The adoption of buttons more or less for ornament has long been practised. John Brandon, who died in the year 1364, is shown on his brass (in the church of St. Mary, King’s Lynn) with no less than forty buttons on the sleeves of his undervest, which has embroidered cuffs and is buttoned to the elbow (see Plate [IV]). We shall, however, have something more to say with regard to buttons from this and other points of view as we proceed.
Reproduction of a brass to John Brandon and his two wives, in the Church of St. Mary, King’s Lynn. Date 1364. On the male figure a continuous row of buttons runs from the wrist to the elbow of the under vest. The women wear the wimple and the gorget or throat cloth.
PLATE IV.
An interesting case of superfluous buttons on the front of clothes is to be seen in the case of the short jackets of the postilions, belonging to His Majesty the King. There is a useful row down the middle which closes the garment, and two ornamental rows which start from each shoulder and curve downwards towards the middle row. These are probably vestiges of buttons that were once of use, and to seek an explanation it might be well to study some uniforms of the past. We shall find that in the eighteenth century it was customary to button back the revers of the uniform coat, as in the case of the French coast-guard officer of 1775. (See Figure [31].)
Fashion afterwards decreed that the coats should be fastened again with hooks, but the two rows of buttons remained.
