Heritage Museum Blog

by Shelley Dawson Davies

If you have one or more celluloid pinback photo buttons like these, consider yourself lucky, especially if the photo includes a family member. These increasingly hard-to-find pins were a trendy way to display favorite images as photography became more popular and easily accessible to the masses in the early 1900s.

Celluloid pinbacks were originally produced to advertise political candidates and commercial products in the late 1800s. Easy and cheap to make, pinbacks were often given away to promote candies, chewing gum, cigarettes, movies, food, clothing, and club memberships. It wasn’t long before portrait photographers featured custom buttons they could make in their own studios, ranging in size from 1 to 9 inches in diameter. Buttons could be ordered in circular, oval, and rectangular shapes. Large pinbacks, often called medallions, were often hung on the wall or presented with a table stand.

While the photo button craze reached its height from 1910 to 1920, personalized pinbacks remained popular into the 1940s as a novel way of displaying portraits of loved ones on a lapel as well as the mantle. While the campaign and advertising pinbacks can be hard to find today, because so many were simply worn and thrown away, photo buttons were more likely to be kept and passed along with other family heirlooms.

Photo pinbacks were made by wrapping the image around a tin form, sometimes padded with a paper under layer, topping it with a cellulose nitrate film, then machine pressing the layers into place. The laminating film created a glossy finish to the piece, enhancing and protecting the photograph. Sometimes decorative paper mattes were used to frame the photos. Mattes could be printed with patriotic scenes, lodge emblems, and floral or geometric motifs and often enhanced with watercolors.

Because photo buttons feature individuals, each one is a unique piece of history. If you have a vintage photo button, be aware they require special care to keep them from deteriorating. All photos should be kept out of direct sunlight to prevent fading, and pinbacks are no exception. Celluloid plastic, the first man-made synthetic, is flammable and tends to yellow with age and exposure to light. Separation of the layers may occur as the button ages and sometimes cracks or splits appear across the photo due to the tension created by the manufacturing process. Keeping these buttons in a cool, dry, low-light environment can help preserve them. Taking digital photos of the pinbacks or carefully scanning them is an excellent way of documenting these artifacts.

It’s easy enough to continue the photo button tradition with today’s technology. A quick internet search will turn up a number of companies willing to turn your photos into novelties for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, or family reunions at a minimal cost.