The rag suggestion came from a project I did in Memphis a while back. We excavated a cistern related to the M&O and then L&N Railroad that was filled in ca. 1880. We found large amounts of buttons there as well, but not matching sets suggestive of clothing discard. We interpreted the button assemblage to have come from rags used in cleaning on the trains or around the terminal.

Pat Garrow

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Gaye Nayton [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 22:30:32 +0800
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: buttons in hotels


My Gran too salvaged buttons and fasteners as did my mother and I was taught I should too but the disposable society caught up with me and I don't systematically do it and I did not teach my daughters. I am from an English family so the practice may have been widespread.

And a note about rags, any cleaner worth their salt would cut off the buttons before using the rags, both for reuse and because they scratch surfaces. Another of Gran's household tips!
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Ron May
  To: [log in to unmask]
  Sent: Wednesday, 13 March 2002 3:58 AM
  Subject: Re: buttons in hotels


  Cathy,

  Your information on hotels and military sites sounds very interesting. The basis for my hypothesis was my grandmother's button jar. She salvaged just about every kind of fastener in that little glass jar. Since I see a lot of those jars in estate sales and the buttons seem to be turn of the century to Depression era, I began to think women in a household would not discard reusable clothing fasteners when dumping cloths. Thus, high occurrences of clothing fasteners could be a gender issue.

  Now I am going to be involved with a military medical dump. There is a lot of residential material, but definitely some heavy duty mess ware. Have you any info on military or civilian medical facilities?

  And, where can I get a copy of your diss?

  Ron May
  Legacy 106, Inc.

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