Materials

What materials are used in the production of buttons?

Buttons can be made from a wide variety of materials, and they can be categorized based on the nature of the material used. Here is a breakdown of the materials used to produce buttons:

1. Natural materials – animal-derived:

   • Bone

   • Horn

   • Horsehair

   • Leather

   • Pearl

   • Shell

2. Natural materials – ocean-derived:

   • Abalone

   • Conch

   • Cowry

   • Helmut

   • Mother of pearl

   • Mussels

   • Nautilus

   • Operculum

   • Oyster

   • Pearl oyster

   • Pinna

   • Trochus

   • Turbo snail

   • Emerald green snail shell

3. Natural materials – plant-derived:

   • Coconut shell

   • Bamboo

   • Gourd

   • Gutta-percha

   • Natural, woven fabrics and/or textiles

   • Linoleum

   • Paper (e.g., papier-Mache)

   • Rubber

   • Vegetable ivory

   • Wood

4. Rocks and Minerals:

   • Bauxite

   • Kalinite

   • Cinnabar

   • Coal

   • Enamel

   • Glass

   • Gypsum (a.k.a. plaster of Paris)

   • Marcasite

5. Metals:

   • Aluminum

   • Brass

   • Pot metal

   • Sterling silver

   • Steel

   • Earthenware

   • China ceramic

6. Synthetic materials – Plastic:

   • Acrylic resin

   • Bakelite

   • Cataline (NBS name: phenolic or Bakelite type)

   • Celluloid

   • Gilalite, a.k.a. casein (NBS name: casein)

   • Lucite

   • Melamine formaldehyde (NBS name: amino resin)

   • Phenolic resin (NBS name: phenolic or Bakelite type)

   • Urea-formaldehyde (NBS name: amino resin)

7. Synthetic materials – Synthetic fibers:

   • Synthetic textiles

It is fascinating to discover the abundance of materials used to create these seemingly insignificant buttons. Although button-related information may not be prominent in regular academics, learning about these materials offers valuable insights into their production.