Be STILT my heart! 

Wearing a typical French Beret hat, white Coat of Sheep Skin with white fur,
red shirt, blue pants and carrying a pole/staff,  and walking on green ground.

This set of 8 ENAMEL buttons came to me recently from FRANCE. The buttons have an unusual pictorial, in that they feature a man on STILTS. At first I wondered if it was depicting circus folk BUT the work cap, clothing, bag and POLE told me that wasn’t going to be right. Of course, I got curious and went FULL STILT in searching for answers for this odd pictorial, first using the country I purchased them from (France) in the search terms.

Back view of the buttons

Champlevé is an enameling technique in which depressions or
cells in metal are carved, etched, die struck, or cast into the
surface of a metal object, and filled with vitreous enamel.

Normally, a button with a person on stilts would be considered a form of a pastime/game/circus/sport. After you read this, you’ll see why these buttons will be a great and odd representation of a form of FRENCH TRANSPORTATION in my button collection! 

In the mysterious case of this button set, the pictorial recorded on them shows that the stilt was everyday wear for one group of people up to the early 20^th Century… The people of LANDES, FRANCE and possibly one famous Shepherd.

Illustration c. 1804.  Note the dress is very similar to the enamel buttons!

Stilts are poles, posts or pillars used to allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. Stilts for walking are poles equipped with platforms for the feet to stand on and may have straps to attach them to the users’ legs or be held in place when walking by the hands of the user by gripping the top of the pole.

STILT HISTORY - Walking on stilts can be dated back to the 6th century BC in ancient Greece. A Chinese folk legend from 722-481 BC tells of a foreign ambassador called Yan Ying who was so short the officials of the kingdom he visited laughed at him. He tied two stilts on his feet to make himself appear taller than normal and then commanded respect. Some cultures were known to use stilts to fish, hunt game birds in marshes or to harvest crops grown on trees. 

LANDES, FRANCE - The French word, landes means moors or heaths. At one time, walking on stilts was a necessary means of transportation to adapt to the land which was covered with stunted bushes and dry heath. A heath is a shrub land habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterized by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths. On account of the permeability of the subsoil, all the slopes were transformed into marshes after the slightest rain fall.

The inhabitants of these marshy or flooded areas used stilts for practical purposes. According to the Scientific American Supplement, No. 821, Sep. 26, 1891, this Southern area of France was described as an extremely poor region inhabited mostly by Shepherds (called a Berger in French) who relied on raising sheep. Mounted upon their stilts and usually wearing a distinctive sheepskin vest of the region, the shepherds of Landes drove their flocks across the wastes. They were easily able to go through bushes, pools of water, and marshes as they were without roads or footpaths. They walked on stilts everywhere! Apparently this system of locomotion was so effective that men on stilts could keep up with horses at full trot.

Typical dress of the Bergers of Landes

The stilts are called echasses in French (or locally referred to as tchangues, or “big or long legs”). They are constructed of wood and stand about five feet high with wide straps to support the feet. The lowest part of the stilt on the ground was widened and made sturdy with sheep’s bone, acting like small hooves. 

The height allowed Shepherds not only to travel the unstable ground with and to watch over their flocks, but added an extended field of vision to watch for predators. They would also carry a staff/pole for extra support. The pole also aided in getting onto the stilts, acted as a way to carry other items by tying a bundle to the pole (like shown on the button!), and was used a crook or staff to guide their sheep. 

The staff was also vital to provide a comfortable seat which adapted to the height of the stilts. Resting in this manner, the shepherd appeared to be sitting on a huge tripod.

Taking sitting and spinning to a new level. LOL!

Shepherds weren’t the only ones to possess this skill. The men, women, and children were all talented stilt-walkers and all were trained at a young age to use them since this was the only way to travel the area. Most of the people there lived a large portion of their lives at a lofty height. Some even worked on knitting and performed other daily tasks while perched on them. These people became proficient at performing amazing feats of balance and dexterity. Women, for example, could pick flowers from the ground and children played, running at high speeds. Mail service was accomplished on stilts and carriers even delivered parcels on them.

Very special delivery!

