Ned,

One need only scan Ebay to find button jars and cans aplenty, all coming from
garage and estate sales across America. My wife is a crafter and bought a
bunch up to recycle the attractive ones in jewelry. Taking this opportunity
to examine those button time capsules, I found high percentages of shell,
glass, Prosser glass, bone, and early bakelite buttons.  While I also have my
grandmother's button jar with specimens dating back to her great grandmother,
I had fun looking through these old jars of buttons. I would say this
practice continued through the Depression and World War II years, but ended
pretty much in the 1950s.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.