The Buckeye State Button Society in Ohio, as our name reflects, was organized in 1947. Later legally incorporated in 2012 because of interest from smaller local organizations to more broadly interest people in this hobby. Informally our friends around Ohio had operated together with the same mission for many years prior. We are a non-profit and operate with the energy of many volunteers, members and collaborate with local button clubs. We can direct you to the nearest club for you to explore. Meetings are generally open to anyone interested at no cost. Check the listings on our website.

Button collection is a very old hobby dating from the 17^th century around the World as decoration much like jewelry. They were worn by aristocratic men to display their wealth and place in society.  Later the use of buttons became much more utilitarian and used by lower classes as well.

Buttons bring an interest in antiques, art forms, community, history, and education. Important for many is the opportunity to compete with other collectors to show their skills, spirit, socialization and display their work to the public at gatherings. Those can be formal events such as our annual Show or at your local button club meetings monthly. People like to trade their buttons as well as compete at shows. We bring in dealers specialized in antique buttons who offer a dizzying number of buttons to browse and purchase.

Collectors refer to “cards and trays”. These are simply mounted buttons in patterns on a stiff card, and often then in a wooden frame under glass. Most everyone in the hobby is happy to share information with new people as well. 

The Society write, photograph and edit to produce our Bulletins, which are filled with member contributed articles and photos. Then they are mailed to all members and offered for education to other button groups. Some make it into local public libraries. In addition, we offer via the internet on our website www.ohiobuttons.org News, event plans, stories, articles and educational resources are there for anyone to view.

Perhaps the most unique feature in our website is that you can view over 20,000 buttons arranged on the winning tray entries for the years 2006 through the present. Users enjoy closeup detailed view of any individual button as well as the classification and materials required for that entry. This is a great tool for beginners as well as long time collectors. A remodeled website is in the work which adds search features to find button examples, becoming a great educational resource you can use on your own.

Our mission is to expose new people to this wonderful hobby, educate them and have fun. We invite your questions and hope you will consider membership in BSBS and support button collecting along with us.