DRAINING THE SWAMP - In the late 19th century the introduction of drainage systems and large forestry planting projects came to the region. The artificial forest was built to drain the Landes (pine trees require 200 liters of water a day) is almost entirely created and managed by man for industrial purposes. Stilt walking and raising sheep started to die out with the land improvements. While the people of this region no longer go around on stilts, it is amazing to know that at one time, there was once a community where everyone was always elevated from the ground.

A FAMOUS FELLOW on the button? 

It’s highly possible that this button could also be depicting the famous SYLVAIN DORNON of Landes, who became famous when he climbed to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower on his stilts during the World Fair of 1889. 

He also accomplished the amazing feat of walking on stilts from Paris to Moscow. His goal was to attend the Franco-Prussian Exhibition of 1891, which was held in Moscow. He arrived in just 58 days. He wanted the world to know about the people of Landes and the decline of stilt walking due to the disappearing lands.

Sylvain Dornon arriving in Moscow - 1891

I haven’t seen this button in a book (yet), so this I guess I’ll just give it a name. For now, this button will be labeled on my card as THE LANDES STILT WALKER/SYLVAIN DORNON or maybe I’ll just call it LIVING HIGH ON THE BOG. LOL 

Okay! I’ll stop... for now. *grin*

Thanks for reading, liking and sharing the FBR posts on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FlyingButtonRanch/ and the FBR posts here at Blogger!! And hey! Leave me a comment below, because I love to know who's been here AND if you enjoy posts about odd buttons, go to the FBR Facebook page and FOLLOW me to see more button posts! 

<3 Enjoy your weekend! <3 

aka FBR

 #AntiqueButtons #EnamelButtons #Stilts #LandesFrance #FlyingButtonRanch

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME PHILATELY? 

Who knew that a stamp could lead to the identification of a KNOWN PERSON on a SATSUMA BUTTON and some super interesting ART HISTORY!?! 

FLYING BUTTON RANCH COLLECTON

This large *postage pun warning* FIRST CLASS button was framed with the stamp, so I HAD to know what this all means! The identification of the stamp was a (fairly easy) no brainer for me, LOL. However, the research on exactly where the image originally came from took a bit more work and I love it when I can share that kind of fun info. with all my button friends!  

The large collectible Japanese 10 yen stamp is dated 1960, and by looking at the sharp edged self shank, I’m pretty sure the button is probably from around the same period as well.

 

YUP, THAT'S A QUARTER FOR SIZE COMPARISON. THE BUTTON AND THE STAMP ARE HUGE!

The button and stamp feature LADY ISE (also called "Ise no miyasudokoro,") c. 875 - c. 938, who was a court lady and also one of the THIRTY-SIX POETIC IMMORTALS. She was known for her passionate love poems with 22 poems in the Kokinshu and 170 poems in total.

WELL, AT LEAST A BAD REPUTATION IS EASY TO MAINTAIN! LOL!!

She was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage and in the Heian-period aristocratic ladies did not use their personal name, but were known under nicknames which were often based on the position of a male family member. In this case, Ise's father had been provincial governor of Ise (Ise no kami), and that determined her name. 

Her famous poems tell of her love affairs with two brothers: Fujiwara no Nakahira and Tokihira. Later she became the concubine of Emperor Uda, with whom she had a son.

THE HISTORY OF THE BUTTON IMAGE - THE SATAKE FRAGMENTS: 

Exactly one hundred years ago, in 1919, Japan’s newspapers reported extraordinary news. A group of industrialist connoisseurs had acquired one of the country’s most precious art treasures: a set of thirteenth-century hand scrolls, previously owned by the Satake family, known as THE SATAKE VERSION, THIRTY-SIX IMMORTAL POETS. 

Originally it was a two-volume scroll based on the 36 poets selected by Fujiwara no Kinto and Sumiyoshi Myojin, a god of waka poems. Each of the poets was depicted separately with a short biography and a poem using a portrait style known as nise-e to depict the poets in yamato-e style.

Even more newsworthy was that the wealthy financiers were going to separate the two rare hand scrolls into individual fragments, to be divided among themselves. They were remounted as hanging scrolls for private use in their own tearooms. Owning one of the Satake fragments was the ultimate Japanese status symbol, defining its owner as an undisputed member of the country’s cultural elite. Over the next 100 years, the individual paintings moved from private collection to private collection and most times their whereabouts were unknown even to art specialists and museums.

