button backmark

[taz42o]

Could anyone tell me the end date Waterbury used the backmark (W.B. CO.) ?

 

[Bryanhashemi]

and just for Anmy own knowledge....can you post a pic of a civil war button with W.B. CO backmark? as opposed to waterbury backmark. thanks!

 

[taz42o]

http://relicman.com/buttons/zBackmarkWaterbury.htm


http://www.relicman.com/buttons/zArchiveButtonFederalA1Officer.htm


Also lists them here but i dont see a pic...

Warman's Civil War Collectibles Field Guide: Identification and Price Guide - John F. Graf - Google Books

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Notice the small o in Co.
2 different backmarks W.B.Co. and W.B. CO. but I dont know the datelines sorry.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

My memory is not too good but I think the small o is older.

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Great info CBG! Always thought it was in the 1930s they stop using that kind of back-mark had no idea it was into the 1940s! Good stuff.

 

[HutSiteDigger]

That is about right....

1941- 1945 -Wartime demands lead to rapid expansion. The Waterbury Button Company makes a range of products for the Allied forces, from buttons to bomb fuses. The company changes its name to Waterbury Companies, Inc., to reflect its diversified product lines.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

For BCH, and any other readers who are interested:
According to the "History" section at the Waterbury Button Company website, that company changed its name to Waterbury Companies (note that it is plural) during World War Two. Thus, the longtime "Co." abbreviation in the backmark became Co's.

I did some additional research to find the exact year, which IF I'm recalling correctly turned out to be 1943. Unfortunately I don't remember where I found that info, so to be sure about the 1943 date you'll need to doublecheck my foggy memory of it. I do feel certain that if you went with 1944 you'd be within one year of the correct date of the name-change to "Companies" and the emergence of the Co's backmark.

Edit: Here are a photos showing two variations of the Waterbury "Companies" backmark. One has "Companies" spelled out, and the other has the abbreviation Co's. Note the "INC" for Incorporated. Also, I've seen a third variation, which says simply Waterbury Co's Conn" (without the "Inc.").

Are those images Great Seal buttons? I could add WATERBURY COMPANIES INC * as WWII and after if it was used on a Great Seal button.

I found this on the Waterbury site: "1941- 1945 -Wartime demands lead to rapid expansion. The Waterbury Button Company makes a range of products for the Allied forces, from buttons to bomb fuses. The company changes its name to Waterbury Companies, Inc., to reflect its diversified product lines."



There are many mistakes on my thread I will need to correct. I have the WATERBURY COS INC CONN as post 1965. I dont know where I got the information.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

BigCypressHunter wrote:
> Are those images Great Seal buttons?

No. Their identification is in each photo's filename -- put your cursor on the photo to see the filename. The one with the "Waterbury Co's Inc. Conn." backmark is a Maryland State Seal button. The other is a civilian-usage Musician button (showing a Lyre).

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

BigCypressHunter wrote:
> Are those images Great Seal buttons?

No. Their identification is in each photo's filename -- put your cursor on the photo to see the filename. The one with the "Waterbury Co's Inc. Conn." backmark is a Maryland State Seal button. The other is a civilian-usage Musician button (showing a Lyre).

I found some Great seal buttons on eBay with the same backmark and added it to my Great Seal thread.

As far as the W. B. Co. backmark it appears it is used on very modern self shank buttons so the dateline would depend on what it is with it such as patent nos. Check this out.

WBCO has been used since the CW but WBCO alone is a modern backmark.

Does this help answer your question taz?

 

[turtlefoot13]

Here is a what I believe to be a very modern Great Seal Button in my collection.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

So I guess the answer to my original question of last use of W.B.CO.(on any button ) would still be about 43-44.

nope it may still be used today.