Notes
This is the hardwood back of a two piece button. In this style of button, the face, or cover, of the button was commonly fashioned from a sheet of thin metal, usually a variety of copper alloy. Backings for these buttons provided both strength and a method of attaching the button to clothing, either by eyes, sew through holes, or a shank. Often these backings were made of bone, but this is an example of the wooden variety. This backing would have been carved on a lathe. Then eyes were drilled into the disk either to be strung with cat gut or to receive a copper alloy wire which served as a shank. In the final step of production, the cover was crimped onto the back along the bevel seen at the edge of the button fragment.
In the eighteenth century, buttons came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes this variation can be used to identify which articles of clothing a button may have been used in the past. The diameter of this button backing suggest it was likely for use on a waistcoat.
Object Type
ButtonsHas it Been Conserved?
Yes
Where Was It Found?
Project Site: House for Families [more details]
Material
Manufacturing Technology
Form
Shape
Completeness
Date
18th century
Country of Origin
Dimensions
15.6mm x 0.85mm x 15.94mm (W x H x L)
Illustration shows object in comparison to the size of a quarter
Weight
0.1 gram(s)
Object Number
1788309
DAACS Number
1788309
Project: House for Families
The structure identified as the “House for Families” on the 1787 Vaughan plan likely housed the majority of the enslaved population living at the Mansion House Farm for much of the second half of the eighteenth century. The building was in existence from circa 1760 until it was demolished in late 1792 or early 1793. The archaeological evidence for the structure consisted of a brick-lined storage cellar (44FX762/40-47) measuring roughly six feet by six feet. Historically the cellar served as a handy trash receptacle once it ceased to be used for its original storage function, and through extensive excavation has yielded an extremely rich assemblage of household refuse. The analysis of these remains offers the opportunity to study important aspects of the daily lives of Mount Vernon's enslaved community.
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