This book differs from most other publications on buttons, in that
examples of metal button-like objects and buttons dating between c.900
BC - c.AD 1700 are subjected to a detailed manufactory analysis, each
being described both textually and illustratively. Although not
foolproof, this information is essential for the dress historian, button
collector, archaeologist, museum curator, dealer, or anyone with an
interest, seeking to gauge the age of any particular button.
About the Second Edition: The popularity of Metal Buttons c.900
BC - c.AD 1700, coupled with an accumulation of fresh material
evidence from beneath British soil and the River Thames foreshore in
London, prompted the compilation of this revised and updated second
edition. Excluding preliminaries, printed pages are now 133, an increase
of 28, with catalogued objects rising from 405 to 507, a gain of 102;
other illustrations rise from 15 to 17. In the light of new knowledge,
several categories of button have been reassigned. A few of the original
buttons are eliminated due to their poor images, while colour
photographs and/or archaeological drawings, along with text, describe
all new material as well as the old. Among the fresh objects, some are
unique in the known record, while others are apparently extremely rare.
