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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Darling Illustrations by Constance Haslewood Victorian Children's Book A Merry Go-Round

Hi Everyone and Welcome. 
Today I have sweet illustrations from the 1888 children's book 'A Merry Go Round'. It was illustrated by Constance Haslewood. This children's book was published 126 years ago!  I love seeing what kids played with back then. Tea parties,dollhouses and of course Christmas have endured. Skipping rope and kite flying are still around. Not so sure about the May Queen. The tradition of a May Queen was not part of my childhood (50 years ago) so I do not know it's history. Sounds like a good topic for a future post!
The pictures in this post are from The Baldwin Library
I hope you are having a wonderful and creative day. 
Much Love, Louise
P.S. Thank you for your kind comments and feedback.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Antique And Vintage Pearl Button Cards

Hello everyone and welcome. 
Louise recently posted some wonderful button card graphics and I thought it might be nice to show you a few more.  
I have a weakness for the natural beauty of old shell buttons. They were often displayed and sold on “pearl” cards.  Finding a new pearl button card is always a treat.
 
This one is free for non commercial use.
While researching the history of shell button manufacturing, I ran across some interesting information on the harvesting of shells on the Mississippi River, provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/mussel/harvest.html).  On their site, you can download a delightful old book about shell buttons called “The Story of My Life by Billie Button” (Anonymous 1914 Wisconsin Pearl Button Company, La Crosse, WI-http://www.fws.gov/midwest/mussel/teacher/billie_button.html). I highly recommend this one.

The cover of the booklet.
  I hope you enjoy these wonderful pearl button cards.
  Much love to all, Marie
  

Saturday, September 6, 2014

1880's Paintings of Paris Flower Markets by Victor Gabriel Gilbert

Hello and welcome to all of you,
I came across these fabulous  paintings by Victor Gabriel Gilbert (1847-1933) of Paris flower vendors and markets. Think how fragrant and beautiful all those flowers would be!  Have you ever been to one of these? Do they still exist? It is easy to imagine walking home with an armload of flower bouquets to fill every room in ones home.
Thank you for the support and encouragement in your comments!
Have a wonderful and creative day.
Much Love as always, Louise
All of these paintings were found on 
The Athenaeum. or Wikimedia Commons
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Friday, September 5, 2014

Free Gift Tags and Button Cards For You to Print!

Hi everyone! 
 It is rewarding to come across the images I spend many hours searching for, scanning and cleaning up. 
How wonderful to see all the creative cards, tags, collages and scrapbooking pages you have made using graphics you found here. I have always been so curios to see what you were making and now all I have to do is look on Pinterest and the web!
Thank you for your continued kind comments. Today there were so many to read and post! 
To answer a few questions; 
How do I attach the buttons to the cards? Sewing them on by hand like the originals seems to work the best for me, When a button has a shank I punch a hole in the card. On the back I then use a safety pin to hold the button in place(if there is only one button). If there are many I run a thread through all the shanks and tie a knot. I suppose glue or hot glue might work for cards depending on how the card will be used.
Hope you have a wonderful creative day!
Much love as always, Louise
This one can be used as a label or gift tag.
From an old sheet music cover. This would make a cute gift tag. The colors and her costume are perfect for Halloween.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

More Corsets!

Hello everyone --- Marie here!

Louise and I took a much needed break from buttons today.  Since I had so much fun with my recent post on corsets, we decided to do it again, only  this time in color.  Don't you think that corsets are the oddest invention?  You wonder who came up with the idea!  I hope you enjoy these great old graphics.

Hugs from Marie.
 1885 image from the Philidelphia Library
 Boston Public Library
 Boston Public Library
 Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The art of Silhouette and Scherenschnitte

Hi Everyone and welcome,

Today I have some pretty silhouttes from old books for you. Have fun using them in your projects.
Much love as always, Louise

Scherenschnitte   which means "scissor cuts" in German, is the art of papercutting design. The art work often has symmetry within the design, and common forms include silhouettes, valentines, and love letters. The art tradition was founded in Switzerland and Germany in the 16th century, and was brought to Colonial America in the 18th century by immigrants who settled primarily in Pennsylvania. (Wikipedia)
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Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Lovely Engravings of Children From 1848 Book ~ Digital Images

Hi everyone!
First I want to thank Marie for her post on corsets. Hopefully she will be a continuing contributor to Bumble Button in the future. 
Today I have four engravings from a book I found online. The off-the-shoulder dresses were in style in the 1840's for little girls. I love the ringlets and lace worn by the little boy.
The Peoples Gallery of Engravings
Published in 1848
A few more from 1830's
Lots of hugs, Louise

Monday, August 4, 2014

Free Graphics Of Corsets From 1905 "Home Needlework Magazine".

What Price Beauty? The Corset!
Hello everyone. My dear friend Louise and I recently took a break from playing with buttons and enjoyed an evening poring over a stack of Home Needlework Magazines from the turn of the twentieth century.
   The magazines are full of embroidery, beadwork, and lace patterns, with a wonderful array of images of clothing from that period
Of course, you can’t help but notice the unnatural shape of the women. After all, what lady of the time would be caught out without her corset tightly laced?
Our discussion of the fashions of that time period reminded Louise of a wonderful little book about corsets called “The Corset and the Crinoline: A Book of Modes and Costumes From Remote Periods to the Present Time” (1868) by W.B.I., available online at archive.org.
   The book presents a somewhat dubious history of the corset, but contains a few noteworthy descriptions of attitudes towards that garment and other modes of dress.

“From periods of very remote antiquity, and with the gradual increase of civilization, much attention appears to have been paid to the formation and cultivation of the female figure, and much the same means were had recourse to for the achievement of the same end prior to 560 B.C. as in the year 1868. Terentius, the Roman dramatist, who was born in the year 560, causes one of his characters, in speaking of the object of his affections, to exclaim ---
‘This pretty creature isn’t at all like our town ladies, whose mothers saddle their backs and straitlace their waists to make them well-shaped. If any chance to grow a little plumper than the rest, they presently cry, ‘She’s an hostess,’ and then her allowance must be shortened, and though she be naturally fat and lusty, yet by dieting she is made as slender as a broomstick. By this means one woodcock or another is caught in their springe.’ ”
The author quotes Philip Stubbs (1585) discussing the dress of the Elizabethan period:
…Some are wrought with open worke downe to the midst of the ruffe, and further, some with close worke, some with purled lace so cloied, and other gewgaws so pestered, as the ruffe is the least part of itselfe. Sometimes they are pinned upp to their eares, sometimes they are suffered tohange over theyr shoulders, like windemill sailes fluttering in the winde; and thus everyone pleaseth her selfe in her foolish devises.”
The following is one of my favorites from the book:

“These privie coats by art made strong
With bones, with paste, with such like ware,
Whereby their back and sides grow long,
And now they harnest gallants are;
Were they for use against the foe
Our dames for Amazons might go.”
“The Corset and the Crinoline” is primarily an argument for the wearing of corsets. The author seems to encourage mothers to lace their girls up as early as seven years of age, and attempts to refute the claims made by the physicians of the time that the corset might be injurious to health by quoting testimonials from a current women’s magazine. The male of the species is not left out of the debate, and there are several men who chime in with their own experience of being laced.
I hesitate to whole-heartedly recommend the text of the little book, but it is an interesting (albeit one-sided) discussion of a major fashion item of the past, as well as being a treasure trove of old graphic images.
Thanks for visiting Bumble Button. I hope your enjoyed my small contribution to Louise’s wonderful site.
Much love to all,
Marie