Friday, September 4, 2020

Vintage Disneyland Pin-back Buttons



Within my overall collection of Disney memorabilia, I have many "sub-collections." One of those is a collection of pin-back buttons. I thought for today, I would share some of those with you.

First, we will start with this article, from the Summer 1982 issue of Disney News Magazine. The article was written by Dave Smith, founder and former chief archivist of the Disney Archives.

Mr. Smith writes, "Pinback buttons first made their appearance during the presidential campaign of William McKinley in 1896." While researching online, I found out that presidential campaign buttons actually go all the way back to George Washington. That date of 1896, however, was when a patent was first issued for a certain style of button, one which uses a metal pin anchored to the back of the button, for fastening it to clothing.


I posted these first three buttons, back in 2009. They are called "lenticular," "flasher," or "flicker" buttons. When you look at them from one angle, you can see one image and when you look at them from a different angle, you see another. These buttons were sold at Disneyland for many years, from the 1950's to the 1970's.


My brother and I got the Mickey button (mine) and the Goofy button (his), during one of our childhood visits to the park.


I bought the Tinkerbell button years later, on ebay. There is also a "Disneyland Is Ducky" version, with Donald Duck. (As shown in box #4 in the article above, along with an alternate version of the Tinkerbell button).


The backside of the flasher buttons:


Based on what I have seen for sale online, and what is pictured in the article above (in box #13), I believe Grad Nite buttons were first available, beginning in 1974.




Starting in 1985, the Grad Nite buttons shrank just a little bit in size.


Notice how all of these buttons, from the very first one in 1974, through 1991, had Mickey or Pooh on them (with the exception of 1983, which had Pluto).


In 1992, someone decided to change the shape of the Grad Nite Buttons, and Goofy made his first and only appearance on them.


I stopped collecting the Grad Nite buttons for the years following 1992, because.....well, to be perfectly honest, I think they were all very ugly, compared to the ones from the previous nineteen years. From 1993 to 1995, the buttons had just an outline or silhouette of Mickey on them. After that, they only used the iconic "mouse ears" or "three circles," to depict Mickey. For a couple years, they even had "HONDA" printed prominently on the buttons. Tacky!!!

These character buttons were sold at Disneyland, from the late seventies, through the early eighties. There was also a Goofy version (see box #11, in the Disney News article). There were earlier versions of these character buttons, with just some minor differences. The older version of the "Pooh" button can be seen pinned to the man's vest, in the article above.


Every so many years, they changed the designs on the character buttons. In the early eighties, these newer versions replaced the ones above.


I bought these next three buttons at Disneyland (in the Main Street Emporium), when their respective films were currently out in movie theaters. The Pinocchio button was for the film's 1978 re-release. The One Hundred and One Dalmatians button was available for it's re-release, in 1979. And The Fox and the Hound button was available when that film premiered, in 1981.


I was hoping this would be a trend, and that I would be able to continue to add to this sub-category of pinback buttons in my collection. Unfortunately, fifteen years would pass, before I saw another film-promoting button for sale at the park. That doesn't mean that there wasn't one within that time period, but personally, I never saw one until this lenticular Hunchback of Notre Dame button came out in 1996. (This one still has it's Disneyland price tag of $2.50, stuck on the back of it.)


This Hercules button was available the following year (in 1997).


Buttons were often available at Disneyland, for various park anniversaries and character birthdays. The buttons below, commemorate the park's 25th, 30th, 31st, and 35th anniversaries, Mickey's 54th birthday (in 1982), and Donald Duck's 50th birthday (in 1984).


There were also buttons for special events and holiday celebrations, such as "Celebrate America" Days (1983), Easter (1984), Earth Day (1997), Disneyland's 100 millionth guest (1971), and Circus Fantasy (1987).


After a new attraction opened, there would often be a button available to help commemorate it...such as, Captain EO (1986), Star Tours (1987), Disneyland's New Fantasyland (1983), Videopolis (1985), and Toontown (1993). The two Star Tours buttons glow in the dark!


