated area. Primarily a place of refuge and defense against attack, the typical acropolis was constructed on a hill. frequently became the site of a city.

Item #: brooc20. Button: Falcon Huntress. With a hawk on her arm and a hound running by the horse. Cut out in brass and applied to a darkened background. 1 1/4" diameter. As brooch or necklace. Circa 1880's. Price $60. SOLD

Item #: brooch3. Button: William Tell. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch, necklace or locket. Circa 1880's. Price $70.

The Swiss patriot and hero who symbolized the struggle for political and individual freedom. There is no evidence that Tell was an historical figure but the legend is widely known. He came into the town of Altodorf with his son one day and found that the Austrian governor, Gessler, had set his hat upon a pole and expected everyone to bow in homage before it. Tell refused and was forced by Gessler to test his marksmanship by shooting an apple from his son's head with a crossbow. He succeeded, but Gessler had him arrested. He escaped during a storm, when he was freed to take the helm of the vessel taking him to Gessler's castle across Lake Lucerne.

Item #: brooch2. Button: True Love. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch, necklace or locket. Circa 1880's. Price $70.

THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE flourished throughout Europe from the 16th to the 19th century. The actors assumed the roles of stock characters and improvised within briefly outlined scenarios, usually involving young lovers thwarted by a lecherous and greedy old man who is constantly being deceived by his servants in their efforts to bring the lovers together and put all to right. Her are presented PIERROT AND PIERRETTE, two such lovers from the French pantomime, portrayed in this exquisite miniature sculpture in brass and steel.

Item #: brooch7. Button: Two Monks Relaxing. 1 1/2" diameter. Brooch, locket or necklace. Circa 1880's. Price $60.

Item #: brooc21. Button: "Who'll Buy My Lavender?" Hand painted enamel with foil flecks in the dress and a border of faceted steels. 1" diameter. Brooch or necklace. Circa 1880's. Price $175.