The most common clothing related item found was buttons. A total of 440 individual buttons were found during excavations, with the majority coming from the house and immediate surroundings, such as the midden, yard, and outbuilding. The largest concentration of buttons was found in the subfloor storage pit, where 136 buttons were found. The most common type of button found were white prosser buttons (a, b). The Prosser process resulted in mass manufacture of buttons beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, a much easier method to quickly produce buttons. Many different types, sizes, and colors of prosser buttons were found. The distinguishing characteristic of prosser buttons is the orange peel-like texture on the back of the button. The white buttons (a, b) pictured show the many different forms of prosser buttons used on clothing. Examples of colored prosser buttons (c) shown include black, pink, and blue buttons. Bone buttons were one of the rarer types of buttons found, with two examples (d) shown here. Only six bone buttons were found at the Williams Farmstead. |