The newer Mickey Mouse Club button (top), was sold at Disneyland, in the nineties. I actually got the older one (bottom), at a local Sav-On Drug Store, back in the seventies. It can also be seen in box #1 of the article above.


This last button is kind of fun. It's goes back to a Disneyland cast member strike, which began on September 26, 1984, and lasted for 22 days. The striking cast members had set up a base camp, in the parking lot of one of the businesses across the street from the park (on Harbor Blvd). They were asking for a donation for their cause, in exchange for either this button, or a similar one with the Sleeping Beauty Castle logo on it (also with a circle around it, and a "slash" through it). Now I wish I had gotten both buttons, instead of just the Mickey version!


16 comments:

  1. Thanks for another fun post, TM! Your Disneyland ephemera collection never ceases to impress. My favorites are the dental hygiene buttons from the 30s and 40s in the article, but I also really got a kick out of the strike button. I'm sure corporate was angry at them using that likeness back then and would probably throw an even greater fit now!

    It used to be popular among roller coaster fans to have a vest covered with patches of various parks and coasters, so they often ended up looking close to the picture of that guy in the article. I think that look needs to come back ;-)

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  2. Thanks for the memory jog. My sister and I always got those lenticular buttons. I always got Goofy, Donald or Mickey. Every other year back then we would get new ones 'cause the old ones would get lost or given away. My sister and I have fond memories of the stuff we would bring home from our trips to the park...stuff from along Mainstreet, shrunken heads and those giant lollipops we discussed a while back on GDB.
    We went on my birthday in '95 and I got a big button with Happy Birthday and my name on it. The whole day every 'cast member' that I ran into said 'Happy Birthday Peter'. Made the day even more fun.
    Thanks Tokyo, great stuff. Brought up some great memories.

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  3. Andrew, I especially like the dental hygiene buttons, too! Major Pepperidge has both of those "Good Teeth" buttons, and has featured them on Gorillas Don't Blog, in the past.

    Yeah, you just know that Disney was not happy about the employees using the image of Mickey. And I agree with you about how they would probably be even more LIVID about them using it today!

    I have seen the vests you are talking about. I have also seen people wearing jackets, covered with patches. When I was younger, I never gravitated to the souvenir patches, for some reason. Maybe it was because they required that extra effort of having to sew them onto something (unless they were "iron-on" patches). I have picked up just a few vintage patches here and there, in more recent years. But now I wish that I had been collecting them all along!

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  4. DrGoat, I'm glad that these buttons brought back some good memories for you! It seems like I always picked up a button or two, during my visits to the park. They were very inexpensive souvenirs. Often times, we'd buy a button as soon as we got into the park, so that we could pin our "Unlimited Use Passport" (remember those?) to our clothing. That way, we didn't have to keep pulling it out of our pocket, before getting on the rides.

    I remember buying those giant lollipops at the Candy Palace on Main Street! I also remember getting the giant candy "sticks." They were the same candy as the lollipops, but they were easier to eat.

    I didn't realize that Disney had been giving away the free birthday buttons for that many years now. Time does fly! I know they also give out free buttons to people who are experiencing their "First Visit" to the park, and also to those celebrating an anniversary or a graduation. They used to have a "Family Reunion" button, but they discontinued that one. I am actually a little surprised that they still offer any of the buttons, "free of charge." Maybe they know if they were to stop doing that, people would make a stink.

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  5. TokyoMagic, seeing that first pin, on this post, brought back some wonderful memories. When I went to Disneyland, the summer of 1976, I purchased that pin ("Love is") and pinned it to the outside of my macrame purse. I still have, and treasure, that pin.

    Thanks for sharing more of your fun collection!

    Sue

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  6. Sue, I remember Disneyland also selling a poster and a watch, with that same Love Is/Mickey and Minnie design.

    I remember when macrame was SO very popular. Could your purse double as a hanging plant holder? ;-)

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  7. I remember when macrame was SO very popular. Could your purse double as a hanging plant holder?

    Yes, but carrying around a spider plant, all day, gets tiring!

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  8. Sue, ha, ha! I also remember when spider plants (and philodendrons) were very popular! Ah, the seventies!

