Buttons of the Cause

 Every year the Appalachian Festival brings out vendors selling handcrafted instruments, accessories, and treats made from scratch. Locals and students crowd Frostburg State University’s upper quad weaving in and out of tents admiring the displays. Positioned next to a table selling customized mason jars is a table selling posters of images of his personal button collection. His display contained two posters propped up for easy viewing. On the left was a poster titled “Buttons of the Cause” in a font resurfacing memories of the sixties. Buttons with clever puns like “Think Straight, Be Gay” and buttons that have direct messages such as “No Nukes” are spread all over the poster with no real order, buttons that oppose each other sharing the same space. On the left is a poster titled “A Black History of America in 110 buttons.” In the poster the buttons are neatly arranged in rows of six. There are buttons notably older like the one dated January 15, 1982 for the MLK National Holiday March that took place in Washington DC and there are those that are more recent like the one labeled “I Remember Trayvon Martin.” A collection like this takes many years and lots of dedication. 

Albert Feldstein and his collection of 15,000 buttons.

Albert Feldstein has been collecting buttons since the mid 1960’s; to be exact Feldstein recalls the summer of 1967. He graduated high school and received one of his first few buttons at Columbia University. It was an SDS button standing for, Students for a Democratic Society. They were protesting the Vietnam War, which had begun about 13 years prior. However, Feldstein didn’t have many political motivations, “I wasn’t too ideologically or politically motivated back then, I was just out of high school.”

Albert Feldstein's "A Black History of American in 110 Buttons" poster

Feldstein collectes buttons from all sides whether it is public protests or political parties. On his poster titled “Buttons of the Cause” a button is shown saying “I SUPPORT U.S. SOLDIERS IN VIETNAM.” Buttons with conflicting arguments and decorate his posters adding to his collection of 15,000. With buttons that “Free Abortion on Demand” only one button away from one labeled “A Child is not Choice” it clear that he has no bias. What drew Feldstein’s attention was the buttons themselves, how the were presented, and what they represent. “I was attracted to the graphics, the color of the buttons, they were interesting,” Feldstein commented, “they trade political history public policy I felt the buttons were a graphic depiction of our first amendment rights of freedom and assembly up to today I collect these buttons.”

 

Albert Feldstein's "Buttons of the Cause" poster

Feldstein’s collection can be seen in more places than just the Appalachian Festival. He stated that his posters were on sale at the Smithsonian for about 10 years. Feldstein has articles on his political buttons not just nation wide but also local, with an article on Allegany County campaign buttons. His buttons are a visual history book; their messages conveyed with carefully picked images, symbols, and fonts attracting many to Feldstein’s buttons. “Political campaigns, social protests, those are the type of buttons I like."

Albert Feldstein and his buttons can be found on this website and he can be emailed at info@blackhistorybuttons.com.