Uniform buttons within the context of the collection of the Waldes Museum of Buttons and Fasteners

Abstract

The study deals with uniform buttons in the collection of the Waldes Museum of Buttons and Fasteners in Prague-Vršovice, which was founded at the initiative of Prague industrialist and philanthropist Jindřich Waldes. Over the course of the museum’s existence, from 1916 to 1945, the collection came to include more than 350 uniform buttons. This study tries to capture the significance of the collection at the Waldes Museum, both as exhibits in themselves, and as study material connected with the museum’s publication work or the building of a specialised archive and library on the other. It also presents selected exhibits from the collection in question, together with other associated objects and specialised materials. The study draws on expert consideration of the preserved collection, original publications and materials from the Waldes Museum Archive and specialised literature.