Hello Histarch-ers,
We recently recovered a pewter button from a mid-19th century refuse deposit
on the Fairbanks House property in Dedham, MA. It's not in the best of
shape so I thought I'd contact the list to see if anyone had come across a
similar button in their travels. Carolyn White's excellent book describes
pewter buttons as a predominantly 18th-century phenomenon. We'd also love
any clarification on the decoration. It was cast and has a decorated face
featuring what appear to be three crescent shapes, along with other
symbols. We've thrown around the idea that it's Masonic (due to the
crescent symbols), but we're not sure. There are a couple of photos posted
on our excavation blog. Because the face is difficult to discern, I traced
the design (as I see it!) in Illustrator. The photos can be found here:
http://fairbanksarchaeology.blogspot.com/2010/09/pewter-button.html.
Any additional information or direction that list members could provide
would be much appreciated! Thanks all, have a great weekend~
Best,
Travis Parno
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Travis G Parno
Doctoral Candidate
Boston University
Department of Archaeology