These buttons were produced by New York and Connecticut button makers and sold to a public eager to commemorate the first inauguration of George Washington.
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Washington Inaugural Buttons
Buttons created to celebrate George Washington’s first inauguration represent one of the most historically significant categories of American political material culture. These buttons are also one of the "hot" areas of political badge and medal collecting in the 21st century.
What are Washington Inaugural Buttons? Washington inaugural buttons were made by New York and Connecticut colonial button makers and sold to American citizens eager to commemorate George Washington’s first inauguration. Some of these buttons may actually have been worn by those attending the first inauguration. Specially designed coat buttons created for the first inauguration were important to George Washington. Washington wrote to General Knox on April 10, 1789:
"The cloth & Buttons which accompanied your favor of the 30th Ult, came safe by Col Hanson; and really do credit to the manufactures of this Country.—As it requires Six more of the large (engraved) buttons to trim the Coat in the manner I wish it to be, I would thank you, my good Sir, for procuring that number and retaining them in your hands until my arrival at New York."
Alphaeus Albert in his book Record of American Uniform and Historical Buttons notes that
"It is recorded that General Knox, first secretary of War, under the Federal government, employed William Rollison to chase the Arms of the United States upon a set of gilt buttons for the coat which was to be worn by General Washington, on that memorable day of his inauguration as President."
Albert also references William Maclay’s eye witness account of Washington’s inauguration:
"After the oath was administered on the gallery, and the cheers of the populace rent the air, the company returned into the Senate Chamber, the Senators and Representatives to their seats and the President took the chair and addressed those assembled. . . Washington was dressed in deep brown, with metal buttons, with an eagle on them, white stockings, a bag and sword."
During the Colonial era, buttons were an integral part of fashion. Harold Cobb’s article published in the Summer 1963 A.P.I.C. Keynoter made the following observations about Washington buttons:
These buttons were then considered in the same category as we today consider a fine pair of cuff-links or a tie pin, -- accessories for the well groomed gentlemen of that period and not considered as usual possessions requiring historical reference or picturization. They were not sewed on the great coats but were worn by inserting the shank through a button hole, and a tape knotted at both top and bottom, held them in place, Like our cuff-links they were removed, at the end of the day, and carefully preserved for the next wearing. They were expensive and not easily replaced if lost.
It is probable that five of the large size buttons, in all but the Eagle and Star patterns, were worn on a coat—eight being the usual number of the Eagle and Star pattern. This fits in with the repeated evidence that the Eagle and Star buttons have been found in places associated with the residence of those who served under General Washington, and who naturally ‘dressed up’ in uniform. The other patterns have been found many times in the estates of descendents of prominent citizens of Washington’s day, who wore splendored coats, for glamorous occasions, such as dinners, balls and Presidential entertainment.
The small size buttons have been positively connected with the breaches of that period, while the medium size may justly be attributed to the capes worn to these affairs. In two instances I have knowledge of eight Eagle and Star buttons being preserved together, and the Plain G.W., the Linked States, and the GW in oval patterns being found five each in homespun bags of Washington’s time. Twelve of the small size Eagle and Star pattern buttons were found on an authentic pair of breeches of the period. In most all cases if additional [buttons] were worn they were plain and are known today as ‘Colonials’. On the breeches mentioned above there were three Continental Navy buttons with an anchor and were firmly sewed on with homespun linen tape, and were worn to compliment the G.W. buttons.
Since the ‘well-to-do’ in each community were in the minority, and probably the only ones who could afford these buttons, this accounts for the limited number of specimens which are preserved and also for the desire to preserve any in the first place. Individuality in taste accounts for the various patterns, and the fact that the same pattern was made by more than one craftsman accounts for the variations in die strikes in border, etc. The G. W. Buttons did not have wide distribution and even most of those attending the Inauguration and subsequent celebrations did not wear the Inaugural buttons but wore the ‘Colonials’ of copper and brass.
The typical Washington button is 32 to 35 mm in diameter and of thin solid one-piece copper or brass construction. The buttons had metal shanks on the back that in many cases were removed by 19th century collectors who wanted inaugural buttons to fit in neatly into their medals collection. Other than the inauguration motifs, these buttons were typical Colonial era buttons. There are also several varieties of smaller buttons, (14 to 20 mm versions), a number of which were found sewn on a pair of colonial era trousers. One button that appears to differ from the others from a construction standpoint is the Pater Patriae button, which is the only inauguration button with a bust of Washington. This button is approximately 25 mm in diameter and is constructed as a brass shell on bone, pewter or lead, with a catgut or wire shank.
Washington Inaugural Button Types. There are a number of distinct types of Washington inaugural buttons, and within each of those distinct types are often many varieties.
The two most popular designs today that come on the market regularly are the "Memorable Era" button with a displayed eagle and sun design and the "Linked States" button with a script GW surrounded by a border composed of 13 linked colonies.
The most common designs are the "GW in Oval Center" button, with the inscription Long Live the President in a banner around the top and GW in an oval in the center, and the "Eagle and Star" button, with, surprise, and eagle and star and no inscription.