In October of 2019, The Kyoto National Museum, Heisei Chishinkan Wing will exhibit the reunited paintings for an exhibit in the most comprehensive assemblage of the fragments of the scrolls since their separation a century ago. In addition to the legendary fragments, the show will feature an array of artwork related to the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and the elegant literary court culture of that time.

The Kyoto National Museum poster for the 2019 ExhibitKyoto National Museum
527 Chaya-cho, Higashiyama-ku,
Kyoto, Japan 605-0931

Lady Ise, one of  the Satake scroll fragments. The identical design to the painted Satsuma Button and Stamp.

Lady Ise is depicted seated in typical court dress of the 13^th century which is reproduced on the button with vibrant colors and gold details. 

The layered formal attire that dragged on the floor was originally the daily garment of imperial wives and ladies of the palace to the "ladies of the fifth rank" ( myōbu 命婦) when they were serving in court, but it soon became daily dress of the wives of dignitaries when they were at home. 

It was not uncommon to be dressed in three sets of five, six or even seven dresses, so that with the linings, some of the outfits reached forty layers of fabric. It came to a point that the ladies, coming in procession to take their places, could not even raise their arms to hide their faces with their fans and when they were seated, they were surrounded by a billowing heap of silk that formed a beautiful bed of colors.

THE STAMP:

The collectible stamp which is dated 1960, was reproduced from one of the original 13^th century paintings of the Satake Fragments by designer Saburo Watanabe. Stamp collectors could also purchase this single stamp in various mountings or groups of the same stamp.

Stamp collecting is also called Philately (the study of stamps), and is a hobby quite similar to button collecting. It includes collecting and analyzing different varieties of postage stamps, preserving them in good condition, understanding and exploring themes and subjects illustrated on stamps, researching about rare postage stamps, error stamps etc. Philatelists also evaluate postage stamps based on demand, condition and rarity. The first postage stamp appeared in 1840 in Britain and pictured a young Queen Victoria and immediately a hobby was born. I've seen some old articles with buttons and stamps in some of the collector's magazines (Hobbies, NBS Bulletins, Just Buttons, etc.). I didn't have time to look for them for this post, but I'm sure you can search the NBS site for them!

I hope you find the FBR posts to be FIRST CLASS and you’ll give my blog page a STAMP of approval. *grin* I also hope you'll go visit my FBR Facebook Page  (<- link) with a LIKE and SHARE for this blog post and page. And by the way… I love your comments (because PHILATELY will get you everywhere, ha ha) so be sure to leave one here or on the FBR facebook page!

OKAY, I’ll ZIP it (for now)! LOL 

<3 FBR    

P.S. Did you hear that the Post Office just recalled their latest stamps? They had pictures of lawyers on them ...and people couldn't figure out which side to spit on. 

CARDING AND CLEANING your Buttons the EASY WAY

E-Z peazy CLEAN AND CARD –  

(Flying Button Ranch is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Program. Links below provide a means for me to earn a small fee by linking products mentioned in my blog to Amazon.com, at no additional cost to you).

I love button collecting, but HATE the chore of putting holes in matboard to card. Mostly because it kills my hands I think, and it takes FOREVER to use an awl to punch holes in a card. By the time I’m done, my hands are killing me and I’m over it... putting off getting the buttons on the cards in favor of something fun (like Wine and Cheetos). 

So, while having some wine, I started thinking about making carding easy and more fun. What makes holes without me having to hold and be strong? A drill press. Do I have one? NO  Do I have room for one if I buy it? NO. I do have a drill... my Dremel. Hmmm. *Runs to Google* Ahhhh HA!

Well, A MINI DRILL PRESS would work! It would go through A SMALL STACK OF MATBOARD! But what if it also POLISHED/CLEANED buttons? 

OMG take my money! MAGICAL!

And I so I went to Da Google, found/ordered one. I have had it for a while and I’ve FINALLY fixed the problem of getting lots of matboard punched and ready to card. Bonus? Not poking yourself with an awl. LOL 

I already had a DREMEL MULTIPRO with adjustable speed, all the attachments and a FLEX SHAFT. It was a birthday gift from Mr. FBR years ago. I used it all the time, even holding on to it, and trying to drill cards with it, it worked for that... sort of (and was dangerous as heck).  Then, THIS arrived:

NOW I use this fabulous little DREMEL DRILL PRESS to drill ALL my cards (multiples at ONE TIME) and to BUFF/POLISH buttons! 

