Paste Sleeve Buttons, Reflective

Made in the USA

Stone sleeve buttons were quite common and worn by all economic levels, the wealthy wearing real gems and the poor with cheap imitations such as past or cut glass. These stone sleeve buttons are not constructed as they should be for the 18th century but are assembled inexpensively to look the part. These are made for the ball or working at a desk and may not hold up to hard field use. If you’re a stickler for authenticity Ward Oles of At the Eastern Door makes much better reproductions.

Sleeve buttons were used on the sleeves of men’s shirts & women’s shifts from the early 18th to the early 19th century. Cuff links are often confused with sleeve buttons but are structurally different. Sleeve buttons have been found in such numbers at archaeological sites from Ft. Michilimackinac, Michigan to Williamsburg, Virginia people of all economic standing wore sleeve buttons. In this 1754 painting Joseph Mann of Boston by John Singleton Copley wears what appear to be plain brass sleeve buttons. Sleeve buttons were issued to soldiers of many military regiments including the 17th of Foot in 1776 and the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment in 1778. For example in 1775 in Connecticut Gazette there was “Stolen out of the house . . .  a pair of stone sleeve buttons set in silver marked CS the under side of them” by personal communication with Mike Barbieri.

The picture shows the button front and reverse to illustrate the figure-eight attachment. The color changes based on the angle. We sell these buttons by the set which includes enough buttons for one shirt. In other words two pairs of buttons each pair connected by an attachment.