Many buttons can be found in 18th century artwork and clothing collections.
Some examples:
Death Head buttons:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O127158/coat-unknown/
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O368468/riding-habit-coat-unknown/ (Ladies' riding jacket)
http://www.mfa.org/collections/ (Copley portraits 03.1033, 10.34, 31.211)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/James_Madison%2C_by_Charles_Willson_Peale%2C_1783.png (James Madison by Chas. Willson Peale)
http://ritratti.wordpress.com/category/madison-james/ (James Madison by Gilbert Stuart )
Breeches belonging to George Washington, Mt. Vernon Ladies Assn. collection (image not available)
Small buttons used to hold up Polonaise gown loops, and also on a Man's Banyan, APVA/Mary Doering 2009 exhibition at Scotchtown, Beaverdam, VA (image not available)
Compere (ladies' gowns with buttons on front). There are more than 20 extant gowns and jackets, including:
http://www.larsdatter.com/18c/comperes.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/ (item 1978.85.1)
http://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1760s_1770s/KCI_022 (Kyoto Costume Institute linen chintz day gown)
Brunswick/Pet en l'air with buttons (ladies' travel jacket):
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O115756/brunswick-pet-en/
Some books about 18th Century buttons:
Barrett, Gina. Buttons: a passementerie workshop manual. UK: Windy House Publishing, 2013.
Bright, Mervyn. Buttony: the Dorset Heritage. Lytchett Minster, Dorset (UK): The Old Button Shop, 1971.
Chappell, Marian. "Dorset Buttons," The Countryman Cottage Life Book. Trowbridge (UK):David & Charles, 1974.
Fuss, Norman. "Death Head" Buttons: Their Use and Construction. Williamsburg, VA: Burnley & Trowbridge, 2005.
Johns, Thelma. Dorset Buttons: Handstitched in Dorset for Over 300 Years. UK: Natula Publications, 2012.
Nehring, Nancy. 50 Heirloom Buttons to Make. Newtown, Conn.: Taunton Press, 1996.
These are but a few of the items we have found while doing button research. In addition to the above, we have a research file of examples we have located in both art and clothing collections. Please contact us at Buttonworks1@gmail.com if you want more information on the history and usage of any particular style of button available.
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BLUE CAT BUTTONWORKS has received favorable mention in the following magazines:
The Tavern Horn, On The Trail, and Muzzle Blast.