In its heyday of the 1930s, Delmarva button cutters supplied New York clothing manufacturers with tons of buttons cut from the shells of yellow sandshell mussels from the Upper Mississippi Valley, abalone from the coast of Southern California, pearl oysters from the South Pacific, and Cone-Top shells from the Indian Ocean. Local species were unsuitable. By the 1980s and 1990s, the industry had all but disappeared, with a few small shops and independent cutters doing specialty work like buttons for Barbie Dolls and sequins for the costumes of Elvis “the King” Presley.
Archaeologist Jim Gibb shares the findings of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center into this important, if short-lived, Delmarva industry. This presentation illustrates the raw materials, tools, and processes by which men and women turned shells into fancy buttons, and explores the ways in which the rise and fall of the industry influenced life and economy on the peninsula.
This meeting will be held online via Zoom. RSVP to get the Zoom link.
Natural History Society of Maryland’s Archaeology Club promotes the value of archaeology in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and surrounding areas. The goal of the Archaeology Club is to educate citizenry in the ethics, methods, and artifact preservation methods of archaeology and how archaeology can be used to document, discover, and promote local history. The Archaeology Club is inclusive to all persons who have an interest in archaeology.
If you are an archaeology enthusiast, please consider joining us. You must be a member of NHSM to join any of its clubs. Follow this link to learn more: https://www.marylandnature.org/club-membership/
The Natural History Society of Maryland is a volunteer-led non-profit organization, so the fee you pay will go directly to support the programs, the nature collections, and the building that make this kind of nature education possible.