Hunting Buttons

The exact date when hunt clubs started using sporting buttons is not known, but the style originated in England and was believed to have been taken up in this country sometime after the sport arrived. The buttons reproduced below and on the following pages (courtesy of The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and J. Partridge of London Ltd.) show some early English buttons, followed by American Hunt buttons.

QUORN 1698
1720 BADSWORTH
HAMPSHIRE 1745
1764 MIDDLETON
NEW FOREST 1780
1806 SOUTH DORSET
ROSE TREE 1859
1866 MILLWOOD
RADNOR 1883
1892 GREEN SPRING VALLEY
SMITHTOWN 1900
1900 SHELBURNE
WHITE MARSH VALLEY 1903
1911 PICKERING
HUNTINGDON VALLEY 1914
1920 QUANSETT
VICMEAD 1921
1927 LONGMEADOW