This was a game changer for me, and I give it 5 star buttons. 

I can highly recommend this little miracle worker (and if you already have a Dremel VARIABLE SPEED Multi-tool to begin with, just getting this DRILL PRESS is super inexpensive). Just what I'll save on Band-aids, Advil and Aspercreme alone will help to pay for it... Ha ha

It has a Flex Shaft Tool Stand on the top also, which allows for telescopic adjustment for a Flex Shaft (16-29 inches) AND a "Crows Nest" for storage of bits, buffers, wrenches and other accessories. Cord management features. Nice!

• Note: Compatible with Dremel Rotary Tool models 100, 200, 275, 285, 300, 395, 398, 400, 800, 3000, 4000, 4200, 8100, 8200, 8220

Here is everything you need to know to use it:

PATTERN ON YOUR CARD: I either use a plastic template to draw circles in a pattern and mark where the holes will go ON THE TOP CARD, OR I use an old matboard with a pattern of holes already punched (Placed on the top of the stack of cards I'll be drilling. The other option is to just mark dots on the TOP CARD in any pattern I want. 

PRE-DRILLED CARD WITH HOLES TO USE AS TEMPLATE.

OLD COMPETITION CARD, USED AS TEMPLATE.
Yup, a DIMINUTIVE card with 70 !$*@#! HOLES
THAT I ORIGINALLY HAD TO AWL PUNCH BY HAND. UGH!

CLAMPING: NEXT, I clip the 4 or 5 undrilled cards together (with the pattern on top) with LARGE 2" BINDER CLIPS.

USE 2" BINDER CLIPS TO CLAMP
ALL THE CARDS TOGETHER,
TIP: YOU CAN REMOVE THE SILVER EAR PIECES BY SQUEEZING
THEM TOGETHER IF THEY'RE IN THE WAY OF DRILLING!
PUT THEM BACK IN/ON WHEN YOU'RE DONE TO REMOVE THE CLAMPS.

Put on EYE PROTECTION (DO as I SAY, not as I DO). LOL  

The base has areas to screw it down to a table top. I've used it without screwing it down, but I'm thinking about attaching it to a large old wood cutting board. It'll keep it stable, I'll be able to move it and it won't take up too much room.

TURN IT ON: I use the higher speeds. Put your stack on the Without much force or pressure, pull down the handle, letting the drill do the work, drilling through the spots you want, easily moving the card around to the next marked area. You can bring down the handle/drill bit and hover over the spot to make sure you hit it exact. 

ALL SET UP AND READY TO GO!

SO EASY! GUESS WINE AND CHEETOS WILL HAVE TO WAIT!

QUICK DRILLING OF FLOCKED COATED MAT BOARDS
AND WOVEN FABRIC BOARDS
(THAT'S HARD TO PUNCH BY HAND)! <3

BIG PILE OF DRILLED CARDS IN MINUTES
AND READY TO GET CARDING!

I had a few designs that required me to make a few of the center holes myself (2 or 4 holes out of 30 on 4 or 5 cards? Well, I can certainly live with that!). I just mark the spots I can't reach with my awl, and use my Dremel with the FLEX SHAFT ATTACHMENT to zip in those holes while the card is still clipped together. The Drill press has a top attachment built in to hold a Flex Shaft attachment ALSO. Super!  

If you don't have one, you can still remove your Dremel, leave the cards clipped together and zip in those holes or just use your awl for the 2 or 4 you need to do.

MARKING A FEW CENTER SPOTS WITH AN AWL THAT I COULDN'T
REACH IN THE VERY CENTER. I USE THE DREMEL BY HAND,
OR LEAVE CLAMPED, AND USE THE FLEX SHAFT
OR YOUR DREMEL BY HAND TO DRILL THOSE
COUPLE OF HOLES THROUGH ALL THE CARDS AT ONCE.

After I'm done, I get out my Dust Buster hand vac, and suck up all the little paper pieces from drilling the cards. Yeah, kind of messy, but not bad! Now to pour wine, turn on the tunes, and get to carding buttons!

CLEANING/BUFFING your buttons! 

A BONUS? The drill press allows you to turn the Dremel sideways 90 degrees FOR BUFFING AND CLEANING. 

