Editing Button (section)

==History==
[[File:Spanish button ca. 1650-75 12mm f&b.jpg|thumb|Spanish button (approx. 12 mm) from ca. 1650–1675]]
Buttons and button-like objects used as ornaments or [[Seal (emblem)|seals]] rather than fasteners have been discovered in the [[Indus Valley civilization]] during its [[Kot Diji]] phase (c. 2800–2600 BC).<ref name="Kot Diji Button seal">{{cite web|url=http://www.harappa.com/indus2/128.html|title=Fired steatite button|last=Khan|first=Omar|year=1999|work=The Indus Civilization|publisher=harrapa.com|access-date=11 March 2010|location=San Francisco, USA}}</ref> Buttons as apparel have been found at sites of the [[Catacomb culture]], Russia (2500-1950 BC), at the [[Tomb of the Eagles]], Scotland (2200–1800 BC),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-27 |title=A Day in the Neolithic: A Walk Through 5,000-year-old Scotland at the Tomb of the Eagles |url=https://www.seniorhikermagazine.com/a-day-in-the-neolithic-a-walk-through-5000-year-old-scotland-at-the-tomb-of-the-eagles/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519173031/https://www.seniorhikermagazine.com/a-day-in-the-neolithic-a-walk-through-5000-year-old-scotland-at-the-tomb-of-the-eagles/ |archive-date=2024-05-19 |access-date=2020-10-24 |website=Senior Hiker Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mamwell|first=Caroline Jane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5clOvwEACAAJ|title='It Rained a Lot and Nothing Much Happened': Settlement and Society in Bronze Age Orkney|date=2018|publisher=University of Edinburgh|pages=146|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hedges|first=John W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nLHvMEWhOBUC&q=Button|title=Tomb of the Eagles: Death and Life in a Stone Age Tribe|date=1998-04-21|publisher=New Amsterdam Books|isbn=978-1-4617-3268-6|pages=152|language=en}}</ref> and at [[Bronze Age]] sites in [[History of China|China]] (c. 2000–1500 BC) and [[Ancient Rome]].

Buttons made from [[seashell]] were used by the Indus Valley Civilization for ornamental purposes by 2000 BC.<ref name=Hesse&Hesse>Hesse, Rayner W. & Hesse (Jr.), Rayner W. (2007). ''Jewelrymaking Through History: An Encyclopedia''. Greenwood Publishing Group. 35. {{ISBN|0-313-33507-9}}.</ref> Some buttons were carved into [[geometric shape]]s and were pierced so that they could be attached to clothing with thread.<ref name=Hesse&Hesse/> Ian McNeil (1990) holds that "the button was originally used more as an ornament than as a fastening, the earliest known being found at [[Mohenjo-daro]] in the [[Indus Valley]]. It is made of a curved shell and is about 5000 years old."<ref>McNeil, Ian  (1990). ''An encyclopaedia of the history of technology''. Taylor & Francis. 852. {{ISBN|0-415-01306-2}}.</ref>

Egypt's [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]] left behind ornate wig covers, fabricated through sewing buttons formed of precious metals onto strips of backing material.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shaw |first=Garry J. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.30861/9781407303086 |title=Royal Authority in Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty |date=2008 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-1-4073-0308-6 |location=Ann Arbor, MI|doi=10.30861/9781407303086 }}</ref>

Leatherwork from the Roman Empire incorporates some of the first buttonholes, with the legionary's [[Loculus (satchel)|''loculus'']] closed through the insertion of a metallic buckle, or button into a leather slit. A similar mechanism would later feature in early medieval footwear.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Viking Boot: History of York|url=http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/timeline/viking/viking-boot|access-date=2020-11-14|website=www.historyofyork.org.uk}}</ref>
Buttons appeared as a means to close cuffs in the [[Byzantine dress|Byzantine]] Empire and to fasten the necks of Egyptian tunics by no later than the 5th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Westward Journeys of Buttons - AramcoWorld|url=https://www.aramcoworld.com/Articles/November-2020/The-Westward-Journeys-of-Buttons|access-date=2020-11-28|website=www.aramcoworld.com}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
It has been proposed that the European [[Crusades|Crusaders]] brought the innovation of the [[buttonhole]] back from the Middle East, allowing for more fitted garments for men. About this time, the [[Vikings]] were also using buttons, which they had come across through their trading partners.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Hughes |first=Elizabeth |title=The Big Book of Buttons: The Encyclopedia of Button History, Design, and Identification |last2=Lester |first2=Marion |publisher=St. Johann Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781878282712 |edition=2nd |location=Haworth, NJ |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=xix}} Prior to the introduction of the buttonhole, two pieces of fabric were butted together, rather than overlapped, and toggles, belts, or lacings were used.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Fink |first=Nancy |title=Buttons: the collector's guide to selecting, restoring and enjoying new and vintage buttons |last2=Ditzler |first2=Maryalice |date=1993 |publisher=Courage Books |isbn=978-1-56138-215-6 |location=Philadelphia, PA}}</ref>{{Rp|page=9}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Godoroja |first=Lucy |title=All Buttons Great and Small |publisher=Exisle |year=2023 |isbn=9781925820836 |location=Chatswood, Australia |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=19}} The growing importance of buttons was marked by the establishment of button making [[Guild|guilds]] in the 13th century. Initially, [[Louis IX of France|King Louis IX]] of France included button makers in the established [[Rosary and scapular|rosary]] makers guild, but later regulations categorized button makers in three categories: those who worked in horn, [[bone]], and [[ivory]], those who used metals, and makers who used precious metals and glass.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=19-20}}

