Wisconsin Pearl Button Company | La Crosse County Historical Society

Book - 2021.fic.005

Advertising booklet about Billie Button, an anthropomorphic button, who explained the life of a Wisconsin Pearl Button Company button, from starting as a clamshell at the bottom of the Mississippi River to being sewed on to a little girl’s dress in Indiana.

Record Type: Library

Button - 2014.008.15

A pearl flat button with two holes through it.

Record Type: Object

Button - 2014.008.16

A pearl shank button. The shank part of the button with one hole.

Record Type: Object

Button - 2021.066.01

Button card from Wisconsin Pearl Button Company. Rectangular cardboard card with 9 pearl buttons. The logo of the Wisconsin Pearl Button Company is at the top of the card. The card has a green and red Art Deco pattern and the text "Diver" at the bottom of the card.

Record Type: Object

Chisel, Bent - 2014.008.11

A flat retangleular tool made out of metal with a 90 degree bend in the middle. Appears to be a chisel. Each end has two grooves cut out on each side.

Record Type: Object

Chisel, Flat - 2014.008.13

A flat rectanglar tool made out of metal. There are two groves cut out of each end. Appears to be a chisel.

Record Type: Object

Chisel, Point - 2014.008.12

A flat trianglar tool made out of metal. Appears to be a chisel.

Record Type: Object

Clamp - 2014.008.09

A hand clamp used for holding and positioning the shell while the saw is used to cut blanks from it.

Record Type: Object

Hose - 2014.008.14

A tube assembly for spraying water on to the sawing station and shell being cut. Consists of a single metal tube then branching off to two other tubes with a nozzle at the end. This was used for lubricating and cooling the saw along with keeping the shell clean of dust generated form drilling.

Record Type: Object

Sample, Sales - 1980.016.01

Sample card from the Wisconsin Pearl Button Company. Cardboard card with 12 shell buttons. The buttons are white, blue, pink, green, and tan.

Record Type: Object

Sample, Sales - 1980.016.02

Sample card from the Wisconsin Pearl Button Company. Cardboard card with 18 shell buttons. Buttons are of various degrees of thickness and details.

Record Type: Object

Sample, Sales - 2020.fic.006

Sales sample card from Wisconsin Pearl Button Company. Rectangular cardboard card with a detachable card of buttons. Seventeen buttons of various sizes are attached. The logo of the Wisconsin Pearl Button Company is at the top of the card. There is an image of a box of buttons underneath the logo with a list of button sizes available.

Record Type: Object

Saw, Circular - 2014.008.02

Circular saw for cutting buttons out of the pearl shells. Produced from steel wrapped into a tube. One cutting end with teeth; this end has a slightly smaller diameter than the opposing end.

Record Type: Object

Saw, Circular - 2014.008.03

Circular saw for cutting buttons out of the pearl shells. Produced from steel wrapped into a tube. One cutting end with teeth; this end has a slightly smaller diameter than the opposing end.

Record Type: Object

Saw, Circular - 2014.008.04

Circular saw for cutting buttons out of the pearl shells. Produced from steel wrapped into a tube. One cutting end with teeth; this end has a slightly smaller diameter than the opposing end.

Record Type: Object

Saw, Circular - 2014.008.05

Circular saw for cutting buttons out of the pearl shells. Produced from steel wrapped into a tube. One cutting end with teeth; this end has a slightly smaller diameter than the opposing end. This object is one of sixteen tools in a display created by the donor.

Record Type: Object

Saw, Circular - 2014.008.06

Circular saw for cutting buttons out of the pearl shells. Produced from steel wrapped into a tube. One cutting end with teeth; this end has a slightly smaller diameter than the opposing end.

Record Type: Object