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  9. Fun post, Tokyo!

    I had a Mickey flicker button just like yours!

    My wife got a birthday button when we visited a few years back.

    I have a bad track record of keeping things like this. If I get more in the future, I will send to you instead of tossing them.

    JG

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  10. JG, thanks! Don't toss anything! ;-) At least the buttons don't take up too much space....well, not as much as some other souvenirs.

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  11. EXCELLENT POST! I love pinback buttons, and have hundreds of them, though… not that many Disneyland examples. The “flashers” are some of my favorites; I discovered that the versions with a blue back (rather than the red backing) are labeled as being from the Art Corner, so I attempted to get all four of those flashers with Art Corner backs. As of now, I have never seen a “Disneyland Is Ducky” flasher with the blue Art Corner backing, They are either very rare, or don’t exist!

    I only have a few Grad Nite pinback buttons, you have a great collection of those! Even those simple, bold graphic character buttons from the ‘70s and ‘80s are very nice. I’m also fond of the buttons that celebrate specific events, such as the “100 Million Smiles” or “Thumper’s Easter Egg Hunt”.

    I think the oldest Disneyland pinback that I have is from 1960, for the first “Dixieland at Disneyland” event. And like you, I would like to have both of those strike-related buttons, just because they are part of a moment in history. Not a stellar moment, but... significant.

    Thanks for this very fun post!

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  12. Major, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I might do a "Part 2" follow-up to this one, seeing as I have many more Disney buttons.

    I had seen a few of the "flashers" with the blue backs, but didn't realize they were specifically from the Art Corner. And I have never seen a version of the "flasher" buttons, like the Tinkerbell one (in the Disney News article), with the wide yellow band around the perimeter. Those must be REALLY rare!

    I always tried to pick up any pinback buttons which came out for the special events at Disneyland. It's sad, but they don't sell very many buttons, anymore. They still give out the free buttons at City Hall, for guests celebrating special occasions, but it seems like the other souvenir buttons started to go away, once "pin trading" became a thing. Call me crazy, but I still prefer a good old pinback button over a "pin."

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  13. I agree, I have never seen one of those flashers with the yellow band around the edge. In fact I didn't really notice it (even though you mentioned it!) until just now. I am not good at paying attention. Plus I snap my gum in class.

    Pinback buttons seem like such a "no-brainer" thing to sell in shops - they could constantly make new designs (for presumably not much money), charge $3 or $4 apiece (or more, being Disneyland), and who knows, maybe collecting those would catch on like the "cloisonne" pins did. There's no reason they couldn't get creative. I'd love more ride-specific pinback buttons, they could have done one for the Matterhorn's 60th, or even for extinct attractions like "Adventure Thru Inner Space".

    Did you ever get into the cloisonne-style pins as much as you did for the pinbacks?

    YES, please do a "part 2" someday!

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  14. Major, I wonder if that flasher button with the yellow band could possibly be just a prototype button. Maybe they were never actually sold? Or maybe they were just sold for a very short time.

    I loved collecting pinback buttons....and not just Disney ones. They were usually a very affordable souvenir and they didn't take up much space. The Tokyo Disney parks still make them for holidays, special events, new attractions and park anniversaries. I purchased quite a few buttons during my visits to those parks.

    I do have a small collection of the cloisonne-style pins, from the U.S. Disney parks. I think I mostly bought pins that commemorate extinct attractions, like Carousel of Progress, America Sings and the Mickey Mouse Revue. But I do have a few others, like a set representing the changing portraits in the Haunted Mansion. I posted that set here, years ago. I think that I might actually have more pins from the Tokyo parks, than I do from DL and WDW. Maybe I should do a "pin post" in the future.

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  15. I have a Disney is Ducky flasher ... i think mine has a red back ... do you know is value??

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  16. Anonymous, sorry....I don't know what the value of the Donald Duck flasher pin/button would be. I just checked on ebay, and I didn't see any listed, but there were plenty of listings for the Mickey, Goofy and Tinkerbell versions. The Donald Duck version does seem to be the rarest one out of the four.

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