Two other less commonly seen buttons are the "Dotted Script GW" button, with GW in large dotted script letters in the center, and LONG LIVE THE PRESIDENT in large raised letters around the border, and the "Plain Roman GW" button, with GW in Roman letters in the center, LONG LIVE THE PRESIDENT around the border, and elsewhere plain. There are also several smaller buttons, two with laurel wreaths and one with 15 stars, and all three with "LONG LIVE THE PRESIDENT" around the border. Each of these types is quite rare and it would not be surprising to find that there are between 10 and 20 surviving examples of each type. An apparently extremely rare variety of the Dotted Script GW button is a script variety (i.e., not dotted) (referred to in Albert’s book as the "Script GW").
The rarest type of Washington inaugural button is the "Pater Patriae" button with Washington’s bust. This button rarely comes on the market and based on the various sources, it would not be surprising to find that the total number of these buttons extant in all varieties is under 10.
As a part of the 1889 celebration of the 100 year anniversary of George Washington's inauguration, J. B. Gaunt Ltd. in Birmingham, England produced reproductions of the Linked States GW inaugural button. There are a number of differences between this reproduction and the original button that are outlined in Albert's book Washington Historical Buttons.
There are also a number of later reproduction and fake buttons. Unlike most areas of 19th century political badges and medals, where fakes are uncommon, avoiding Washington inaugural button fakes requires some knowledge and experience. It certainly helps for would-be purchasers to first become familiar with the look and feel of genuine Washington and colonial buttons.
There are also several engraved buttons that are of uncertain age. One has the profile of Washington facing left and the other a Liberty Cap with 1789. These pieces illustrate the problem with authenticating items that were handmade in extremely limited quantities. There is usually no way to know for sure whether the item is a genuine artifact of material culture created for the celebrated event, a later creation (whether 20 years or a 100 years) made for legitimate commemorative purposes, a piece made for the collector market of a later period (medal collecting peaked in the 1860s), a fake made with the intention of fooling collectors of some era (whether today or 100 years ago), or a piece made as a lark at some point in time.
Resources for Collectors and Students of Political Material Culture. The best readily available resource is the Alphaeus Albert book, Record of American Uniform and Historical Buttons. Albert’s book, Washington Historical Buttons, is another fine resource, but has been out-of-print since 1949 and is difficult but not impossible to locate. Sullivan’s treatise on 19th Century political badges and medals, American Political Badges and Medalets 1789—1892, also includes a listing of Washington buttons. Several privately published works by Harold Cobb in the 1960s are difficult to obtain but provide a more comprehensive listing of types and varieties than other sources. The 1963 Harold Cobb article in the Summer 1963 A.P.I.C. Keynoter quoted above is a good reference. The best source for photos and a recent discussion of Washington buttons is Stacks' January 2003 American sale catalog featuring the Harold Cobb collection. A website devoted to the Harold Cobb collection, including images and prices realized from the Stacks sale can be found through the following link: Cobb Website
State of the Marketplace. During the 1950s and 1960s, collecting Washington inaugural buttons was more closely affiliated with button collecting than political or historical memorabilia collecting. For the next 30 years through the late 1990s, Washington buttons were a blue chip and respected (if quiet) subcategory of political memorabilia collecting. During that period, the pioneer button collectors were dying out, celluloid buttons were the hot political collectable, and inaugural buttons did not interest most historical memorabilia or exonumia collectors. Prices rose gradually with the overall market but often did not keep pace with other political badge and button categories.
Beginning in 2000, individual examples of Washington inaugural buttons brought big money in Al Anderson auctions. These results were followed closely by record sales prices achieved in MastroNet, Inc. auctions. Finally, the January 2003 Stacks sale of the comprehensive Harold Cobb collection generated prices unthinkable just a few years ago. What appears to be happening is that collectors from outside of the political memorabilia hobby are being attracted to Washington items (as they perhaps were to Lincoln items in Sotheby's 1999 Zabriskie sale) and are bidding for these items not on the basis of historical hobby values but instead based on prices and comparisons of perceived values developed in other collecting areas – e.g., how can a Washington inaugural button be expensive at $17,000 when a Superman comic book can cost $80,000 or a Franklin half dollar brings $49,000 because grading services have been successful in turning the collecting of top condition modern coins into a competitive sport.
How the Cobb prices will affect the overall Washington inaugural button market remains to be seen. The record prices for Lincoln badges and medals obtained by Sotheby’s in the Zabriskie sale were not sustained in the years to follow, with some items reselling during the next two years for less than they went for in the auction, while other comparable items sold for 30% to 40% of the Zabriskie price levels (which still might represent a strong increase from 10 years ago). On the other hand, the overall sea level for Lincoln items rose after Zabriskie and has not dropped back to pre-Zabriskie levels (common back-to-back Lincoln ferrotypes selling for $450 five years ago now often bring $650). The same will most likely be true for Washington buttons -- they won't necessarily sell for $17,000, but the day of the $1,500 button may be over. As 2003 gets underway, two distinct marketplace trends can be identified. Demand for 19th century political badges and medals is solid and prices are gradually increasing. Demand for Lincoln and Washington items, in contrast, has increased dramatically in some cases as collectors from outside the hobby are attracted to these historically significant examples of our political and historical material culture.
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