Dress Elevator Article

Page 1

Studs, Buttons, or Dress Elevators?

By Paul Rice

JANUARY 1867–Godey’s Lady Book–“BAD NEWS FOR UNMARRIED LADIES.” “Among the new inventions is a button with a wire, to be inserted into the cloth like a corkscrew, and then be pressed down flat, so as to form a ring to hold the button to its places. As this invention will enable men to keep the buttons on their shirts, it is calculated to do away with wives altogether. An ‘unmarried lady’ wishes to inquire whether these patent buttons will darn stockings, make bread, or do the washing?”

Well, we now know that some in the 1800s thought these prickly little buttons we call dress elevators were bachelor buttons. The inventor David Howarth, thought so too. With piqued interest, I decided to search the US Patents System to see what more I could learn about these corkscrew buttons.

My initial search identified more than 65 inventions, patented between 1860 and 1913, that answered to the search terms dress or skirt elevators-lifters-holders-supporters. These included a wonderful array of ingenious mechanical devices for keeping ladies fine dresses above the mud or off the dirty floors of carriages and trolleys. Their fascinating construction included chains, cords, pulleys, clamps, springs, hooks, levers, and even lead weights. Many were patented by women. To my surprise, none of these inventions involved or mentioned the small button that was the goal of my search.

Starting over, using new search criteria including spiral, helical, screw type button shanks, the elusive buttons started to emerge. Between 1850 and 1913, at least 24 patents were issued that dealt with corkscrew type buttons. Seven of these appeared to be useful primarily as cuff links and were set aside for future study. Of the 17 remaining inventions that could be used as a buttoning device for shirt bosoms, pants, and coats, only A.M. Smith, (discussed later in the article) described the purpose of his device as a means to elevate ladies skirts or dresses.

The earliest patent found for the simple helical or spiral wire shank button that we associate with dress elevators was for an invention by Benton P. Coston in 1850. He stated that "this helix may consist of one or more convolutions and the end of the wire may terminate, as represented in a point, in order that it may more readily penetrate the cloth to which it is to be attached, and be affixed to any part of the same without the necessity of previously making an eyelet, or may pass though both the edges to be fastened together and so dispose with both buttonholes and eyelets." In the next 15 years, three additional patents were granted that made minor changes to the Coston design, primarily to reduce the potential for loss of the button, to prevent the button from "waddling or swinging to and fro," or to compress the wire shank after installation to create a better base against the cloth.

In late 1866, Albert M. Smith patented a modified version of the Coston button and described it as a "useful Improvement in Button-Eyes for Fastening or Looping up the Bottoms of Ladies' Dresses." His improvement involved "placing a pin in the center of the coil of the spiral-formed button-eye to keep the cloth or what ever it is applied to from becoming unfastened.”

In the September 1975 issue of Just Buttons, Sally Luscomb showed an original box of the Smith patent buttons with eight molded black glass birds about 5/8 inch in diameter. On the box was inscribed “One Set of A.M. Smith’s Patent Ornamental Dress Elevators, and Universal Toilette Buttons.” Sally Luscomb stated that the buttons shown in the box were actually dress trim to make elevated flounces resulting in a scalloped overskirt and “They were not used to elevate the hemline or length of skirt as sometimes stated.”

Between 1866 and 1911, an additional 12 patents were granted for the helical or spiral shank buttons. In every case, the inventor described the invention in the context of an improved button or stud and no one after Smith discussed the dress elevator concept in their patents. Most improvements involved making the button more secure or reducing the annoyance of the sharp point. It is not clear how many of these inventions, other than A. M Smith’s, were ever manufactured or used.

Click on any image to view larger or additional images or to view the patent details