I LOVE the kind of cartoon buttons people wore on their lapels a hundred years ago. Aging doesn't seem to have hurt them, in fact the acquired yellow tint makes them look even better.
A lot of these buttons were given out as freebies in packs of cigarettes.
Buttons like these were everywhere in the 1920s.
Above, a Robert Crumb button? Nope, it's by Rube Goldberg.
Above, another Goldberg! Did he invent the idea of cartoon buttons?
Maybe not. Here's (above) a Yellow Kid button that may have pre-dated Goldberg.
Anyway, lots of cartoon characters have appeared on lapel buttons. Me, I think a lapel is naked and unappealing without one.
Goldberg was really good at this. The light watercolor and round lines on the character make a perfect contrast to the angular lettering.
Here's (above) one of his best. The design of the lettering perfectly frames the cartoon.
Nice!
I've gotta do this for my own characters!
