 |
In 1968, at the age twelve, I met several members of the American Political Items Collectors, and they helped me organize my beginner's collection. In those days, almost everyone seemed to be storing their collections in 2x2 coin holders. The folders came in a variety of aperture sizes, to accommodate large and small buttons. They were easy to use--you simply folded them around a button and used one or more staples to close the holder. Holders could then be slipped into notebook pages made of plastic that had twenty pockets on each page. Thus your collection was organized like a book, and you could sit in your favorite easy chair, turning the pages and enjoying your treasured items.
| |
When I next ran into APIC members two decades later, the 2x2 folders and pocket pages were largely out. A good thing, too, since scientists discovered the plastic pages released fumes that could do terrible damage to a variety of collectibles. (Safe, inert pocket pages are now available for those who prefer to stick to this method of organization and display.) Largely replacing the pocket pages were Riker mounts. Riker mounts are like a cross between a shallow box and a picture frame. Generally made of black cardboard, the riker mount has a glass top that allows you to see the buttons. Inside is a piece of cotton batting that helps hold the buttons in place. Thus, one's collection is housed in a series of shallow boxes, with the items readily visible.
Riker mounts do have some potential disadvantages. The cotton batting can hold humidity, for example. The cotton batting also tends to stick to the pins of your pinback buttons when you pull them out, although of course that is easily remedied--you simply pull the cotton away. Another potential problem is that glass is a very hard surface, and if the lid to the Riker mount isn't handled carefully it could cause paint to fleck off a litho button. I have also, rarely, seen the paint from a litho button actually adhere to the glass of a Riker mount, after the button and the glass were left undisturbed for a long period. Still, the Riker mount does seem to be a tried and true method that has proved satisfactory to thousands of collectors.
Variations on the Riker mount include mounts that have a plastic insert instead of cotton batting. The insert has a dozen or so depressions covered with a flocked (velvety) surface, and will hold nicely such objects as larger tokens. Another variation on the riker mount is the collector's frame. It is made of attractive wood instead of cardboard, and is deeper, so the buttons never have to touch the glass. The cotton batting is replaced with a felt backing. The collector's frame can be stored flat or hung on the wall.
There are a few other possibilities for storage. One of the cheapest, yet most display-oriented methods, is simply to take a wooden frame and stretch an attractive cloth over it. The cloth can be attached to the back of the frame with a staple gun, or even with thumbtacks. You can often find old wooden frames very cheaply at garage sales. Craft stores also sell pieces of wood that are pre-cut for making frames. The angles have been cut and are tongue-and-grooved for strength. You simply buy, for example, two 20 inch pieces and two 36 inch pieces and push them together. Gluing or nailing the corners is optional.
With the cloth-covered frame method, you simply pin your pinbacks on the cloth, and they are there on the wall for visitors to see. The disadvantage is that the buttons are exposed to a good deal of light, and as we have seen, light can cause fading. I personally use the frame method for a grouping of post-1960 buttons, mostly lithos and none great rarities. I have hung the frame in a place where it never has direct sunlight on it. Still, I would not use this method for scarcer buttons.
My personal favorite method for organizing and storing buttons is to use a coin cabinet. This is basically a chest of drawers, with each drawer lined with a piece of thick cloth. The buttons can be pinned into the cloth, or can simply be laid on top of the cloth without pinning. They are protected from light, as well as from dents, scratches, and the like. The drawers can be removed and placed temporarily on a table top or even in your lap. Unlike with the Riker mount, with the cabinet no surface lays on top of the buttons, and that seems to me to be a plus.
 |
I purchased the cabinet illustrated above several years ago. It offers a lot of storage in its ten drawers, and was reasonably priced at $230. The Vector firm in Michigan turned out a very attractive and well-made product, but unfortunately they seem to have gone out of business. Coin dealers may be able to alert you to other possibile sources. In choosing a coin cabinet, choose one with the least possible height on each drawer. Since buttons are typically only 1/8 of an inch thick, it would be a waste of space to buy a cabinet with drawers three inches tall. The Vector model featured drawers that are 1.25 inches tall. Antique stores may have old tool chests, thread cabinets, or dental stands that would serve the button collector well.
For many collectors, the 2x2 holders still offer an excellent method for storage. Storing twenty buttons on a thin 8x10 page is pretty efficient storage. With this method, buttons can easily be rearranged into a new logical order time and time again. Many collectors find it is easier to enjoy looking through several notebooks than through a stack of riker mounts. A wide variety of pages can also accommodate larger buttons, matchbook covers, ballots, ribbons, post cards, pamphlets, and the like. Storage in modern polypropylene pages is perfectly safe. I am not aware of any reputable supplier who is still stocking the old, potentially harmful thick plastic pages, but to be safe look for the words "archival," or "polypropylene," or words to that effect. If you ever purchase buttons in old plastic holders or pages, discard the pages immediately. In buying the 2x2 folders themselves, look for the words "low acidity," "low Ph," "buffered," or "archival." Some cardboard is highly acidic, and gives off fumes that could prove damaging to button papers, litho paint, and other substances.
Coming in a future issue: How to store and display tabs, studs, tokens, and other collectibles.
These addresses are taken from the back of the APIC roster. I personally have not had dealings with these firms, but their place in the APIC handbook suggests their political collector customers have not had any serious complaints. Some price information is included in the APIC handbook, including some special deals for APIC members.
For 2x2 coin holders, pages, and the like:
Brooklyn Gallery Coins & Stamps, P.O. Box 90146, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209-0003.
For Riker Mounts:
Do a web search search on riker mounts, which will turn up many good suppliers including scientific supply houses.
My friend and fellow APIC member Alan Sturm has a beautiful button cabinet he made from a kit. He reports he purchased it 4-5 years ago from a firm called Yield House, and that they also sold it already assembled for those who are all thumbs. The product was called a map chest. With any luck Yield House still stocks map chests. They can be reached at Yield House, P.O. Box 2525, Conway, New Hampshire 03818-2525. Or by phone at 1-800-258-4720.
| &CO |