I went nuts when I discovered THAT! Oh! And if you use the HAND VISE I talked about last week on my Flying Button Ranch Facebook page, you don’t need to try to hold on and grip the button while buffing/cleaning it!! I got tired of having buttons fly across the room (and usually they transported to an alternate universe, never to be seen again! LOL).

BUFFING WHEELS can be found at most home supply places (Ace Hardware, Home Depot) but I usually will throw some in my cart on good ol' Amazon. Off brands work, but you may need to wrap the metal shaft with a bit of painter's tape or electrical tape to get it to snug up right when tightening the chuck that holds it. 

With a Dremel buffing wheel and a bit of Jewelers rouge/POLISHING COMPOUND (put it on the buffing wheel when it's spinning/running) and then just get the button pressed on it! Clean and shiny in NO TIME! YaY! 

A few buffing wheels are usually included with Dremels when you buy them, but you can always stock up on them because you'll go through LOTS OF THEM once you start to shine and clean with this baby!

BARS USED TO ADD POLISHING COMPOUND TO BUFFING WHEEL ON THE DREMEL

THE DIFFERENT TYPES YOU CAN BUY
AND USE TO CLEAN AND POLISH YOUR BUTTONS. 

INDISPENSABLE! 
GREAT TOOL TO GRAB ON TO YOUR BUTTON!
SEE LINKS BELOW

ADDING POLISHING ROUGE TO A SPINNING BUFFING WHEEL

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE DRILL PRESS SET UP FOR BUFFING
(AND REFRESHMENTS FOR AFTERWARDS, LOL)

BUFFING/CLEANING A BUTTON
CLAMPED IN TO THE PIN VISE (SEE LINKS FOR IT BELOW)
USING THE DREMEL DRILL PRESS
TURNED 90 DEGREES AND A BUFFING/WHEEL
WITH BUFFING COMPOUND.

Worked great! Here are some before/after of a few buttons I had sitting around to clean:

BEFORE - UGH, THAT'D BE A PIA TO DO IT BY HAND!

AFTER BUFFING WITH THE NEW TOY! FAST AND EASY!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE - STEEL CUP WITH BRASS AND ENAMEL

AFTER - STEEL CUP WITH BRASS AND ENAMEL

You can find all these great helpers on Amazon! Here's the links to everything you'll need:

DREMEL DRILL PRESS -> https://amzn.to/301ULTU

DREMEL VARIABLE SPEED MULTITOOL KIT TO DRILL/BUFF ->  https://amzn.to/2G1NGuW

2” LARGE BINDER CLIPS -  https://amzn.to/2JtbzfW

DREMEL FLEX SHAFT for other hand work and zipping in a few holes - https://amzn.to/2L8IxFy

HAND VISE (when using the Drill Press buffer or just working on rust removal on buttons, giving a quick polish, etc.)  https://amzn.to/2XCBg7C or  https://amzn.to/2NmVL3x 

COMPOUND BARS FOR BUFFING - https://amzn.to/2XBbEIj

BUFFING WHEELS FOR DREMELS - https://amzn.to/2LJ2VN9

All highlighted links lead to my Amazon affiliate links.

Thanks for reading! I hope you'll leave a comment (so I know you were here, LOL) and let me know if any of this has worked for YOU! Also, come check out my Facebook page AND say hello at https://www.facebook.com/FlyingButtonRanch/

Okay... off to card some buttons!

<3 FBR

FUN VIDEO ON COLLECTING BUTTONS

Sometimes I just goof off. (Okay! Daily. LOL). I'll just put keywords into Google and see what pops up from the Interwebz.  Tah*Dah

I hadn't seen this YouTube video (below this post) of Darlene Gruber speaking about Button Collecting. It was recorded at the Brass Armadillo antique mall in Denver, Colorado on April 17, 2014.

It's about an hour long, but worth the watch, so settle in with a drink and snack LOL.

Wine and Cheese = Wine and Cheetos. Same thing, right? Yummy!

If you don't know much about button collecting, she gives a nice overview on button collecting.

If you're a seasoned collector, it could inspire YOU to go give a talk on collecting and go gather up some new interest for our hobby. Right?

Enjoy!

at FLYING BUTTON RANCH  (P.S. for more on Button Collecting, come follow me on the FBR FACEBOOK PAGE to read DAILY posts on button collecting!)