Back in the early 1800s trade ships brought rubber to the United States from the Indies. Enterprising manufacturers began using the material to make products. There was only one problem. The rubber turned rock hard in the winter, and when summer came it melted into a sticky goo. Customers began returning their products which had to be buried due to the smell. Some of these manufacturers consequently went bankrupt. Enter on the scene Mr. Charles Goodyear. This man felt that it was his God given calling to find a way to convert this material into something usable. He spent several years experimenting until he finally figured out a way to convert this precursor of plastic into something that manufacturers could use. The process was called Vulcanization. After this process was developed, rubber was able to be used in the manufacture of many products. Mind you, this was decades before the advent of tires.
One of the items made from rubber was buttons. When I first discovered rubber buttons I was intrigued. When I think of rubber I think of something flexible. Goodyear rubber buttons are hard. If you put several in your hands and shake them the noise resembles the clink of poker chips. Many of the buttons are marked on the back (back marked) with the Goodyear patent date (1851) and possibly the name of the manufacturer. Common ones are: IRC (India Rubber Company); N.R. Co (Novelty Rubber Company); A.R. Co (American Rubber Company); and D.H.R. Co (Dickinson Hard Rubber Company. These buttons come in 16 different sizes, and many shapes and designs, including picture buttons.1 I will illustrate some of the different buttons here. Please note that most of these shapes are commonly found in buttons made of other media as well.
An original card of Goodyears
A Goodyear back-mark
A rare brown Goodyear
A Goodyear whistle. A whistle button has one hole on the top and two on the bottom. This places the thread inside the button and protects it.
A Goodyear with a metal shank.
Four of the many designs of Goodyear's These buttons are found in two and four hole, and shank style among others.
Rubber was also used to make galoshes, also called "rubbers". Pictured here is a pair of children's boots with rubber galoshes.
The bottoms of the boots are back marked with the Goodyear brand.
1 Gorski, Jill, "Goodyear Rubber Buttons", Bead and Button Magazine, 7/9/2011, http://bnb.jewelrymakingmagazines.com/Community/Button%20Corner/NBS%20Articles/2009/07/Goodyear%20rubber%20buttons.aspx
Were rubber buttons worn mostly by men or did both men and women use them?
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