Page 20 - July2011

126 THE NATIONAL 'BuTTon BULLETlN July 2011

shooting jackets. Gosden had originally commissioned a set
for himself designed by Abraham Cooper and engraved by
John Scott, modeled after a set owned by Napoleon, which
depicted subjects of the chase. He later had the designs
rendered in bas-relief for mass production. I Apart from
gilt, silver plate and bronze finishes, the buttons
could also be scratch brushed and lacquered.
By the 1840s, the classic two-piece, die stamped brass sporting
button for use on shooting coats and other types of informal jacket was a well
established fashion. Painted or transferred papier-mache, compressed paper, die
pressed horn and carved ivory sets were also available in the 1840s and 1850s.
The quality of the painting on English papier-mache buttons was superb, but
unfortunately, very few have survived in good condition. An extraordinary set of
Mauchline or Breadalbane painted paper on wood sporting buttons presented to
Prince Albert, probably in the 1840s, was sold at Gleneagles in Perth shire in 2000.