[[File:Doublet.jpg|thumb|a doublet, a close fitting men's jacket worn in the Renaissance]]

===Renaissance===
The fitted fashions of the [[Renaissance]] required buttons to achieve their shape. For example, the tight-fitting jacket known as the [[Doublet (clothing)|doublet]] required rows of many buttons. An additional opportunity to use buttons came with the incorporatinon of detachable sleeves into garments. This  practice had been in use in Florence since the 1200s. Sleeves could be switched out to be washed or to be replaced by fancier sleeves demanded by particular settings.<ref name=":1" /> Women's fashion that this time still used lacings, and thus buttons on their clothing were generally decorative.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=9}}

Buttons were also impacted by the elegant culture of the Renaissance courts. They were no longer seen as simply utilitarian objects, but rather as luxury items that could reflect wealth and status. These buttons, some of which were made of precious metal encrusted with jewels, be seen as jewelry.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buzzaccarini |first=Vittoria de |title=Buttons & Sundries |last2=Minici |first2=Isabellla Zotti |publisher=Zanfi |year=1990 |isbn=0896762017 |location=Italy |language=en}}</ref>{{RP|page=14}}  Because their owners might want to move these valuable buttons from one piece of clothing to another, they often were not sewn on with thread. Rather, their shanks were pushed through the fabric and were held in place with metal strips inserted through the shank.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Whittemore |first=Joyce |title=The Book of Buttons |publisher=DK |year=1992 |isbn=1564580288 |location=New York |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=8}} At the time, wood, bone, brass and pewter made it possible for less expensive buttons to be produced.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=8}}

=== 17th Century ===
[[File:Jerkin MET 26.196 d2.jpg|thumb|Silk buttons on a late 16th century jerkin from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute]]
Fabric-covered buttons and embroidered buttons because popular in Europe in the 17th century. These were often small, and served a decorative, rather than functional, purpose. The early 17th century short [[jerkin]], wide breeches and cloak may have been adorned by dozens of buttons, and with so many, they needed to be lightweight.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|page=xx}} The mid century French-originated knee-length coat, the [[Justacorps|justaucorps]], had buttons from the neck to the knee, buttoned sleeve [[Cuff|cuffs]], and buttoned flaps on the [[Pocket|pockets]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=24-25}} <ref>{{Cite web |title=1670-1679 {{!}} Fashion History Timeline |url=https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1670-1679/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu |language=en-US}}</ref>

French law, concerned with protecting the silk industry in Paris and Lyons, required buttons to be covered in silk. On the other hand, England did not allow fabric buttons in the late 1600s and early 1700s.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=9}}  Tailors could make fabric-covered buttons with leftover fabric, which threatened the guild of  button makers.<!-- need citation --> 

===As containers===
Since at least the seventeenth century, when box-like metal buttons were constructed especially for the purpose,<ref name="17th smuggler button">{{cite web|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2008/06/marv_bondarowicz_the_oregonian_3.html|title=For a collector hooked on history, every button tells a story|last=Dahl|first=Liz|date=June 5, 2008|work=The Oregonian: Homes & Gardens|publisher=Oregon Live LLC|access-date=11 March 2010|location=Oregon, USA}}</ref> buttons have been one of the items in which [[drug]] [[smugglers]] have attempted to hide and transport illegal substances. At least one modern smuggler has tried to use this method.<ref name="2009 Australian customs finds heroin in dress buttons">{{cite web|url=http://www.customs.gov.au/site/Heroinconcealedindressbuttons.asp|title=heroin concealed in dress buttons|last=Australian Government|date=12 November 2009 |publisher=Customs and Border Protection Communication and Media|access-date=11 March 2010|location=Australia}}</ref>

Also making use of the storage possibilities of metal buttons, during the [[World Wars]], [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[U.S. military]] [[locket]] buttons were made, containing miniature working [[compass]]es.<ref>{{harv|Luscomb|2003|p=126}}</ref>