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Button Collectors Resource Site
As with the British backmarks Initials cause problems for researchers & if anything the French used them to a greater extent over a longer period of time, Lucky us! Some examples T. W. & W. (Trelon, Weldon & Weil ), H .M , (Hartog Marchand), A.M. & Cie., ( Masse & Anglade), and others. Known patent buttons are backmarked Brevete, Bvt or Bte sometimes accompanied by the initials SGDG, sans garantie du gouvernement = without guarantee of government; which seems to be a disclaimer of responsibility for the item being fit for the intended use. The initials SGDG also appear on their own see f 64. I think the T. W.& W. buttons f 53-57 are all the same patent but maybe not because although the feet of the shank form part of the face of the button f 55, ( the only one where this is not visible), there are subtle differences in the way the shank legs appear to penetrate a central cross shaped protrusion - presumably pierced with four holes - I believe the difference is only in the shape of the slot arrangement that seems to stop the legs from entering too far but I could easily be wrong. f 58 again same series of backmarks but I have been unable to find any crimp marks such as are visible on f 53 - f 57 around the base of the central protrusion there are subtle differences and one wonders if it is the same shank adapted for use on aluminium? I know of two patents, possibly three, attributable to T. W. & W. by purely surname criteria they are: Weldon et Weil 28th Me 1859 ` with cloth, tool for covering' and 28th Je 1862 no details. and there is one attributed to Weill 10 N 1875. no details. I do not think that the illustrated examples pre date any of these patents or the few scraps I have with regard to French Patent records but rather to the period just prior to and during WWI ( based on a French collectors assurance that f 58 was produced during WWI but it is worth pointing out that these dates are at odds with those provided by ABM for T.W.&W. and Hartog Marchand- wartime expediency is hardly applicable because there is no backplate to be` in stock' but having said that they could have been producing blanks for later stamping at some point to have them emerge from a cobwebbed corner years later. There are other European instances of the use of this type of shanking arrangement, (where the feet penetrate the front), again patent details, if any, not available except for James Alston on the Uk Patents page, another example is the Polish staple, ( literally in this instance), shank button f 59 which clearly shows the feet of the shank forming part of the face of the button. f 61 G.J. & F I have seen examples which, if memory serves, have BvTe in the blank space on this one. I am unable to find any shank shaped irregularities on the obverse but there are some features which suggest the insertion of the legs into slots the crimping in the metal around the legs - reminiscent of the marks left by split dies- is not dissimilar to that on the T W & W examples the shape of the shank itself is slightly different, suggesting to me the same, (or very nearly so), type of manufacture but different manufacturer; perhaps further examples will illuminate or some kind soul will tell me? f 60 Is an interesting flat profile, (2.5mm), two piece button ; the legs of the shank are slightly offset where they enter the body of the button at a guess ( I have found one example which has a stamped obtrusive line on the shank leg running in line with the edge of the raised area around the leg,( see pic),but one often sees similar crimp marks at the base of the legs almost like feet or a pedestal and the alignment is not perfect), I'd say the raised area immediately around the leg area is likely to be the result of riveting in the shank which would still necessitate the back-plate being made seperately and later united with the front. I have noticed that the raised area around the shanks of the smaller size buttons tends to be quite pronounced compared with most of the larger examples I have seen. The crisp backmark, (which might have been applied at the same time as the back-plate and shank were united given the pressure I assume to be involved in uniting them), is the result of deep stamping. f 62 Low profile, ( of the type referred to as tight backs), Brevete buttons marked A.P & Cie are another quite commonly found example of potentially similar patents being granted ie the similarity of f62 & f superficially with E & W's Patent and even more so to the H & I patent linen button which creates the shank in almost the same way. A section of the back-plate being pressed & pierced with a short channel stamped either side all of the examples I have seen have been packed with cardboard - which may be protecting the thread from sharp edges or simply as packing - which occurs quite a lot in French examples even into recent years with powder being packed into modern shell construction Armée de l'Air, (air force), buttons - a fact I only realised when I noticed one of mine was leaking! On his button website Jaques Segalen suggests dates 1912-1916 & 1924-1939 for the & Cie marking and post 1930 for another backmark SOLIDAIRE BREVETE SGDG AP ET CIE PARIS, on almost identical tight backs (?) The query is due to my uncertainty as to if all of the Solidaire examples qualify as tight backs or not because on some, (actually a majority of the examples in my collection), the area where the rim of the obverse is folded over the reverse is not particularly tight & shews no evidence of being lathe turned the way type 1 seems to have been. Type 1 construction appears with, Industrie Parisienne S A , (Initials used as spacers), backmark and with Paris 1882 S S , (spacers). Type 2 construction appears with Paris 1883 S S, (spacers), there is a variant with 1882. I am not sure what the numbers mean; I doubt that they are design registration numbers for two reasons, the designs on the front are different on backmarks with the same numbers & I've never seen or heard of an registration number on a French button only the word Depose or Model Depose - whilst I am perfectly aware of the dangers of basing an hypothesis on the absence of something I think in this particular instance it is justified. I am speculating again but I wouldn't be surprised if all the examples quoted were made by the same company. f I have seen self shank horn buttons with the word Brevete and SGDG initials with a simple cruciform cut jewel design but I don't know the patent details,( f next to f64 illustrates a metal example of the same shape), there is an illustration of this type with the words Paris Depose in The Button Collectors History. Grace Horney Ford, Springfield Mass. 1943 pp 187 . The earliest patent for moulded horn buttons is said to have been for Emile Bessot in the early 1800's, Sc. JB Jan 1975 Horn & Hoof Mrs. Richard D. (Barbara) O'Donnell. (BBB gives the date as 1830). f 64 shews imitation horn with what looks to me like an cast aluminium shank, I have another with a Boars head obverse. EGJ & F on horn pictorial, (bird in flight), seen on e bay but presumably a misreading of L.C.J & F. Patent as reported by BBB 15/17 with a variant L.C.J & F. Depose 15/15 which makes it likely these are of French origin. I didn't persue the ebay example because if they had trouble reading it then I would have trouble photographing it. L.C.J & F. Patent as reported by BBB 15/17 with a variant L.C.J & F. Depose 15/15 which makes it likely these are of French origin, because the company was manufacturing in Caen France, ( see also G. J. & F. f 61). Although there is an index in English the French Patent specifications are, naturally enough, in French. Some of the UK patents were very technical and therefore difficult for me to picture the resulting button form; so the thought of trying to do the same in somewhat archaic technical French was asking rather too much of my very limited abilities - I'm quite good at shopping there... Any French speakers who think they could tackle the task are welcome to get in touch; If you don't have access to them already I should be able to provide abridged copies of the 93 Tomes of the Premier Series 1791 -1844, which are titled: Description des machines et procédés spécifiés dans les brevets d'invention de perfectionnement et d'importation. Description of machines and processes specified in patents of invention improvement and importation. and the first 79 Tomes of the Deuxieme series 1844-1860 and Tomes 80-116 1861-1870 which are titled: Description des machines et procédés pour lesquels des brevets d'invention Description of machines and processes for which patents of invention have been granted under the law of 5th July 1844. and the Nouvelle Série Tomes 1-99 1871-1896 . Both translations are from an untitled Science Reference Library (Holborn) document. |
Brevets France.
Patents France
Patents France
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