Prosser Buttons at the Col. Paul Wentworth House
Buttons are typically seen as small and insignificant in daily life, yet due to the materials they are typically made of, they stand the test of time archeologically. Since the Col. Paul Wentworth house had been lived in for generations spanning over 200 years, it's unsurprising that many buttons were found during our dig.
Interestingly, most of the buttons I was able to find and date were likely from the mid 19th century. The most commonly found buttons at this dig were Prosser buttons, also known as "chinas" by collectors due to their porcelain-like appearance. Prosser buttons were first patented in 1840 by Richard Prosser, and the process allowed buttons to be made in very high quantities with lots of variation (Sprague 2002). This variation can be seen in the 20 Prosser buttons found at the Col. Paul Wentworth house. Most buttons found were plain white, but a few other colors were found as well. Most notably, a turquoise blue button was dug up this year. As well as Prosser buttons being able to be made in different colors, the Prosser process also opened the door for more customization and design elements to be added to the buttons. One Prosser button found at the Col. Paul Wentworth house has a brown ring around it, which was likely stenciled on. Aside from color, texture was another aspect of Prosser buttons that varied greatly due to the quick and efficient process. Last year, two Prosser buttons were found in in same context, one with a textured edge known as a hobnail body style (National Button Society).
Top row: Worn down Prosser buttons; two shank style, one standard style. Bottom row, left to right: Turquoise Prosser button, stenciled, hobnail body style, simple white style.
Three buttons found in the dig, two this year and one last year, were heavily worn. I had a hard time identifying them as Prosser buttons at first due to their smooth and seemingly unglazed appearances. Prosser buttons typically aren’t glazed, but the high firing temperatures they undergo create a glaze-like appearance (Sprague 2002). Traces of this pseudo-glaze were found in the center of the standard style button, indicating that these buttons were at some point more similar in appearance to the other, less worn, Prosser buttons. The fact that these buttons were found outside in the ground and the fact that they were heavily worn points to the fact that they were likely on a piece of clothing used so much that they were deemed no longer usable and then thrown out.
Works Cited
“China.” National Button Society | National Button Society, https://nationalbuttonsociety.org. Accessed 25 June 2026.
Luscomb, Sally C. The Collector's Encyclopedia of Buttons. Crown Publishers, 1967.
Sprague, Richard. “China or Prosser Button Identification and Dating.” Historical Archaeology, vol. 36, no. 2, 2002, pp. 111-127.
Interestingly, most of the buttons I was able to find and date were likely from the mid 19th century. The most commonly found buttons at this dig were Prosser buttons, also known as "chinas" by collectors due to their porcelain-like appearance. Prosser buttons were first patented in 1840 by Richard Prosser, and the process allowed buttons to be made in very high quantities with lots of variation (Sprague 2002). This variation can be seen in the 20 Prosser buttons found at the Col. Paul Wentworth house. Most buttons found were plain white, but a few other colors were found as well. Most notably, a turquoise blue button was dug up this year. As well as Prosser buttons being able to be made in different colors, the Prosser process also opened the door for more customization and design elements to be added to the buttons. One Prosser button found at the Col. Paul Wentworth house has a brown ring around it, which was likely stenciled on. Aside from color, texture was another aspect of Prosser buttons that varied greatly due to the quick and efficient process. Last year, two Prosser buttons were found in in same context, one with a textured edge known as a hobnail body style (National Button Society).
Top row: Worn down Prosser buttons; two shank style, one standard style. Bottom row, left to right: Turquoise Prosser button, stenciled, hobnail body style, simple white style.
Three buttons found in the dig, two this year and one last year, were heavily worn. I had a hard time identifying them as Prosser buttons at first due to their smooth and seemingly unglazed appearances. Prosser buttons typically aren’t glazed, but the high firing temperatures they undergo create a glaze-like appearance (Sprague 2002). Traces of this pseudo-glaze were found in the center of the standard style button, indicating that these buttons were at some point more similar in appearance to the other, less worn, Prosser buttons. The fact that these buttons were found outside in the ground and the fact that they were heavily worn points to the fact that they were likely on a piece of clothing used so much that they were deemed no longer usable and then thrown out.
Works Cited
“China.” National Button Society | National Button Society, https://nationalbuttonsociety.org. Accessed 25 June 2026.
Luscomb, Sally C. The Collector's Encyclopedia of Buttons. Crown Publishers, 1967.
Sprague, Richard. “China or Prosser Button Identification and Dating.” Historical Archaeology, vol. 36, no. 2, 2002, pp. 111-127.
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